mmarshall

Since this is the grade that Steve (SW17LS) often mentions in his trips to WV, and the one that he generally uses to judge whether or not a vehicle has enough power and pulling-ability for his and the family's needs (loaded up for the trip, of course), I thought I'd post a couple of YouTube videos (not my own) of what this hill is like. It is a roughly 7% grade for about 5 miles. Most of you probably know what a 7% slope is, but, for those who don't, it means that for every 100 feet of roadway you travel, it will rise or fall about 7 feet in elevation. Slopes can vary, of course, but this stretch is a more or less constant 7% all the way up or down.

It is located on West Virginia's Interstate-64, East of the City of Beckley, and carries the highway from the Allegheny Plateau to the west down the Eastward-facing steep embankment, to the gorge of the New River....a favorite stream of whitewater rafters/kayakers. That Eastward-facing embankment is known locally as Sandstone Mountain. It's just about as steep as what you are going to find anywhere on an Interstate Highway in the U.S., as the engineers, when they designed these roads, tried to hold maximum grades to around 6-7% to enhance safety, especially for large heavy trucks. There will be some longer Interstate grades out West, in the Rockies (some as long as 15-20 miles), but not many, if any, more steep than this one on a major Interstate.

Having said that, I've seen (and driven) longer and/or steeper (and/or more winding) grades, in the states of MD, VA, PA and WV...U.S. Routes 30, 33, 40, 50, 211, 250, and PA Route 31 come to mind up or down various Mountains and Ridges. I've spoken about the one on 40, East of Uniontown, PA a number of times...a classic 10% slope for some 3.5 miles....many decades ago (1920s-1930s), that hill was used by automakers to test the durability of new vehicle engines/transmissions/brakes/coolingsystems. Some hills in PA are up to a 14% slope, but not for long distances. But none of these were Interstate highways, and, of course, though often rebuilt and made safer over the years, were never built to anywhere near Interstate standards to start with, and, in some cases, were originally redone Native-American and Pioneer-trails and paths cut out over the mountains to facilitate travel westward.

Anyhow here are a couple of videos of the grade up and down Sandstone Mountain. Many more happy trips for you and your family, Steve.

The first video is in a loaded truck, using Jake-Brakes. The second is a more normal drive.






...and this one is westbound, up the grade.

SW17LS

Very cool, we'll be headed that way for Thanksgiving. I'm hoping the construction is done, its been 2 lanes up the grade and 1 lane down the grade for a year or so now, which makes getting stuck behind trucks a nightmare.

If you ever want to visit the worlds best Dairy Queen, its located in Hinton which you can reach off the exit at the base of the mountain grade. Its right on the New River and has panoramic views. Great hot dogs on New England style buns (a WV specialty)

LexBob2

Last year coming back from Charlotte we stopped at TamarackThe Best Of WV near Buckley. A great place to take a break and eat. My wife did some shopping and we left more than a few bucks at the shops.

mmarshall

Fixed for you.

Here's some shots of the place. Looks interesting.

SW17LS

Beckley

We call Tamarack the tourist wonderland lol. All kidding aside Tamarack is really cool. You're about 20 minutes from my hometown there.

LexBob2

Since we liked Buckley I'm sure we'd love Beckley lol.
The food was very good. As I understand, a lot of it like the trout is locally sourced. When we were there they had a display of this guys work. All handmade and all wood. Talented guy.

SW17LS

Yep, all locally sourced. The food is actually done by the chef at The Greenbrier. If you're ever looking for a cool place to go for a few days, The Greenbier in White Sulpher Springs is a neat place. Be sure to take the tour of the government bunkers there.

UZ214

thanks for posting this, been on that road couple of time, I remember thinking LX is struggling a little but not so much as the other smaller cars and even SUVs

SW17LS

When I was a kid that hill caused a spark plug to fire straight out of the block of our Ford Aerostar lol

ArmyofOne

Where I am from (Alaska), that isn't even a hill.

ArmyofOne

ArmyofOne

Start at 1:30. Its a 12% grade for 7 miles or something.

SW17LS

There are much steeper grades on non interstate roads around that area too

mmarshall

Alaska, though, is more or less in a world of its own...it is difficult to compare it to the lower 48, especially since it contains the highest mountain range in North America.

SW17LS

You have a lot of big hills like that out west too