End of US highway 35

View a map showing this route.

Photo credits: Tony Allevato; Shawn De Cesari; H.B. Elkins; Don Hargraves; mobilene; Dan Moraseski; Jeff Morrison; me

Approx. time period North terminus South terminus
1934-1970 Michigan City, IN Charleston, WV
1970-2008 Michigan City, IN (near St. Albans, WV)
2008-present Michigan City, IN Scott Depot, WV

For the majority of the time since it was commissioned in 1934, I believe the north end of US 35 has been at US 12:

me, May 2005

That was looking north on Michigan Boulevard. To the right is a newer bridge - before that was built, eastbound US 12 used to go straight ahead (but US 35 still ended at this same intersection). This next shot, obviously, was looking west on US 12 (are these shields huge or what?):

Hargraves, 2002

Westbound US 12 used to come in from the right, and then continue straight ahead, but even then US 35 began to the left on Michigan Blvd. Note the "Begin" sign: very unusual, especially used in that situation. Same thing from the opposite direction (eastbound US 12), below:

Hargraves, 2002

The signage at far right is shown close-up below:

Hargraves, 2002

Normally you'd expect to see a "South" banner instead of "Begin" there; on rare occasions some states add a "Begin" banner above the "South" one shown in the photo below:

me, May 2005

That was the first signage at the north beginning of US 35.

Marc Fannin seems to recall, sometime during the 1980s, that US 35 ended about four miles ahead, just past I-94's interchange 40, at the junction with US 20. Backing that up is the 1989 AASHTO route log, which lists US 20 as the beginning of US 35. However, the USGS quad map (printed in 1980) shows US 35 ending at US 12. So I'm guessing the US 20 endpoint was a temporary situation. However, in October 2008, INDoT obtained AASHTO approval to truncate the US 35 designation back to that same junction. The photo below is looking west on US 20:

mobilene, Aug. 2008

I-94 is just ahead; at the time of that photo, US 35 still continued through that interchange and ended at US 12. But now the north beginning of US 35 is to the left.

Historically, US 35 followed today's OH hwy. 588 straight into Gallipolis; then north along the Ohio River to Kanauga, where it crossed (via a bridge that no longer exists) into Point Pleasant WV. Thus US 35 came into West Virginia on the north/east bank of the Kanawha River, and it stayed on that side (via what is now WV 62) all the way into Charleston. The route terminated where it met US 21 (or else US 60) - see the upper left of this 1949 USGS map:

Below are photos of that location:

De Cesari/Moraseski

Dan writes, "That's on what used to be US 35 southbound, right at its historic endpoint. US 21 north was to the left, and US 21 south was to the right. US 21 junctioned with US 60 a block to the right. It's possible that US 35 multiplexed with US 21 for the block to US 60. If so, then it ended at the intersection in the far distance of the photo below (after going uphill)."

De Cesari/Moraseski

That's approaching that same intersection from the south: heading north on Patrick Street (east on US 60). "The road up the hill was US 60, with US 21 north (and maybe US 35 north) to the left and US 21 south/US 60 east to the right." Later on it's possible that US 35 began to the left (where WV 25 begins now). At any rate, during this timeframe the road along the south bank of the Kanawha (today's US 35) was designated WV 17.

Today US 35 is on a limited-access freeway in the Point Pleasant area, which crosses the Ohio River roughly between there and Gallipolis. When that bridge was opened in 1970, US 35 was changed such that it stays on the south/west bank of the "kuh-NAW" (as locals pronounce the river), and for that reason it's no longer signed all the way into Charleston. Initially it was truncated to its junction with US 60 in "Amandaville", which is not marked on most maps. This is an unincorporated community on the opposite side of the Coal River from St. Albans - about 10 miles shy of Charleston:

Morrison, Aug. 2005

The road on the north bank is now WV 62 - and US 21 no longer makes it as far north as Charleston. Below was the south beginning of US 35 as seen from eastbound US 60...

Morrison, Aug. 2005

...and if you turn that way, the first northbound marker looked like this:

Morrison, Aug. 2005

About three miles ahead is interchange 44. However, in October 2008 West Virginia sought and obtained approval from AASHTO to reroute the southernmost segment of US 35, so the highway has now been truncated even further out of Charleston, and it no longer passes through exit 44. US 35 now connects with I-64 at the new interchange 40, and it ends a fraction of a mile south of there, at its junction with Teays Valley Road. The shot below is a view from the new south end of US 35:

Elkins, Oct. 2008

I-64 is just behind the camera, and US 35 ends at the signal ahead. Below is a close-up of the assembly on the support for the overhead sign:

Elkins, Oct. 2008

Heading east on Teays Valley Rd, the south beginning of US 35 is signed thus:

Elkins, Oct. 2008

If you take that left turn, the first northbound marker looks like this:

Elkins, Oct. 2008

It's interesting to note that this new segment of US 35 was in use by locals for about a year before it "officially" opened, and signage had already been installed before AASHTO's approval to truncate the US 35 designation. Originally, signage reflected WVDoT's intent to co-sign US 35 with I-64 to exit 44, and then resume its old routing to Amandaville:

Allevato, Dec. 2007

That was looking south on the new segment of US 35 - you can see how traffic was initially directed to continue by using the flyover ramp to eastbound I-64. But now that US 35 has been truncated, it continues straight ahead through interchange 40, ending just beyond.