History
I-81 roughly parallels the Warrior Path, an old Indian trail which connected New York to the Carolina Piedmont via Virginia and West Virginia. A series of roads linking Virginia to Maryland through Martinsburg were present on maps as early as 1873.
Bids for construction of I-81 by WVDOT were published in 1959, with a budget of about $10.6 million to complete the highway. Completion of I-81 in Virginia up to the West Virginia state line was completed by the Virginia Department of Transportation in November 1965. The first 6 miles (9.7 km) of the highway through West Virginia were completed between 1959 and 1963. The construction of the remaining 20 miles (32 km) of Interstate Highway through the Eastern Panhandle was completed by 1966. Since then, there have been no major realignments, and the highway continues on its original path.
Read more about this topic: Interstate 81 In West Virginia
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