Ohio Turnpike

The westbound Ohio Turnpike

The Ohio Turnpike (officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike) is a publicly-built toll east-west expressway across northern Ohio. It enters Ohio at the Pennsylvania state line near Petersburg, Ohio, feeding to and from the Pennsylvania Turnpike and at the Indiana state line, feeding to and from the Indiana Toll Road near Columbia, Ohio. To the west it leads toward South Bend, Indiana and Chicago, Illinois; to the east it leads toward Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and points in the middle-Atlantic states. It passes such large cities as Toledo, Cleveland, Akron, and Youngstown.

History and routing

Ohio Turnpike road marker

The Turnpike was built during the 1950s by the Ohio Turnpike Commission which continues to own and operate it. The portion east of the State Route 18 exit (near the present-day Interstate 76/Interstate 80 exit) was opened December 1, 1954, and the remaining portion to the west was opened October 1, 1955. Tolls, collected at interchanges and near the state line by ticket upon leaving the Turnpike, financed the cost of original construction and debt service and now maintenance and renovation projects. (The western toll barrier, "Westgate", was rebuilt east of the original state-line barrier location in the mid-1990's.) All of it is incorporated into the Interstate Highway System as Interstate 80 and Interstate 90 west of Greater Cleveland, Interstate 80 south of Cleveland and north of Akron, and Interstate 76 between the junction of Interstates 76 and 80 west of Youngstown and the Pennsylvania state line. It was built as a long-distance route, and nowhere as an urban highway; it in fact skirts the large cities along its path, probably as cost-containment. It should be noted that the Ohio Turnpike actually enters within the city limits of a number of cities along its route--notably, Toledo, Elyria, and several cities in the Southern portion of Cuyahoga County. However, unlike other Interstates in Ohio and most other states, the Ohio Turnpike does not include any city limit signs. However, it does note county boundaries, although in a different format than is used elsewhere in Ohio by signing such boundaries as "(Name of County) CO LINE".

Service areas

Typical modernized service area

Like many other toll roads, the Ohio Turnpike has had service areas since its inception. Although typical freeway rest areas offer restrooms and picnic area, service areas differ from typical freeway rest areas, in that they also offer food and fuel. Since exit and entry points are relatively few, and exiting/re-entering is time consuming compared to a freeway, these areas have a captive audience.

Beginning in 1998, The Turnpike Commission began modernizing its service plazas by demolishing the original plazas, then reconstructing them from the ground-up. The new service areas offer 2 or 3 different well known fast food chains (which vary between the plazas), and most offer a sit-down family-style restaurant. They also include gift shops, information counters, and indoor bathroom facilities. A fueling station is provided at each plaza.

Service areas are located in pairs (one for each side of the turnpike) near the following mile markers: 49, 76, 100, 139, 170, 197, and 237. The pairs of service plazas located at mile posts 49, and 237 haven't been modernized, and thus utilize the original buildings that opened with the turnpike in the 1950's.

The two pairs of service areas located west of Toledo (Mile-marker 20, and 49) are the least utilized along the road. The Ohio Turnpike Comission envisions consolidating those plazas with one pair of plazas located about midway between mile-post 20 and 49.

The pair of service plazas at mile-marker 20 was demolished in early 2006, and won't be rebuilt at that location due to the lack of munincipal water/sewer system. [1] [2]

At some time in the future, the turnpike commision envisions demolishing the pair of plazas located at mile-marker 49, and building a new plaza between mile-markers 20 and 49.[3][4]

Access points

The Turnpike had relatively few access points (17) when built, but in recent years more have been added. Some of those access points, new and old, include Interstate 75 and Interstate 280 near Toledo and serving also southeastern Michigan; Interstate 90, Interstate 71, and Interstate 480, serving Cleveland; Interstate 77 and State Route 8, serving Cleveland, Akron, and Canton; Interstate 76 and 80, which switch highways, serving Akron to the west and Youngstown to the east, and Interstate 680, leading to and from Youngstown.

Standard Ohio Turnpike ticket, in this case for a Class 1 vehicle (two-axle car without trailer) entering at Exit 218

In 1998, the turnpike commission began phasing in the marking of exits by milepost. The old exit numbering system was phased out within four years.

The segment between the Indiana state line and Cleveland is part of (with the Indiana Toll Road) what John Steinbeck called "US 80/90" (by mistake). It's low, flat, and with few curves, with little scenic attraction. East of Cleveland it enters more hilly terrain that becomes characteristic of western Pennsylvania.

The 'toll booth' scene in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which supposedly occurred at the western end of the toll road, is not a genuine portrayal of the toll road. In fact, neither the Ohio Turnpike nor the Indiana Toll Road approach Muncie, Indiana, the setting of this and other Indiana scenes of the movie.

Law enforcement

Assistance to stranded, broken down, or otherwise disabled motorists is provided by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, District 10. The patrol has been contracted by the Turnpike Commission since the highway was opened to traffic to provide these services, issue traffic tickets, and investigate other crimes committed on the turnpike. They are the only law enforcement agency authorized to operate on the turnpike. The troopers can be listened to on 155.685 mHz, on any radio capable of receiving this frequency. Also, you may contact troopers on Citizen's Band ch. 9, the emergency channel; they are required to monitor this channel, and take it very seriously.

Truck speed limit

In December 2004, the Turnpike raised the speed limit for heavy trucks to 65 mph (105 km/h), creating a uniform speed limit for all traffic. For years, trucks had avoided the Turnpike due to large toll increases in the 1990s, and because they could travel for free at the same speed on parallel highways such as SR 2 and US 20. Truck traffic clogged the downtown shopping areas of such US 20 towns as Clyde, Fremont, and Norwalk, essentially driving away customers who didn't want to deal with the truck traffic; shopkeepers begged the state for relief for years.

Eventually, with some prodding by Governor Bob Taft, the Ohio Turnpike Commission lowered truck tolls and implemented the uniform 65 mph speed limit on September 8, 2004.[5] Truck traffic levels have been estimated to be 20% higher on the Turnpike since these changes were made. This speed limit is unique in Ohio, as a 55-mph statutory speed limit applies to trucks on every other highway in the state.

Proposed leasing

Ken Blackwell, a candidate in the 2006 Ohio governor's race, has a plan to privatize the Turnpike, similar to plans enacted in Illinois and Indiana.[6][7][8][9]

Ken Blackwell was defeated in his bid for Governor of Ohio in November 2006, so any privatization of the Ohio Turnpike will necessarily be re-started, if at all, under some later administration.

See also

• List of toll roads

External links

• Ohio Turnpike Commission