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[thenetwork]

The Ohio Turnpike revealed many of their 2016 construction spots, including replacing some of the original 60+ year-old concrete below the asphalt surfaces.


Story:  http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/12/ohio_turnpike_plans_143_millio.html#incart_river_home_pop

[ysuindy]

Traveled the Ohio Turnpike and Indiana Toll Road from Youngstown to South Bend on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

I never appreciated the three lane portion of the Ohio Turnpike more than I did that day.  A relatively stress free run from Youngstown to Toledo, although the people who just park themselves in the middle lane was frustrating. 

The only real issue was when we stopped at the Indian Meadows Service Plaza at MP 20 around 2:30.   Cars were lined up about 10 deep to get gas and there were very few parking spaces available.  We simply drove out of the car parking area to the truck entrance and left without stopping.  We got off at the free Exit 2 to eat and use the restroom.

With Indiana having closed the Fremont travel plaza permanently and closing the Howe travel plaza for renovation and Ohio having closed the Oak Opening plaza at MP 49 a few years back, Indian Meadow is the only service plaza open now between Blue Heron in Ohio and Elkhart in Indiana.   It is 56 miles from Blue Heron to Indian Meadow and 87 miles from Indian Meadow to Elkhart. 

Given the total lack of services at the exits in Ohio west of Toledo, i should have followed my instincts and exited at Ohio 108 and drove the few miles in to Wauseon to eat.

[theline]

^^ We've traveled from South Bend to Cleveland several times in recent months and noticed the lack of service plazas. Travelers really have to plan their stops carefully. We have resorted to leaving the road a time or two in desperation.

[Rothman]

Don't think of it as an inconvenience.  It is supporting local businesses...

...which is why you don't see many full plazas going up anymore.

[dvferyance]

Don't think of it as an inconvenience.  It is supporting local businesses...

...which is why you don't see many full plazas going up anymore.

The Turnpike west of Toledo is very remote. I don't see many if any services near the turnpike at the exits. So I agree these plazas are needed. Ohio needs to rebuild the ones at MM49 in the near future.

[jeffandnicole]

^^ We've traveled from South Bend to Cleveland several times in recent months and noticed the lack of service plazas. Travelers really have to plan their stops carefully. We have resorted to leaving the road a time or two in desperation.

It's about a 260 mile, 4 hour trip, which can be accomplished without a single stop!  And if you've traveled the road several times recently, by now you should be getting to know where the service plazas are.  Stopping at one when you know it's going to be a while before you see another one isn't a bad idea.

[02 Park Ave]

The Indiana Toll Road is in the process of rebuilding their travel plazas.  Upon the completion of the project, all fuel services at them will be provided by SUNOCO.  As SUNOCO is the only fuel provider on the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio Turnpikes, this means that anyone motoring, via the turnpikes, from New York to Chicago would be fueled exclusively with SUNOCO products.

[theline]

^^ We've traveled from South Bend to Cleveland several times in recent months and noticed the lack of service plazas. Travelers really have to plan their stops carefully. We have resorted to leaving the road a time or two in desperation.

It's about a 260 mile, 4 hour trip, which can be accomplished without a single stop!  And if you've traveled the road several times recently, by now you should be getting to know where the service plazas are.  Stopping at one when you know it's going to be a while before you see another one isn't a bad idea.

You have never taken a trip with Mrs. theline, or you wouldn't be claiming that the entire trip can be made without stopping.  Like I said, advance planning is essential. As dvferyance correctly pointed out, the Turnpike west of Toledo is very remote and services can be very hard to find.

[amroad17]

The best thing to do would be to stop at Angola, IN (Exit 144) if you are heading east or at Stony Creek, OH (Exit 71) if you are heading west.  Therefore, the desolate section between Maumee and Angola doesn't come into play.

I also applaud the Ohio Turnpike for installing mileage signs over the last decade.

[02 Park Ave]

When motoring westbound, I stay overnight in Maumee (MM 59).  In the morning I continue to Chicagoland non-stop.  Eastbound, I drive non-stop to the Wyandot service area (MM 76).  Each stint is about four hours.

[westerninterloper]

Those Indiana rest stops can't be reconstructed fast enough. They are/were disgusting and an embarrassing reflection on the state. Ohio's rest stops are the best I've ever seen in the US -- always clean, bright, and a good variety of services.

[cl94]

Those Indiana rest stops can't be reconstructed fast enough. They are/were disgusting and an embarrassing reflection on the state. Ohio's rest stops are the best I've ever seen in the US -- always clean, bright, and a good variety of services.

Ohio's are pretty good. You want a really nice one? The new ones on I-93 in New Hampshire. Those are worth a special trip.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Guess what the Ohio Turnpike will be getting in a couple of years??

Open-Road Tolling (ORT) Lanes at both the Eastgate and Westgate Toll Plazas!! 

Also in the plans will be TWO new mainline toll plazas, one in Lucas and one in Trumbull counties (TP 49 and TP 211)...

Interestingly enough, they will take the toll plazas out at Exits 13, 23, 34, and 39 in Lucas County and Exits 215, 216, 218, 232, and 234 in Trumbull County, thus having a "free section" before and/or after the statelines...

EDIT: Did not realized that the Eastgate Toll Plaza is going to be tolled to Westbound drivers only...

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2019/03/ohio-turnpike-will-remove-gates-for-e-zpass-riders.html
http://www.cleveland19.com/2019/03/20/ohio-turnpike-removing-toll-gates-plan-modernize/
https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/ohio-turnpike-will-be-losing-toll-booths/95-c7397bfb-f8fd-4422-9819-3c23720178d9

https://www.ohioturnpike.org/docs/default-source/Procurement/otic-construction-forecast-2018---oca-(akron).pdf?sfvrsn=2
Go to 28-29 and 34-35 to see maps and plans on what they are going to do...

[seicer]

Interesting.

But it looks like with the new mainline barriers, there will still be a ticket-based system unless you are using the high-speed EZ-Pass lanes. What's the point of the ticket if license plate readers are being installed?

[jeffandnicole]

Interesting.

But it looks like with the new mainline barriers, there will still be a ticket-based system unless you are using the high-speed EZ-Pass lanes. What's the point of the ticket if license plate readers are being installed?

Tag readers are to go after those that don't pay.  The Ohio Tpk doesn't want to go all-electronic just yet.  Also, many of the travelers on the Tpk are from out-of-state, so EZ Pass usage on the Turnpike may not justify going all-AET, which means the average motorist won't be paying their toll upwards of 30-60 days after going thru the toll plaza (if they pay at all).  A sudden delay of receiving payment of tolls of 1 - 2 months is a *huge* loss of revenue in a year for a toll agency - Heck, for any business, for that matter.

[Joe The Dragon]

indiana will really need High speed lanes after this. or at least GATE FREE etc only lanes.

[JREwing78]

indiana will really need High speed lanes after this. or at least GATE FREE etc only lanes.

The WBD backups in Portage can be pretty awful; high-speed EZ-Pass lanes would be a big improvement!

[Joe The Dragon]

indiana will really need High speed lanes after this. or at least GATE FREE etc only lanes.

The WBD backups in Portage can be pretty awful; high-speed EZ-Pass lanes would be a big improvement!

even low speed (5 - 15 MPH) gate free can help. I once all most took one out one day think it's like the ramp tolls in IL in the I-pass only lanes.

[Buck87]

So one of the new mainline toll barriers is going to be west of Exit 52

I wonder, is it going to be built on the former location of the MM 49 service plazas?

[Verlanka]

So one of the new mainline toll barriers is going to be west of Exit 52

I wonder, is it going to be built on the former location of the MM 49 service plazas?

Probably.

[Buck87]

Who maintains the approach signage on surface routes at Turnpike exits, ODOT or OTC?

Just wondering since the ones at the OH 4 exit now have new taller and wider posts installed directly behind them and will soon be replaced. I'm referring to the green "80/90 Ohio Turnpike 1/4 mile" signs as well as the green "Ohio Turnpike <--" signs at the intersection. At least one of the signs being replaced is button copy.

[thenetwork]

Who maintains the approach signage on surface routes at Turnpike exits, ODOT or OTC?

Just wondering since the ones at the OH 4 exit now have new taller and wider posts installed directly behind them and will soon be replaced. I'm referring to the green "80/90 Ohio Turnpike 1/4 mile" signs as well as the green "Ohio Turnpike <--" signs at the intersection. At least one of the signs being replaced is button copy.

I believe it is ODOT's Responsibility to create and maintain any BGS approach signs to the Pike.  Any ground mounted OHIO TURNPIKE gore signs are from the OTC.

The OTC also created and maintained the original white-on-green Turnpike trailblazers.  Not sure who does the current Ohio Turnpike trailblazer signs, though.

[Buck87]

The plain "Ohio Turnpike" entrance signs at OH 4 have been replaced with larger ones that actually have 80 & 90 shields on them.

VS988

[drrosenrosen]

Interestingly enough, they will take the toll plazas out at Exits 13, 23, 34, and 39 in Lucas County and Exits 215, 216, 218, 232, and 234 in Trumbull County, thus having a "free section" before and/or after the statelines...

https://www.ohioturnpike.org/docs/default-source/Procurement/otic-construction-forecast-2018---oca-(akron).pdf?sfvrsn=2
Go to 28-29 and 34-35 to see maps and plans on what they are going to do...

Not to quibble, but there still will be tolls collected at the current locations of Westgate and Eastgate (yes, westbound only at Eastgate), so the road won't be "free" between MM 0-49, 211-241.

Has anyone been able to figure out what the significance is of the one vertical and one diagonal dashed lines at MM 32.2 and MM 220.8 on the map on page 28 of that PDF on the OTC website??  Are these also electronic toll collection points?  Guessing not, based on how the slide reads ("Provides non-tolled trips for local travelers within TP 13 thru 39 and within TP 216 thru 232").  There's no discussion of what these lines designate.

[sbeaver44]

Interestingly enough, they will take the toll plazas out at Exits 13, 23, 34, and 39 in Lucas County and Exits 215, 216, 218, 232, and 234 in Trumbull County, thus having a "free section" before and/or after the statelines...

https://www.ohioturnpike.org/docs/default-source/Procurement/otic-construction-forecast-2018---oca-(akron).pdf?sfvrsn=2
Go to 28-29 and 34-35 to see maps and plans on what they are going to do...

Not to quibble, but there still will be tolls collected at the current locations of Westgate and Eastgate (yes, westbound only at Eastgate), so the road won't be "free" between MM 0-49, 211-241.

Has anyone been able to figure out what the significance is of the one vertical and one diagonal dashed lines at MM 32.2 and MM 220.8 on the map on page 28 of that PDF on the OTC website??  Are these also electronic toll collection points?  Guessing not, based on how the slide reads ("Provides non-tolled trips for local travelers within TP 13 thru 39 and within TP 216 thru 232").  There's no discussion of what these lines designate.

Yes, these two points are the theoretical points at which each toll will be based

Eg the Westgate toll will be approximately whatever the toll rate per mile x 32.2 is.

The next toll booth will be approximately whatever the toll rate per mile is x (52-32.2) assuming the traditional "ticket" system starts at Exit 52.

https://www.archboldbuckeye.com/articles/turnpike-travel-between-bryan-and-delta-to-be-free-in-future/