Route Description
I-81 enters the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia just west of Ridgeway, paralleling US 11 (also known as the Valley Pike). The highway passes through some light farmland before entering a wooded area, north of Ridgeway. A welcome center for northbound travelers is passed before the woodlands give way to a light urban setting. As the highway approaches the community of Inwood, a diamond interchange with West Virginia Route 51 (WV 51) provides access to the community, as well as Gerrardstown to the west of the freeway, and Charles Town to the east. A small business park is passed by before I-81 intersects County Route 32, providing access to Arden, the Eastern WV Regional Airport and Tablers Station. The freeway turns more towards the north as it approaches Martinsburg, intersecting WV 45, County Route 15 and Dry Run Road while in the city limits. I-81 bypasses downtown, running along the western border of town while US 11 continues through the town.
Just northeast of Martinsburg the freeway passes over a CSX Transportation rail line while a cloverleaf interchange with WV 9 provides access back to Martinsburg and to Hedgesville. As the freeway curves back east, it intersects WV 901 between Hainesville and Falling Waters. WV 901 is a short connector route back to US 11. North of Falling Waters and south of Marlowe, US 11 intersects the freeway and continues north while I-81 turns east towards the Maryland state line at the Potomac River. Just south of the river is a welcome center intended for southbound travelers from Maryland.
Out of the six states that I-81 passes through, the segment in West Virginia is the second shortest, only longer than the Maryland segment. Every year the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) conducts a series of surveys on its highways in the state to measure traffic volume. This is expressed in terms of average annual daily traffic (AADT), which is a measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year. In 2009, WVDOT calculated that as few as 45,000 vehicles traveled along the highway at the Virginia state line, and as many as 62,500 vehicles used the freeway between County Routes 15 and 13 in Martinsburg. As part of the Interstate Highway System, the entire route is listed on the National Highway System, a system of roads that are important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.
Read more about this topic: Interstate 81 In West Virginia
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