Whether East or West, though, road engineers try to hold Interstate grades to a maximum of 6-7% wherever possible. In the Rockies and Sierra Nevada,, of course, that can make for some long grades.

That's one of the differences between the Rockies and Appalachians. Many of the very old roads in the Appalachians were built before there were any construction-standards at all, and, as a result, you had roads that were both quite steep and winding....although for shorter distances, since the elevations were lower. I've seen grades in PA (where much of the nation's road-building actually started) as high as 14% for a couple of miles..a good example of that is the old alignment of Lincoln Highway/U.S. 30 (now PA Route 1006) coming down the west side of Tuscarora Mountain into McConnellsburg, PA.

Some stretches of the famous El Camino River Road) west out of Big Bend National Park, TX (TX Route 170), over the sharp jagged hills and mountains next to the Rio Grande, have grades as high as 15%, with signs that large trailers and RVs are not recommended. It is one of the most impressive drives in the state, though.

Josh, if you have ever been in or near Big Bend, you might be familiar with that road.

 

The guideline is no more than 7% on an interstate grade.

Its interesting to see how much better modern cars have gotten with grades like that. Our cars really used to struggle, even when they were new, today our cars just go right up with the cruise set to 80. They do downshift.

 

Yes, whenever possible. That's why Sandstone is a good example.

To give you an idea of what it was like before Interstates (or, for that matter, before modern engines and cooling systems), roads across the Appalachians would have service stations at the top of the ridges where cars could stop, cool the engines, and take on water (regular water was often used in the days before anti-freeze). One of the most well-known was the "Watering Trough" station on U.S. 40, about two-thirds of the way up the famous Summit Climb east out of Uniontown. It also served as a stop, part of the way down the hill westbound, where brakes could cool before continuing the descent.

 

Holy crap--I grew up in CT, and I never knew that those buns were a New England thing.....

 

Yep, thats what they are called!

 

As a native and current WV resident, I was surprised to find this thread. We don't get that much love. There are lots of steeper and more curvy roads in WV and other locales, as @mmarshall correctly noted. What makes this section of I-64 unique, in the east, anyway, is that it is an interstate standard highway with interstate speeds. That said, it does have more curves than, say, I-70 on the Denver side of the Eisenhower tunnel. The slope, speed and curves make it treacherous for truckers and unqualified people towing trailers. When the road first opened there were some spectacular and tragic accidents on it. It's better known, now, among the trucking community and the accident rate is a lot lower. I-64/77 north of Beckley to Charleston (aka the WV Turnpike, which will cost you non-residents $12 to traverse one way) is a much more dangerous interstate. It has a lot of hills and sharper curves. Even with a 60mph speed limit for the most difficult section, accidents are frequent and result in some colossal traffic tie-ups.

Lastly, I saw a photo of the Hinton Dairy Queen on a Lexus forum!!! My mother, who grew up in Hinton, would have gotten a great laugh out of that!

 

Very cool, where in WV are you? I remember the opening of the road and those accidents...

Pretty funny about the Hinton DQ haha. My grandparents took my dad when he was a kid, our dads took us, and my cousin and I always make a stop at least once a year.

Im originally from Fayetteville, so was my dad. My mom was born in Winona. Spent almost all my life in the DC area but I consider southern WV my home.

 

I live just outside of Charleston, and have a little mountain place in Canaan Valley, just south of the MD border. Fayetteville is a really cool place these days. I've hiked and run a lot of trails there. Unfortunately, a very popular local eatery, the Secret Sandwich Society, burned down last week.

 

Very cool. Yeah such a shame about Secret Sandwich Society, the town set up a GoFundMe page for them and raised like $50,000...they'll be back.

Its really cool to see how the town has changed and grown, makes me so happy to see it doing so well. My cousin just bought back our old family home that my Grandfather built and our dads grew up in and moved back down there.

 

One of my former colleagues was a part-time ski-instructor at Cannan Valley. He has since moved to that area. Beautiful place.

Also fairly close to Cannan Valley is Bickle **** (Elevation 4020'), which is arguably the first Appalachian peak south of the Catskills, in New York State, to reach 4000'. Stony Man (Elevation 4010'), on Skyline Drive in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park, can also claim that title, but it depends on how you measure it...by latitude in degrees, or actual line-distance.

 

Beautiful- just amazing. I have not been there, would love to see Alaska! its on my to do list.