Interstate 79 (I-79) is an Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States, designated from I-77 in Charleston, West Virginia, north to Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) and PA 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is a primary thoroughfare through western Pennsylvania and West Virginia and makes up part of an important corridor to Buffalo, New York, and the Canada–United States border. Major metropolitan areas connected by I-79 include Charleston and Morgantown in West Virginia and Greater Pittsburgh and Erie in Pennsylvania.

In West Virginia, I-79 is known as the Jennings Randolph Expressway, named for the West Virginia representative and senator. In the three most northern counties, it is signed as part of the High Tech Corridor. For most of its Pennsylvania stretch, it is known as the Raymond P. Shafer Highway, named for the 39th Pennsylvania governor.

Lengths

	mi	km
WV	160.52	258.33
PA	182.94	294.41
Total	343.46	552.75

Except at its northern end, I-79 is located on the Allegheny Plateau. Despite the somewhat rugged terrain, the road is relatively flat. Most of the highway is at an elevation of about 1,000 to 1,200 feet (300 to 370 m) above sea level, with some lower areas near both ends and higher areas near Sutton, West Virginia. In the hillier areas, this flatness is achieved by curving around hills, along ridges, and in or partway up river valleys. From Sutton north, I-79 generally parallels the path of U.S. Route 19 (US 19).

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2022)

I-79 begins at a three-way directional Y interchange with I-77 along the northwest bank of the Elk River just northeast of Charleston. For its first 67 miles (108 km) to a point just south of Flatwoods, I-79 is located in the watershed of the Elk River, which drains into the Kanawha River. It crosses the Elk River at Frametown and again at Sutton and never strays more than about 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) from it.

I-79 enters Pennsylvania from Morgantown, West Virginia. South of Washington, it traverses mostly rural Greene County.

Between milemarkers 34 and 38, I-79 overlaps I-70 in the Washington area before heading north toward Pittsburgh.

I-79 is carried over the Ohio River by the Neville Island Bridge, approximately eight miles (13 km) northwest of Pittsburgh.

The freeway into Pittsburgh requires drivers to use I-376 while I-79 completely bypasses the city. Beyond the Pittsburgh area, I-79 traverses more rural areas in Butler, Lawrence, Mercer, Crawford, and Erie counties before arriving at its termination point in Erie. In Erie, I-90 connects from I-79 to Buffalo, New York, and the Canadian border.

Around milemarker 100 on the northbound side are two ghost ramps that were specifically built for the Boy Scouts of America in order to have access to Moraine State Park without having to travel on US 422 for the 1973 and 1977 National Scout Jamborees, which were held at Moraine. The ramps were permanently closed after the 1977 event but remain visible under encroaching vegetation.

I-79 was completely rebuilt in Greater Pittsburgh in the early 1990s.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly authorized the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to build two extensions in the 1950s. The Northwestern Extension, authorized in 1953, was to stretch from the main Pennsylvania Turnpike north to Erie and would have included a lateral connection between Ohio and New York, what was later built as I-90. The Southwestern Extension, authorized in 1955, was to run south from the main line near Pittsburgh to West Virginia, where it connects with an extension of the West Virginia Turnpike. Except for the section between Washington and Greater Pittsburgh, which was included as part of I-70, the first portion of I-79 to be added to the plans was north from Pittsburgh to Erie, along the US 19 corridor.

Interstate 179
Location	Erie
Existed	November 12, 1958–1968

Interstate 279
Location	Pittsburgh
Length	13.32 mi (21.44 km)
Existed	September 16, 1989–present

In September 1955, two short urban portions were designated:

• I-179: A spur from I-90 north to Erie, currently absorbed into I-79.
• I-279: A western bypass of Pittsburgh, connecting I-70 with I-80S (now I-76); it and I-79 later swapped designations.

The number 79 was assigned in 1958, and an extension south along I-70 to Washington and beyond to Charleston was approved on October 18, 1961. This extension also paralleled US 19 to near Sutton, where it turned westerly to reach Charleston. (The part of US 19 from Sutton south to I-77 at Beckley, West Virginia, has since been four-laned as Corridor L of the Appalachian Development Highway System.)

On December 21, 1967, the first section of I-79 in West Virginia, between exits 125 (Saltwell Road) and 132 (South Fairmont), opened to traffic. This five-mile (8.0 km) section bypassed part of West Virginia Route 73 (WV 73) between Bridgeport and Fairmont. Another five miles (8.0 km) opened in July 1968, extending the highway on a bypass of downtown Fairmont to exit 137 (East Park Avenue). It was further extended 9.5 miles (15.3 km) toward Morgantown on October 15, 1970, bypassing more of WV 73 to exit 146 (Goshen Road) south of that city.

On June 29, 1970, the swap of I-79 and I-279 was approved. At the same time, I-76 was extended west from Downtown Pittsburgh over former I-79 to the new location of I-79 west of Pittsburgh, so I-279 only ran north from Downtown Pittsburgh. On December 3, 1971, I-76 was rerouted to bypass Pittsburgh, and I-279 was extended to I-79 utilizing the former section of I-76. The changes took effect on October 2, 1972.

On June 29, 1973, I-79 was extended from West Virginia exit 146 to exit 148 (I-68), where, at one point, traffic was forced onto the newly opened west end of Corridor E (now I-68) to exit 1. A further extension of six miles (9.7 km), including the Uffington Bridge over the Monongahela River southwest of Morgantown, was opened on August 30, 1973, leading north to exit 155 (Star City). This completed I-79 from north of Bridgeport to north of Morgantown.

To the south of Bridgeport, the first two sections were both opened on December 22, 1971. One of these ran 10 miles (16 km) from exit 51 (Frametown) to exit 62 (Sutton), and the other from exit 105 (Jane Lew) to exit 115 (Nutter Fort). On September 19, 1973, another 7.5-mile (12.1 km) stretch was opened, from exit 105 (Jane Lew) south to exit 99 (Weston).

In 1973, significant portions of the Interstate were completed. I-79 opened from exit 62 to exit 99. Another 23.9 miles (38.5 km), from exit 67 (Flatwoods) north to exit 91 (Roanoke), opened on November 28, 1973, along with the section from exit 115 north to exit 117 (Anmoore), completing the route between Frametown and Morgantown except in the Bridgeport area.

A 5.5-mile (8.9 km) extension from exit 51 south to exit 46 (Servia) opened on February 1, 1974, and County Route 11 to WV 4 near Duck was widened to handle the increased load. On the same day, two lanes opened from exit 155 (Osage) north to the state line.

On October 16, 1974, two pieces of I-79 were opened: the other two lanes of the 6.6 miles (10.6 km) from exit 155 to the state line and 7.1 miles (11.4 km) between exits 117 (Anmoore) and 125 (north of Bridgeport). On the same day, the eastern end of Corridor D and the western end of Corridor E, both connecting to I-79 (at exits 119 and 148), were opened. This completed I-79 in West Virginia north of exit 46 (Servia); it was extended south to exit 25 (Amma) in late November and to US 119 north of Clendenin (exit 19) on November 13, 1975. It was opened from exit 19 to exit 9 (Elkview) on November 18, 1977, and finally completed to I-77 in 1979.

On July 25, 1975, I-79 was opened between exits 1 and 14 in Pennsylvania. The last piece of I-79 between West Virginia and Erie—the Neville Island Bridge over the Ohio River—opened on September 3, 1976. In 1984, the route was extended about one mile (1.6 km) further to the north, with the opening of a new segment between US 20 and PA 5 in Erie.

In late 2008, the missing ramps of the I-79/I-376 interchange (PA 60 was designated as the route for southbound traffic seeking to go to Pittsburgh International Airport and for airport traffic seeking to go northbound on I-79) were completed.

In June 2009, I-376 was extended west and north of Downtown Pittsburgh, and I-279 was truncated back to the section only running from Downtown Pittsburgh north to I-79.

State	County	Location	mi	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
West Virginia	Kanawha	Charleston	0.000	0.000		—	I-77 to I-64 – Parkersburg, Charleston	Southern terminus; I-77 exit 104
			1.845	2.969		1	US 119 – Mink Shoals	Access to Coonskin Park
			5.047	8.122		5	US 119 (WV 114) – Big Chimney	Northern terminus of WV 114
		Pinch	9.469	15.239		9	CR 43 (Frame Road) – Elkview
		Clendenin	19.091	30.724		19	US 119 (CR 53) – Clendenin
	Roane	Amma	25.281	40.686		25	CR 29 – Amma
		​	33.741	54.301		34	WV 36 – Wallback, Clay
	Clay	​	39.899	64.211		40	WV 16 – Big Otter
	Braxton	​	46.099	74.189		46	CR 11 (Servia Road)
		Frametown	51.569	82.992		51	WV 4 – Frametown
		​	57.607	92.709		57	US 19 south – Beckley, Summersville	Southern end of US 19 concurrency; access to New River Gorge
		Sutton	61.465	98.918		62	WV 4 – Sutton, Gassaway
		Flatwoods	66.965	107.770		67	US 19 north (WV 4) / WV 15 – Flatwoods	Northern end of US 19 concurrency; access to Sutton Lake
		Burnsville	78.909	126.992		79	WV 5 – Burnsville, Glenville	Access to Glenville State College and Burnsville Dam
	Gilmer	No major junctions
	Lewis	​	90.988	146.431		91	US 19 – Stonewall Resort, Roanoke	Access to Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park
		Weston	95.928	154.381		96	CR 30 – South Weston	Access to Stonewall Jackson Lake and Jackson's Mill
			98.608	158.694		99	US 33 / US 48 / US 119 – Weston, Buckhannon	Access to West Virginia Wesleyan College and Davis and Elkins College
		Jane Lew	105.038	169.042		105	CR 7 – Jane Lew	Access to Jackson's Mill
	Harrison	Lost Creek	109.688– 110.595	176.526– 177.985		110	WV 270 – Lost Creek	Eastern terminus of WV 270
		Stonewood	115.75	186.28		115	WV 20 – Stonewood, Nutter Fort	Access to Alderson Broaddus University
		Clarksburg	118.13	190.11		117	WV 58 – Anmoore
			119.63	192.53		119	US 50 (Corridor D) – Clarksburg, Bridgeport	Access to Salem International University
		Bridgeport	121.7	195.9		121	CR 24 (Meadowbrook Road)
			124.34	200.11		124	WV 279 to US 50 east	Access to North Central West Virginia Airport, Tygart Lake State Park, and United Hospital Center
		​	125.36	201.75		125	WV 131 (Saltwell Road) – Shinnston
	Marion	Whitehall	132.086	212.572		132	US 250 – Fairmont, Whitehall
		Fairmont	133.356	214.616		133	CR 641 (Kingmont Road)
			134.926	217.142		135	CR 64 (Pleasant Valley Road)
			136.006	218.880		136	WV 273 – Downtown Fairmont	Southern terminus of WV 273; exit fully opened on December 22, 2010.
			136.660	219.933		137	WV 310 (East Park Avenue)	Access to Valley Falls State Park
			138.79	223.36		139	CR 33 (Pricketts Creek Road) – East Fairmont	Access to Prickett's Fort State Park
	Monongalia	​	145.62	234.35		146	CR 77 (Goshen Road)
		Morgantown	148.766	239.416		148	I-68 east – Cumberland	Western terminus of I-68; access to Mountaineer Field and Tygart Lake State Park
		​	152.502	245.428		152	US 19 – Westover, Morgantown	Access to Granville
		​	153.4	246.9		153	CR 467 (University Town Centre Drive)
		​	154.836	249.184		155	WV 7 – West Virginia University	Access to Star City, Osage, and Mountaineer Field
Mason–Dixon Line			160.52 0.0	258.33 0.0	West Virginia–Pennsylvania state line
Pennsylvania	Greene	Perry Township	0.8	1.3	1	1	To US 19 – Mount Morris
		Whiteley Township	6.8	10.9	2	7	Kirby, Garards Fort
		Franklin Township	14.0	22.5	3	14	PA 21 – Masontown, Waynesburg	Access to Waynesburg University
		Washington Township	19.4	31.2	4	19	US 19 / PA 221 – Ruff Creek, Jefferson
	Washington	West Bethlehem Township	23.4	37.7	5	23	Marianna, Prosperity
		Amwell Township	30.6	49.2	6	30	US 19 – Amity, Lone Pine
			32.9	52.9	7	33	US 40 – Laboratory
		South Strabane Township	34.4	55.4	—	34 (NB) 21 (SB)	I-70 east – New Stanton	Southern end of I-70 concurrency
			35.4	57.0	8	20	PA 136 (Beau Street)	Access to Washington & Jefferson College
			36.4	58.6	7	19	US 19 (Murtland Avenue)	Diverging diamond interchange
			37.9	61.0	—	18 (NB) 38 (SB)	I-70 west – Wheeling	Northern end of I-70 concurrency
			40.3	64.9	8A	40	Meadow Lands	Was Northbound exit and Southbound entrance until 2013
			41.1	66.1	8	41	Race Track Road	Access to Hollywood Casino at The Meadows
		North Strabane Township	43.4	69.8	9	43	PA 519 – Eighty Four, Houston
			45.5	73.2	10	45	To PA 980 – Canonsburg
		Cecil Township	48.2	77.6	10A	48	Southpointe, Hendersonville	Access to Pennsylvania Western University, California's Southpointe Campus and to the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies
			50.2	80.8	—	49	PA Turnpike 576 west / Morganza Road – Pittsburgh International Airport	Eastern terminus of PA 576; E-ZPass or toll-by-plate; Morganza Road signed southbound
	Allegheny	Bridgeville	54.6	87.9	11	54	PA 50 – Bridgeville
		South Fayette Township	55.2	88.8	12	55	PA 50 – Heidelberg, Collier Township	Formerly designated as "Heidelberg / Kirwan Heights"
		Scott Township	57.4	92.4	13	57	Carnegie
		Pennsbury Village	59.3	95.4	14	59	I-376 (US 22 / US 30) – Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh International Airport	I-376 exit 59; signed as exits 59A (east) and 59B (west)
		Robinson Township	60.4	97.2	16	60	PA 60 – Crafton, Moon Run	Signed as exits 60A (south) and 60B (north) southbound
		Coraopolis	64.1	103.2	17	64	PA 51 – Coraopolis, McKees Rocks	No southbound exit
		Ohio River			Neville Island Bridge
		Neville Township	64.8	104.3	18	65	Yellow Belt to PA 51 – Neville Island	Southern terminus of Yellow Belt concurrency
		Ohio River			Neville Island Bridge
		Glenfield	66.5	107.0	19	66	PA 65 – Emsworth, Sewickley
		Ohio Township	68.0	109.4	20	68	Yellow Belt (Mount Nebo Road)	Northern terminus of Yellow Belt concurrency
		Franklin Park	72.1	116.0	21	72	I-279 south – Pittsburgh	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; northern terminus of I-279
			73.3	118.0	22	73	PA 910 east / Orange Belt – Wexford	Western terminus of PA 910
		Marshall Township	75.7	121.8	23	75	Red Belt to US 19 south – Warrendale	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			75.9	122.1	25	76	US 19 north – Cranberry	Northbound left exit and southbound entrance
	Butler	Cranberry Township	77.2	124.2	—	77	I-76 / Penna Turnpike – Harrisburg, Youngstown OH	I-76 / Penna Turnpike exit 28 (Cranberry)
			78.7	126.7	25	78	PA 228 – Seven Fields, Mars, Cranberry
		Jackson Township	83.1	133.7	26	83	PA 528 – Evans City	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			85.5	137.6	26	85	To PA 528 (US 19)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			87.3	140.5	27	87	PA 68 – Zelienople	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			88.7	142.7	27	88	To US 19 / PA 68 – Zelienople	Signed as Little Creek Road northbound; promoted as access to Seneca Valley School District
		Muddy Creek Township	95.8	154.2	28	96	PA 488 – Portersville, Prospect
		Muddy Creek Township	99.6	160.3	29	99	US 422 – New Castle, Butler	Access to Moraine State Park and McConnells Mill State Park
		Worth Township	105.4	169.6	30	105	PA 108 – Slippery Rock	Access to Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania; interchange partially located in Lawrence County
	Lawrence	No major junctions
	Mercer	Springfield Township	113.7	183.0	31	113	PA 208 / PA 258 – Grove City	Access to Grove City College and Westminster College
		Findley Township	116.5	187.5	—	116	I-80 – Clarion, Sharon	Signed as exits 116A (east) and 116B (west); I-80 exit 19
		Jackson Township	121.1	194.9	33	121	US 62 – Mercer, Franklin
		New Vernon Township	130.6	210.2	34	130	PA 358 – Greenville, Sandy Lake	Access to Thiel College
	Crawford	Greenwood Township	141.5	227.7	35	141	PA 285 – Geneva, Cochranton
		Vernon Township	147.4	237.2	36	147	US 6 / US 19 / US 322 – Meadville, Conneaut Lake	Signed as exits 147A (north/east) and 147B (south/west); access to Conneaut Lake Park and Allegheny College, to PA 102
		Hayfield Township	153.9	247.7	37	154	PA 198 – Conneautville, Saegertown
	Erie	Washington Township	166.5	268.0	38	166	US 6N – Albion, Edinboro	Access to Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro
		McKean Township	174.7	281.2	39	174	McKean
			178.6	287.4	—	178	I-90 – Buffalo, Cleveland	Signed as exits 178A (east) and 178B (west); I-90 exits 22; former southern terminus of I-179
		Millcreek Township	180.5	290.5	41	180	To US 19 – Kearsarge	Access to Millcreek Mall and PA 99
		Erie	182.7	294.0	43	182	US 20 (26th Street)	Access to Erie International Airport
			183.6	295.5	44	183	PA 5 / PA 290 east (12th Street)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 183A (east) and 183B (west); access to Presque Isle State Park, Waldameer Park, and Gannon University; western terminus of PA 290
			183.8	295.8	—	—	Bayfront Parkway / Lincoln Avenue	Northern terminus; at-grade intersection; former northern terminus of I-179
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access

• I-279 heads southeast from I-79 in Pittsburgh's northern suburbs to I-376 in Downtown Pittsburgh.
• I-579 heads south from I-279 in Pittsburgh's North Side to the Liberty Bridge and the Boulevard of the Allies just east of Downtown Pittsburgh.

• U.S. Roads portal
• Pennsylvania portal

• Interstate Guide – I-79
• I-79 in West Virginia at AARoads.com
• I-79 in Pennsylvania at AARoads.com
• Pennsylvania Highways: I-79
• West Virginia Roads - I-79
• Pennsylvania Roads - I-79
• 1971 Pittsburgh Press article detailing I-79 progress
• Geographic data related to Interstate 79 at OpenStreetMap