Interstate Highway 81 stretches some 846 miles from Dandridge, Tennessee to Wellesley Island, New York, on the Canadian border. Virginia contains 325.53 miles of the interstate. It largely traces the path of the Appalachian Mountains, and, for the most part, parallels US Route 11. I-81 traverses some of the most beautiful and dramatic scenery on the east coast.
The first section of the highway opened in 1959 in Pulaski County. Though essentially completed by 1969, the final portion near Fort Chiswell wasn’t finished until 1987. When originally conceived, 20% of the traffic was expected to be large trucks. Latest estimates put that figure at 36%.
If you are one of those unfortunates like me who has to drive I-81 on a regular basis, then you know the true meaning of fear. I-81 is simply the most dangerous highway in Virginia. Trucks own this road.
According to a study done by the Washington Post, even though I-95 carries twice the amount of traffic, I-81 has double the number of fatal accidents. Trucks account for one of every four vehicles on this road, far above the number it was designed to carry, and the number is growing every year.
Although truckers are responsible for much of the misery, they aren’t the only ones who should shoulder some of the blame. Aggressive drivers who tailgate at excessive speeds and lane hogs who feel the left-hand lane has been deeded to them add to the mayhem. The woman in the red car pictured below was driving below the speed limit and absolutely refused to move over, all the while chatting on her cell phone.
And this dimwit just defies explanation. The SUV was not tailgating, it was being towed.
I don’t know if the truck driver was truly handicapped (shudder) or just retarded.
Here are a few tips I’ve learned in the 50-odd trips I’ve made from Wythe County to the DC area in the last 6 years:
Fill your gas tank either at Go Mart in town or the Flying J in Ft. Chiswell. Gas gets more expensive the further north you go. If you’re driving out of state, fill up in Virginia regardless of the price, both North Carolina and Maryland are much more expensive.
If your car has cruise control, use it. It saves gas and your average speed per hour will be higher. Set it at NO MORE than 9mph above the posted speed limit. I was told by a state trooper that they don’t ticket unless you’re doing 10mph or more over the limit, and I’ve passed by hundreds of speed traps with no problem.
Don’t carry a gun in a location where you can reach it. Trust me. Sooner or later you’ll want to use it.
Experience has taught me it’s best not to flip the bird at some asshole even if he deserves it.
If you have a passenger and a camera, have them take a picture of anyone be it trucker or automobile driver who is tailgating you. It’s truly amazing how fast they will back off.
The best food and cheapest gas are at Exits 213 and 222 in Staunton. The Edelweiss Restaurant at exit 213 serves some of the best homemade German food Anne and I have had since we left Germany. The Pilot truck stop directly across the road usually has gas for only a few cents higher than Ft. Chiswell.
Less than a mile off Exit 222 going towards town you’ll find Five Guys Burgers and Fries. If you’ve never had a burger at Five Guys, they’ll ruin you for anyplace else. Their burgers and hand-cut fries are cooked to order and are simply THE best.
Adjoining the back of the Five Guys parking lot is Martin’s Gas. There have been a couple of times when they were even cheaper than the cheapest gas in Wythe County.
The day I took that picture, the Sheetz less than a quarter mile away was charging a whopping 11 cents a gallon more for regular.
That’s it dear friends. If you’re going to make a trip north, have as many people as possible put you on their prayer list.
Good Luck.
Have traveled I-81 too many times to count, going from NoVA to Tennessee, and the post mirrors my experiences almost exactly!
The scariest stretch for me is always between Lexington and Roanoke. I try to plan my trips so as to be on that segment early on Sunday mornings, when a disproportionate number of truckers must be sleeping late!
But such felicitous timing isn’t always possible. So sometimes I add an extra 45 minutes to my journey by taking US 29 down to Lynchburg, then turn right over to Roanoke via Bedford.
On a recent journey, however, when time didn’t permit the above detour, I had the good fortune to wedge my vehicle in between two halves of a double-wide. The associated fleet of little escort pickups kept the 18-wheel monsters at bay, and navigation over the “hump” between the Shenandoah and Roanoke Valleys was like a pleasant breeze!
WOW! I WAS RESEARCHING THE ROADS OUT OF CHARLOTTE NC TO HEAD HOME IN JUNE 2010 WITH A MOTORCYCLE I WILL BE RIDING HOME TO NEW JERSEY. I WAS TRYING TO DECIDE TAKING 81 UP TO PENNSYLVANIA AND ACROSS IN TO NEW JERSEY OR I-95 VIA RALEIGH. YOU HAVE DECIDED FOR ME BECAUSE OF THIS POST. I WILL BE TAKING LESSER OF THE TWO EVILS AND TAKE I-95. AT LEAST I KNOW WHERE THE HOSPITALS ARE ALONG THAT WAY!! (AND MORE LANES)
I-95 would be my choice. Make sure you stop at Ralph’s Barbecue in Weldon. They serve one of the best country buffets in the state.
I have driven from Radford, VA to Columbia, PA about 100 times since August, 2007. Your synopsis is right on the mark, if not a little understated!
i travel from berkeley springs WVA to winchester where i hit 81 S all the way down to knoxville….it truely is one of the best drives i have ever experienced but i will agree with anyone who drives this road when they say that Semi’s own and most of the drivers like to stay in the passing lane right beside a Semi at a steady speed and not passing. i unfortunetly am one of those guys that when you get the chance to pass no matter what lane it is, i take it, i kno its dangerous but when it comes down to driving around crazy drivers you have to be just as crazy. and once i get in the open around Blacksburg,i set the cruise at 74 and set back and enjoy and try not to hit the breaks as much as the others. i stop twice once for gas and once for food i make to knoxville which is around 500 miles for me in about 6.5 hrs good time when driving like i do. BUT do NOT worry i am a good driver and i wont wreck you….BUT there was an issue friday where i went to go around a Semi and he decided to come over in the passing lane with no signal and ran me off the road into the median going 75 MPH in a 2001 Ford escape. come to find out the cops stopped him right before the VA state line and the guy was seriously drunk….so if you see a 2001 Ford Escape dark green with WVA tags and a confederate flag in the back window blow the horn and ill wave…..IF YOU CAN CATCH ME lol
The real problem is that trucks don’t pay their full cost of being on our public highways. We are afraid of them but we don’t charge them for the full use of the road. Trucks pay 18 cents per gallon for federal tax on fuel. At 6 mpg, that means they pay 3 cents per mile. How can an 80,000 pound truck pay its way at 3 cents per mile? It can’t – that is why the highway trust fun is broke, so what do we do? We take the extra money needed out of the general fund. We pay with deficit spending for the trucks to be on the highway!!
If we simply charged them what they cost for cost of the road, and the wear and tear, it would cost about 50 cents per mile. And – the long-distance freight will go by rail. For one-fourth the fuel, one fourth the pollution – and no accidents and deaths on the interstate. We will still have to subsidize them a short distance from the rail yard to the customer. But the majority of the route will be off the public highway, which will not require repaving. Why not just charge them what it costs? Why subsidize these killing machines?
Guys I have driven semi’s for over 20 year’s and have had over 5 million miles accident free. When you refer to trucks as monsters and such remember although you probably have no data base to go back to as far as driving a truck I can tell you well the many times I’ve had to dodge women putting on make-up,men on cell phones,everyone texting not to mention tailgaters people who pass me then cut quickly back in front of me and slow down or stop in the road and then procede to make a right turn.Granted their are dangerous truckers but their are more dangerous 4 wheelers we have to contend with.Best advice is stay away from the truck if you can he’ll like you better for it and you may live another day because of it.
And Mr. ED Walton it’s obvious you don’t like trucks or maybe have stock in the railroads.Railroads don’t go everywhere produce from CA to NY would rot before it got to you or get lost. Railroads are good at losing things. And when the time comes that we pay 50 cents a mile to travel down the road you’ll pay 25.00 dollars for a bag of oranges.WE pay taxes for the fuel we buy and all the miles we travel as well as 550.00 dollars each for the priviledge of buying a 1650.00 tag.And then I pay fuel taxes each month.Be carefull what you wish for that gallon of milk might cost you 21.00 dollars that would suck wouldn’t it.
PS Maybe your dreams will come true and I’ll retire a little early I have a farm and will very seldom need anything from one of your trains
I have done the ride so many times I can’t count.
Actually, there’s a great non-stop flight from LaGuardia to Roanoke – less than 2 hours travel time for about $180 roundtrip! BUT, when I do drive, as I will the first week in April for me the least stressful and essentially same timing is NYC down the NJ Turnpike, DC Beltway to 66, off at Rt. 29 and down to Charlottesville, jump on 64 to Waynesboro, jump off through Stewarts Draft, and down Rt. 11 to near Lexington, then jump on 81 to Roanoke/Blacksburg area depending on where you’re headed. Runs about 8 hours and unless something hideous is blocking the DC Beltway – there is everything under the sun you could need along the way and you don’t feel like your going it alone in the sticks.
(left out a stepL NJ Turnpike to i-95 in Del,
follow through Baltimore to DC Beltway…)
i used to live 100 miles no. of NYc/I go up to visit-isn’t it easier to do 81 to 78 west to 287 north & than the spur into NYC? It’s 550 miles from my door up to destination in southern Orange County & NYC would be 50 closer to NYC. Going your way is major traffic too. I’ll do it mid-May.