Interstate 81

Template:Infobox Interstate Interstate 81 (abbreviated I-81) is an interstate highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 near Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island (near Fishers Landing, New York) at the Canadian border where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Ontario Highway 401, the main freeway leading from Windsor-Detroit and Toronto to Montreal.

I-81 was originally a "line on a map" Interstate. For many years, it existed more to provide a path through the Appalachians than to relieve congestion on any specific route.

However, I-81 has become a major route for interstate truck transportation in recent years. Trucking companies that have tired of fighting big-city congestion along Interstate 95 are now opting to use this less congested inland route.

Distances by state

Miles	km	state
75	121	Tennessee
323	520	Virginia
23	37	West Virginia
11	18	Maryland
234	377	Pennsylvania
183	294	New York
846	1361	Total

Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

• Knoxville, Tennessee (via Interstate 40)
• Morristown, Tennessee
• Greeneville, Tennessee
• Johnson City, Tennessee
• Kingsport, Tennessee
• Bristol, Tennessee
• Bristol, Virginia
• Blacksburg, Virginia
• Roanoke, Virginia
• Lexington, Virginia*
• Staunton, Virginia*
• Harrisonburg, Virginia*
• Winchester, Virginia
• Martinsburg, West Virginia
• Hagerstown, Maryland
• Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
• Carlisle, Pennsylvania
• Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• Hazleton, Pennsylvania
• Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
• Scranton, Pennsylvania
• Binghamton, New York
• Cortland, New York
• Syracuse, New York
• Watertown, New York
• Canada

Between Roanoke and Winchester in Virginia, the intermediate cities of Lexington, Staunton and Harrisonburg are often used as control cities on Interstate 81, even though they are not listed as the official control cities. Lexington and Staunton are, however, official control cities for Interstate 64, which overlaps Interstate 81 between these two points.[1]

Intersections with other interstates

• Interstate 40 near Dandridge, Tennessee, northeast of Knoxville
• Interstate 26 between the Tri-Cities, Tennessee
• Interstate 77 in Wytheville, Virginia. They stay joined for about 10 miles (16 km), and go in opposite directions.
• Interstate 64 in Lexington, Virginia. They stay joined until Staunton, Virginia.
• Interstate 66 in Middletown, Virginia
• Interstate 70 in Hagerstown, Maryland
• Interstate 76 in Middlesex, Pennsylvania (near Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
• Interstate 83 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• Interstate 78 in Bordnersville, Pennsylvania (near Jonestown, Pennsylvania)

Approaching the I-78/I-81 interchange in Union Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania).

• Interstate 80 in Saint Johns, Pennsylvania (near Hazleton, Pennsylvania)
• Interstate 476 in Dupont, Pennsylvania (near Pittston, Pennsylvania)
• Interstate 84 and Interstate 380 in Dunmore, Pennsylvania (near Scranton, Pennsylvania) Throop Dunmore Interchange
• Interstate 476 (again) in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania
• Interstate 88 and future Interstate 86 in Binghamton, New York
• Interstate 690 in downtown Syracuse, New York
• Interstate 90 in North Syracuse, New York

• 
  Interstate 81 starts at the Canadian border and continues to near Knoxville, TN.
• 
  Interstate 81 intersects I-76 indirectly near Middlesex, PA, in this case, US 11 is used to connect I-81 and I-76.

Spur routes

There are three current child routes either providing access to, or bypassing, various cities along Interstate 81's route.

Current

• I-381 - Bristol, Virginia
• I-581 - Roanoke, Virginia
• I-481 - Syracuse, New York

Past

• I-181 - Kingsport, Tennessee: Deleted in August, 2005 when Interstate 26 took over I-181's entire length.

Notes

I-81 looking southbound near milepost 245, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

• Virginia has proposed to widen its entire portion of I-81 to a minimum of three or four lanes in each direction to accommodate increased truck traffic and to toll non-passenger vehicles. Some sections of the new Virginia I-81 may completely separate car and truck traffic. For more comprehensive information on Virginia's plans for the I-81 corridor, see this site. A similar propsal in Pennsylvania has also been studied.[2]

• I-81 runs together with Interstate 77 in Wytheville, Virginia for about 10 miles (16 km), but the two go in opposite directions, creating a wrong-way concurrency. Motorists traveling northbound on I-81 are also traveling southbound on I-77, though they are actually going east. Likewise, motorists traveling southbound on I-81 are also traveling northbound on I-77, though they are actually going west.

• There was an eastern branch, called I-81E, that was a spur from Scranton to The Poconos in Pennsylvania. That highway is now I-380.

• I-481 around Syracuse, New York was planned as I-281, and the first portion of the bypass to be completed was briefly signed as I-281. However, the route number was changed to avoid confusion with nearby New York State Route 281.

• I-81 may get re-routed around Syracuse on I-481, as the elevated section in Syracuse ages and needs repair. The remaining sections would become x81's (Spurs). Many people are opposed to the current route, saying it divides Syracuse into two.

• Around I-81's northern terminus at the Canadian border, two toll bridge spans over the St. Lawrence River connect it via a short stub Ontario Highway 137 to Highway 401 in Ontario. One small section crossing Hill Island, Ontario is undivided two-lane, and therefore does not meet Interstate or Ontario 400-series highway standards. The two main bridge spans are on opposite sides of the border (southern bridge is I-81, northern bridge is ON 137). The US span is one of the few remaining 2-lane Interstate stretches left on the system. The border itself is marked by a 90-foot (but multilane) bridge across International Rift between Wellesley Island, New York and Hill Island, Ontario. 38 miles to the east lies Highway 416 leading to Ottawa.

• I-81 parallels U.S. Route 11 for most of its path.

• I-81 connects indirectly with I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) in Carlisle, PA (Carlisle Interchange) in order to connect you need to go 1 mile on US Route 11. This section of U.S. 11 has been dubbed by locals as the "Miracle Mile".

• An alternate, all-freeway connection to I-76 is via I-83 to I-283 (Harrisburg East Interchange). From I-76 to I-81 via the same route, it would cost a dollar more in tolls on the PA Turnpike to reach this route to I-81.

• Pennsylvania Route 581 at Hampden Township, Pennsylvania is a spur route that can connect drivers to Interstate 83 and Interstate 283 south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This is another alternate route for the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Carlisle, Pennsylvania and the Harrisburg East exits.

• I-81 merges with Interstate 40 between Knoxville, Tennessee and Bristol, Tennessee near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The route can take drivers all the way to Memphis, Tennessee westward to Barstow, California.

See also

• Interstate Highways in West Virginia
• Interstate 81 in New York
• Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania
• Interstate 81 in Virginia
• Interstate 81 in West Virginia
• Interstate 81 in Maryland
• Interstate 81 in Tennessee

External links

• Thousand Islands Bridge System, showing the bridges and connections at the northern terminus
• I-81.org, I-81 Corridor in Virginia by VDOT
• Interstate 81 at Exitlists.com
• Upstate NY Roads Interstate 81 exit listing in New York.

Browse numbered routes
← PA 80	PA	→ PA 82
←	NY	→