DELAWARE TRIP
Interstate 81 Virginia

Interstate 81 gets its start at Interstate 40 near Dandridge, Tennessee, and goes through Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. Many semis use the interstate, and there are plans to widen the highway throughout the state of Virginia. On Day Eight of the Delaware Trip, I drove Interstate 81 from Interstate 66 to my hotel in Wytheville, Virginia, and on Day Nine, I drove Interstate 81 from Wytheville to Interstate 40.

Interstate 66 to Wytheville
Pictures taken March 20, 2003

Interstate 81 South at Exit 296 - VA 55 - Strasburg.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 291 - VA CR-651 - Toms
Brook.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 283 - VA 42 - Woodstock.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 279 - VA 185/CR-675 -
Edinburg.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 273 - VA 292/CR-703 - Mt.
Jackson/Basye.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 264 - U.S. 211 - New Market/
Timberville/Luray.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 257 - U.S. 11/VA 259 -
Mauzy/Broadway.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 247B - U.S. 33 West -
Harrisonburg.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 247A - U.S. 33 East - Elkton.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 245 - CR-659 - Port Republic
Rd.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 243 - U.S. 11 - Harrisonburg.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 235 - VA 256 - Weyers Cave/
Grottoes.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 227 - CR-612 - Verona.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 225 - VA 275 - Woodrow
Wilson Parkway/Staunton.
Interstate 81 South approaching Interstate 64 East -
Richmond - 2 miles.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 222 - U.S. 250 - Staunton/
Fishersville. Interstate 64 East is approaching in 4/5
mile. It isn't too often you see a sign that says something
is 4/5 mile ahead! (Reminds me of those 1/3 mile signs
on Interstate 235 by Interstate 44 back home!)
Interstate 81 South approaching Interstate 64 East - 1/4
mile.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 221 - Interstate 64 East -
Richmond. Hard to tell, but the Interstate 64 shield on
the Exit 221 sign has the state name in it.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 64 West at Exit 220 - VA
262 TO U.S. 11 - Staunton.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 64 West at Exit 216 -
CR-654 - Mint Spring/Stuarts Draft.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 64 West at Exit 213B -
U.S. 11 North.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 64 West at Exit 213A -
U.S. 11 South - Greenville.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 64 West at Exit 205 - CR-
606 - Raphine/Steeles Tavern.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 64 West at Exit 200 - CR-
710 - Fairfield.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 64 West approaching Exit
191 - Interstate 64 West - 2 miles.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 64 West approaching Exit
191 - 1 mile.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 64 West at Exit 191 -
Interstate 64 West - Lexington/Charleston. This marks
the southern end of the 30-mile duplex of the two
interstates.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 188B - U.S. 60 West -
Lexington.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 180B - U.S. 11 North - Fancy
Hill.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 180A - U.S. 11 South -
Natural Bridge/Glasgow.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 168 - CR-614 - Arcadia.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 167 - U.S. 11 - Buchanan.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 162 - U.S. 11 - Buchanan.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 156 - CR-640 - Troutville.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 150B - U.S. 220 North -
Daleville/Fincastle.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 146 - VA 115 - Hollins/
Roanoke.
Interstate 81 South approaching Exit 143 - Interstate
581/U.S. 220 - Airport/Roanoke - 1 mile. Notice the
Interstate 581 shield is missing the word "Interstate."
Interstate 81 South at Exit 143 - Interstate 581/U.S. 220
South - Airport/Roanoke.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 141 - VA 419 TO VA 311
North - Salem/New Castle. Traffic was backed up for
several miles on northbound due to a semi wreck just
south of the Interstate 581 junction two miles back. I
was very glad to be going southbound on this day!
Interstate 81 South at Exit 140 - VA 311 - Salem.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 132 - CR-647 - Dixie
Caverns.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 128 - U.S. 11/CR-603 -
Ironto.
Mileage sign just past Exit 128 on Interstate 81 South.
It's hard to tell how far it is to Christiansburg,
Wytheville, and Bristol, since I cut off the right part of the
sign. The landscape becomes much more mountainous
on this part of Interstate 81.
"Virginia Tech - Exit 118B" sign on Interstate 81 South.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 118B - U.S. 460/Business
U.S. 460/U.S. 11 - Blacksburg/Christiansburg.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 118A - Parkway Drive. The
left guide sign refers to Interstate 77, which is still a 37-
mile drive away.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 114 - VA 8 - Christiansburg/
Floyd.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 105 - VA 252/CR-605 -
Radford.
Mileage sign on Interstate 81 South after Exit 105. Just
33 more miles on this day's journeys and I will be to my
hotel!
Interstate 81 South at Exit 101 - CR-660 - Claytor Lake
State Park.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 94 - VA 99 North - Pulaski.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 92 - CR-658 - Draper.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 89B - U.S. 11 North - Pulaski.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 89A - VA 100 South -
Hillsville.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 86 - CR-618 - Service Road.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 84 - CR-619 - Grahams
Forge.
Interstate 81 South approaching Interstate 77 South -
1 3/4 miles. Interstate 77 North is ten miles ahead.
Interstate 81 South approaching Exit 81 - Interstate 77
South - 1 mile.
Interstate 81 South approaching Exit 81 - 1/2 mile.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 81 - Interstate 77 South -
Charlotte. Interstate 77 North joins Interstate 81 South
for the next nine miles.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 77 North at Exit 80 - U.S.
52 South/VA 121 North - Fort Chiswell/Max Meadows.
Talk about a wrong-way fourplex! Shields for Interstate
77 North, Interstate 81 South, U.S. 11 South, and U.S.
52 North just past Exit 80. The four highways remain
on the same highway for seven more miles before U.S.
11 exits off at Exit 73, which will be followed by the
departure of Interstate 77 a mile later.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 77 North at Exit 77 -
Service Rd.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 77 North at Exit 73 - U.S.
11 South - Wytheville. And this ends Day Eight of the
Delaware Trip.

Wytheville to Tennessee State Line
Pictures taken March 21, 2003

Interstate 81 South/Interstate 77 North approaching
Exit 72 - Interstate 77 North - 3/4 mile. This day began a
little foggy, but thankfully it did not last long.
Interstate 81 South/Interstate 77 North at Exit 72 -
Interstate 77 North - Bluefield/Charleston W. Va.
Interstate 77 North officially leaves Interstate 81 South
behind here. Another lane has been set aside for
those wanting to head towards the Mountain State. The
wrong-way duplexing continues, as the mainline
remains as Interstate 81 South and U.S. 52 North. It is
easy to get confused around here!
Interstate 81 South at Exit 70 - U.S. 21 South/U.S. 52
North - Wytheville.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 60 - VA 90 - Rural Retreat.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 54 - CR-683 - Groseclose.
The fog had almost completely disappeared by this
exit, and I was only 18 miles into the day's driving!
Interstate 81 South at Exit 50 - U.S. 11 - Atkins. This
was the first time I had seen the sky this blue since Day
Four. It was never this blue while I was in Delaware!
The unusually-named state parks continue into Virginia.
Exit 47 (U.S. 11) leads to the Hungry Mother State
Park. (See also
Toad Suck Park near Conway, AR
from the Bayous & Blues Roadtrip)
Interstate 81 South at Exit 47 - U.S. 11 - Marion.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 45 - VA 16 - Marion.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 44 - U.S. 11 - Marion.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 39 - U.S. 11/CR-645 - Seven
Mile Ford.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 35 - VA 107 - Chilhowie.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 32 - U.S. 11 - Lee Highway.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 29 - VA 91 - Damascus/
Glade Spring.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 26 - CR-737 - Emory.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 24 - VA 80 - Meadowview.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 22 - CR-704 - Enterprise
Rd. The building to the right is a Morgan-McClure
Motorsports Research Facility. For those non-NASCAR
fans out there, Morgan McClure is the owner of the #4
Kodak car in the Winston Cup Series. (Or should I say
the Nextel Cup Series?)
Interstate 81 South at Exit 19 - U.S. 11/58 - Abingdon/
Damascus.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 17 - ALT. U.S. 58/VA 75 -
Abingdon/South Holston Dam.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 14 - U.S. 19/VA 140 -
Abingdon.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 13 - CR-611 - Lee Highway.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 10 - U.S. 11/19 - Lee
Highway.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 7 - Old Airport Road/Bonham
Road.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 5 - U.S. 11/19 - Lee
Highway. The highway has widened to six lanes (three
in each direction) as we enter Bristol.
Interstate 81 South approaching Exit 3 - Interstate 381
South - 1 mile. I didn't even realize this interstate
existed until I saw this sign.
Interstate 81 South approaching Exit 3 - 1/2 mile.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 3 - Interstate 381 South -
Bristol. The interstate provides a direct link to
downtown Bristol. The city was a hotbed of activity this
particular weekend, with NASCAR's two major series
in town for races. I did see a couple of cars decorated
in NASCAR stuff get pulled over, however!
Interstate 81 South at Exit 1B - U.S. 58 West/U.S. 421
North - Gate City.
Interstate 81 South at Exit 1A - U.S. 421 South - Bristol.
The highway crosses the state line into Tennessee
immediately after this cloverleaf interchange.

Roadtrip pages:

Oklahoma City to Delaware:
Oklahoma:
Interstate 35 | Interstate 44
Missouri:
Interstate 44 | Interstate 55
Illinois:
Interstate 70
Indiana:
Interstate 70
Ohio:
Interstate 70
West Virginia:
Interstate 70
Pennsylvania:
Interstate 70
Maryland:
Interstate 70 | Interstate 695 | Interstate 97 | U.S. 50/301 | MD 404
Delaware:
DE 404 | U.S. 13

Side trip pages:
Washington, DC Interstates
Maryland Highway Guides
Delaware Highway Guides
Delaware State Highway Terminus Gallery & Guides
Philadelphia Interstates

Delaware to Oklahoma City:
Maryland:
DE/MD 54 | U.S. 50 | Interstate 495
Virginia:
Interstate 495 | Interstate 66 | Interstate 81
Tennessee:
Interstate 81 | Interstate 40
Arkansas:
Interstate 40
Oklahoma:
Interstate 40 | Interstate 240

Miscellaneous Pictures

Trip Summary Pages:
Days 1-4 (Oklahoma City to Delaware)
Days 5-7 (Side Trips while in Delaware)
Days 8-10 (Delaware to Oklahoma City)

OKRoads.com Home --> Delaware Trip Home

Last updated July 08, 2003 12:06 AM