Ohio Turnpike
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| Route information | |||||
| Length | 241.26 mi (388.27 km) | ||||
| Existed | October 1955–present | ||||
| Major junctions | |||||
 near Toledo. near Toledo. near Toledo. near Sandusky. near Lorain. near North Ridgeville.  near Cleveland.  near Akron. near Streetsboro.  near Youngstown near Youngstown. | |||||
The Ohio Turnpike (officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike) is a publicly-built toll east-west expressway across northern Ohio. It is a part of the New York-Chicago Toll Road system.
From the east, it enters Ohio at the Pennsylvania state line near Petersburg, Ohio, feeding to and from the Pennsylvania Turnpike. From the west, it enters Ohio 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.
The terrain between the Indiana state line and Cleveland is low, flat, and with few curves, with little scenic attraction. Around the Norwalk/Sandusky interchange, the crests of the western Allegheny plateau and hill region can be seen in the distance while driving eastbound. East of Cleveland it enters more hilly terrain that becomes characteristic of western Pennsylvania.
Route numbers
The entire Ohio Turnpike is part of the U.S. Interstate Highway System. The turnpike is signed with the following route numbers:
- Interstate 76. Interstate 76 joins the turnpike at the Niles/Youngstown exit, number 218, and continues to the turnpike's eastern terminus at the Pennsylvania state line.
- Interstate 80. Interstate 80 joins the turnpike at the turnpike's western terminus at the Indiana state line, and continues east to the Niles/Youngstown exit, number 218.
- Interstate 90. Interstate 90 joins the turnpike at the turnpike's western terminus at the Indiana state line, and continues east to the Lorain County West exit, number 142.
History
The Ohio 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 number 218) 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 lines 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.)
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 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. 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 Plazas
Like many other toll roads, the Ohio Turnpike has had service plazas since its inception. Although typical freeway rest areas offer restrooms and picnic areas; service plazas differ from typical freeway rest areas, in that they also offer other amenities, such as 24-hour food and fuel service.
Beginning in 1998, The Ohio Turnpike Commission began modernizing its service plazas by demolishing the original plazas, then reconstructing them from the ground-up. Besides indoor bathroom facilities, the new service plazas offer 2 or 3 different well known fast food choices (which vary between the plazas), and most offer a family-style sit-down restaurant. They also include ATM's, gift shops, travel information counters, Wi-Fi internet access, and facilities for truck drivers including shower facilities, lounge, and laundry areas. A fueling station is provided at each plaza. Facilities for overnight RV campers are provided at the service plazas located at mile-markers 76, 139, and 197.[1]
Service plazas are located in pairs (one for each side of the turnpike) near the following mile-markers: 49, 76, 100, 139, 170, 197, and 237. Presently, the service plazas located at mile-markers 49, and 237 haven't been modernized, and thus utilize the original buildings that opened with the turnpike in the 1950's.
The service plazas located west of Toledo (Mile-markers 20, and 49) are the least utilized along the turnpike. At some time in the future, the Ohio Turnpike Commision envisions the eventual demolition of the service plazas that are presently located at mile-marker 49, and building new service plazas between mile-markers 20 and 49.[2][3] Due to the lack of a munincipal water/sewer system, the service plazas located near mile-marker 20 were permanately demolished in early 2006. [4] [5]
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 Interstate 80, which switch highways, serving Akron to the west and Youngstown to the east, and Interstate 680, leading to and from Youngstown.
In 1998, the Ohio Turnpike Commission began phasing in the marking of exits by mile-marker. The old exit numbering system was phased out within four years.
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 Ohio 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 September 2004, the speed limit for heavy trucks was raised 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 State Route 2 and US 20. Truck traffic clogged the downtown shopping areas of such US 20 towns as Bellevue, Clyde, and Fremont, 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.[6] 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, had a plan to privatize the turnpike, similar to plans enacted in Illinois and Indiana.[7][8][9][10]
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
External links
