Interstate 64 (I-64) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of West Virginia. It travels east–west through the state for passing by the major towns and cities of Huntington, Charleston, Beckley, and Lewisburg.
Route description
I-64 travels for within the state of West Virginia, passing by the major cities of Huntington, Beckley, and Lewisburg and directly through the capital city of Charleston. It has only two major junctions within the state: I-77 in Charleston and in Beckley. It also crosses the Kanawha River a total of four times in a stretch (twice west of Charleston, immediately before entering the downtown Charleston area, then approximately east of downtown Charleston in Kanawha City).
Between I-64's two junctions with I-77, I-64 and I-77 overlap. From the final crossing of the Kanawha River east of Charleston to their split at exit 40 south of Beckley, the two Interstates are tolled, forming a part of the West Virginia Turnpike.
While the two expressways overlap, the exit signs are those for I-77. Thus, eastbound travelers entering from Kentucky will see exit numbers increase until exit 59, at which time I-77's exit numbers are used, decreasing from exit 101.
History Early beginnings The first segment of I-64 in West Virginia to be let to construction was in Cabell County in 1957. This segment, from US Route 60 (US 60) at milepost 15 to Ona at milepost 20, was completed in 1960.Release Date Report. West Virginia Department of Transportation. August 2003.
In 1962, a lengthy segment from exit 28 at Milton to just west of exit 44 was opened to traffic. This included exits 34 and 39. One year later, I-64 was completed to exit 44, serving originally West Virginia Route 17 (WV 17), now WV 817 near St. Albans.
In 1964, an segment of the Interstate opened from exit 20 at Ona to exit 28 at Milton.
1965 saw the completion of a major part of I-64. A lengthy segment opened from the Kentucky state line (milepost 0) to exit 15 at Barboursville. This consisted of four interchanges: Kenova and Ceredo at milepost 1, the West Huntington Expressway (WV 94, later US 52) at milepost 6, US 52 and downtown Huntington (later WV 152/WV 527) at milepost 8, and Hal Greer Boulevard and WV 10 at milepost 10. Two steel-girder bridges were completed over the Big Sandy River connecting Kentucky to West Virginia. That bridge was replaced in 2000 in a reconstruction effort that raised the bridge level and replaced deteriorating bridge girders.
In 1966, the first Kanawha River crossing was completed with new Interstate mainlines extending from exit 44 near St. Albans to exit 50 at Institute under four contracts. This included three new interchanges: Nitro at milepost 45, Cross Lanes at milepost 47, and Institute at milepost 50. One year later, I-64 was extended eastward to Dunbar at milepost 52.4 with a new interchange constructed at that location. For six years, the Interstate would end just outside Charleston's borders.
Charleston's routing troubles
Planning for the routing of I-64, as well as for I-77 and I-79 through Charleston, was embroiled in controversy since the 1950s. Several alignments were considered which included a northern arc around the Charleston metropolitan area, a downtown route, and a southern arc south of South Charleston.
The mayor at the time, John Shanklin, mayor for eight years from 1959 to 1967, was originally a strong opponent of any Interstate Highway going through the center of the city. Shanklin reversed his decision soon after and stated that Charleston can adjust to the impact and that it will eventually become a "great thing".
In 1971, the city and many residents were swimming in controversy over the proposed routes of the Interstate Highways. The long planned Interstates through West Virginia were either to run directly through the city center or to skirt it.
The plan was to bring I-64 through the Triangle District, just west of the downtown center, an urban blight, where many of the city's Black population lived. Home to the city's highest crime rates where shootings daily were common; it was referred to as the "Red Light District". Urban renewals in the past had failed. Residents living in the Triangle District formed committees and rebelled. They called the highway routing foolish because it wanted to make Charleston just another exit on an endless ribbon of concrete and that it was racist because the Black population would bear the brunt of the relocation.
Federal transportation secretary John A. Volpe stalled for months at the decision on the routing of I-64 through Charleston. By late 1971, however, the final decision was made to route the Interstate through the Triangle District. The Triangle Improvement Council fought the decision for the downtown routing and took its case to the US Supreme Court. They failed, however, as they had no basis for their case. Construction began in September 1971, cutting away parts of 14 mountains and demolishing over 1,000 homes on the south banks of the Kanawha River. WV 14 and other roads were relocated. The Fort Hill project, named so because of the mountain that lies near the massive US 119 interchange, became one of the largest earth-moving projects on the North American continent up to that point and one of the biggest changes that Charleston has ever known.
In 1971, construction began for the connection between the I-77/I-64 interchange at exit 101 (I-77 milepost 101.64) and exit 96 (milepost 95.87). In 1974, I-64 opened to traffic from milepost 52.4, east of exit 50 at Institute to exit 55 (milepost 55.45). This included the construction of an interchange at milepost 54 for US 60 and WV 601 and a second Kanawha River span. When the river crossing was completed, it was one of the largest steel girder bridges in the US at the time. Also, I-77/I-64 opened from exit 100 (milepost 100.16) to exit 99 (milepost 99.12).
In 1975, I-64 was completed to I-77 which included the US 119 Fort Hill interchange (exit 58A) at milepost 57.48. This segment also involved the construction of the third Kanawha River span, exits 58B and 58C and the I-77 junction at milepost 58.78. This three-level junction spans local streets and is the largest interchange in West Virginia with piers embedded in buildings, over water, and over nearby streets. This also included the viaduct over the Triangle District.
In 1976, I-77/I-64 opened from exit 96 (milepost 95.87) to the northern terminus of the West Virginia Turnpike at milepost 99.12 (exit 99). The Interstate concurrency was opened to traffic from exit 100 (milepost 100.16) to exit 101 (milepost 101.64). This completed the last segment of Interstate within Charleston city limits.
Charleston east to Virginia
The alignment of I-64 was to originally parallel US 60 from Charleston to the Virginia state line. This would go through environmentally sensitive areas such as Hawks Nest and the New River Gorge area and might have disrupted the natural beauty and the isolation of the area.
In 1969, Governor Arch A. Moore Jr. announced a delay in the construction of I-64 east of Charleston. He concluded that a study needed to be done on whether the highway should run parallel to US 60 east of Charleston. On March 28, 1974, Governor Moore concluded that I-64 would be routed from Sam Black Church almost due west to a junction with the West Virginia Turnpike (I-77) near Beckley, rather than following the US 60 alignment as initially proposed. From that point, I-64 was concurrent with the northern portion of an upgraded West Virginia Turnpike to reach the Charleston area. This section of I-64 is the only portion of the highway which is a toll road. In 1971, I-64 was completed from WV 12 (milepost 161.46) to the Virginia state line at milepost 184.02. This included six interchanges: exit 161 for WV 12, exit 169 for US 219 and Lewisburg, exit 175 for US 60 for White Sulphur Springs, exit 181 for US 60 (westbound only), and exit 183 for WV 311 (eastbound only). It was extended westward to exit 156 (milepost 155.98) at Sam Black Church in 1973.
The final segment of I-64 to be completed was between Sam Black Church and the West Virginia Turnpike near Beckley. This revised Interstate alignment traverses through an entirely rural area with extremely rugged terrain. Opened in 1988, this final portion is long and cost approximately $300 million (equivalent to $ in ) to construct, making it one of the most expensive segments of Interstate Highway in the US at $7.8 million per mile (/km; equivalent to $ per mile [/km] in ). It has some extremely rugged terrain, with one segment boasting a seven-percent grade downhill eastbound for at Sandstone Mountain. Anticipating loss of braking situations, two emergency truck escape ramps were built to be used by runaway trucks. These emergency ramps were used with such frequency that, in addition to large warning signs alerting truckers to the steep grade, a special truck speed advisory system was installed to automatically weigh each truck and indicate the speed at which it should begin the downhill section.
The journey from Charleston to Lewisburg is quicker and safer on I-64 than the older routing via US 60, much of which winds through the mountains as the Midland Trail, a two-lane scenic byway, passing through hamlets such as Rainelle and Ansted.
Between mileposts 129 and 133, also in Raleigh County, is the Phil G. McDonald Bridge, also known as the Glade Creek Bridge, a deck truss bridge, towering above the creekbed.
The New River crossing is at milepost 137 on the Mary Draper Ingles Bridge, named after an American pioneer. The highway also traverses through a wildlife refuge and marsh near milepost 154.
Continuing improvements Continuing improvements and new interchanges were discussed throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
Exit 20, the main road to the Huntington Mall and its associated developments along with US 60, was originally constructed as a diamond interchange that served Ona and US 60. The land surrounding the interchange was entirely rural and would not be developed until 1981 when Huntington Mall was completed. The diamond interchange configuration was reconstructed into a five-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange. Exit 20A served US 60 while exit 20B was for Huntington Mall. By 2001, development consumed both sides of the Interstate. On holiday shopping days, traffic would congest at the interchange and cause major backups on the Interstate. In 2001, the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) constructed a new ramp, exit 20A, that would serve US 60 and the west end of Huntington Mall. The original exit 20A ramp was removed. Exit 20B was kept, for the most part, in its current position with a left turn lane added that allowed it to serve the east end of Huntington Mall, Melody Farm Road, and US 60. In the same year, a new interchange opened for WV 193 (Merritts Creek Connector) at Barboursville. Exit 18 serves a new four-lane highway that links US 60 and WV 2 together.
In 2002, cable barriers were installed in the median from milepost 6 to milepost 15 as a stopgap measure. These new barriers, installed for $2 million (equivalent to $ in ), required the regrading of the median and upgrades to the drainage system. These new protective devices have proved to be worthwhile, preventing many crossover accidents which have plagued the highway since the 1990s, mostly attributed to an increase in traffic on the overburdened Interstate Highway. This cable barrier system was extended to exit 28 at Milton in 2005, and future measures will ensure that the rest of the Interstate Highway system in West Virginia, where a depressed grassy median of similar width exists, will receive one.