Ohio

[GCrites]

Right, back then Glendale-Milford Road was OH-126 (instead of Cross County) and the idea was to run Cross County/Reagan all the way to US-50 so that the current 2-lane section of OH-126 would travel on the all-new 4-lane alignment and what is still non-Reagan 126 today would be downgraded to local control. But Indian Hill probably wouldn't want anything like that and possibly Milford as well.

[frankenroad]

Pet Peeve:

Ohio always botches signs. They can't seem to keep the US and Ohio route shields straight! Do other states also botch their signs as much as Ohio does?

Ohio is by far the worst at that.  The most egregious one was when the sign for I-71 SOUTH at Williams Ave (Smith/Edwards interchange) was labeled as OH-71.  It lasted a good 2-3 years before it was corrected.

[SkyPesos]

I sent an email to ODOT about 2 weeks ago asking why three numbering designations (OH 161/37/16) is needed for the (mostly freeway) I-270 to Coshocton corridor. This is how they responded:

If there is an intersection of two like routes (e.g. two state routes) and one of the routes end at that intersection, then the lowered number route is continued and the higher numbered route ends.  In this instance, where SR 161 and SR 37 intersect; SR 161 "ends"  since SR 37 is a higher priority route (i.e. the number is lower).

I didn't know about that rule. This may work better in states that reserves 2 digit routes for longer/more important routes (like Indiana, Florida, etc), but Ohio isn't one of them, and we have "major" state routes like OH 5 with countless 3 digit state routes that are longer than it. Also, my idea of putting OH 161 on a concurrency with OH 37 so it can end at OH 16 (therefore only needing two continuous numbering designations for the freeway corridor) isn't something new to the state either. See OH 32/125. If it went by the "lower numbered route have continuation at a terminus of one of the two routes" rule the state uses, that means OH 125 should be ending at the trumpet interchange where it intersects OH 32, and OH 32 should be the sole route continuing west to US 50.

[vtk]

Move SR 16 off of Broad St and onto the New Albany — Granville freeway, and then you'd have just one number for the freeway, and the lower-numbered route on the more major highway link to Columbus

[SkyPesos]

Move SR 16 off of Broad St and onto the New Albany — Granville freeway, and then you'd have just one number for the freeway, and the lower-numbered route on the more major highway link to Columbus

I suggested swapping 16 and 161 west of Granville so 16 is the single number designation on the freeway in fictional highways a couple of times, and in that email too. The person that responded to my email didn't respond to my swap idea, so I guess that renumbering state routes is more tedious nowadays compared to 50 years ago? Not sure if it's better for me to reply to the email with that and some other related questions, or just leave it there.

If "lower numbered route gets continuation at a terminus" is really that big of an issue, truncate this fictional 16 at OH 4, and have whatever is left of OH 161 west of there be OH 461 or OH 861.

[GCrites]

I doubt ODOT wants to hear about Fictional.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Franklin County & Pataskala (in Licking Co) are not going to give up any state mileage to sort out a numbering issue out near Granville.
Unless someone(s) want to payoff ODOT....

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

ODOT is getting ready to work on I-70 through Zanesville for most of the decade.
I'm not seeing anything about widening I-70 through there.
https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odot/projects/projects/93006

[Bitmapped]

ODOT is getting ready to work on I-70 through Zanesville for most of the decade.
I'm not seeing anything about widening I-70 through there.
https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odot/projects/projects/93006

There's not. It's basically just a rebuild of the existing bridges and pavement, which is unfortunate. I hope they at least extend some of the acceleration lanes to allow for smoother merges.

[SkyPesos]

ODOT is getting ready to work on I-70 through Zanesville for most of the decade.
I'm not seeing anything about widening I-70 through there.
https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odot/projects/projects/93006

There's not. It's basically just a rebuild of the existing bridges and pavement, which is unfortunate. I hope they at least extend some of the acceleration lanes to allow for smoother merges.

Honestly, I'm not surprised that it'll take 6 years to just rebuild overpasses and add new pavement, considering it took ODOT 3 years to finish just the I-71 overpass over Stewart Rd in Cincy.

[GCrites]

ODOT is getting ready to work on I-70 through Zanesville for most of the decade.
I'm not seeing anything about widening I-70 through there.
https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odot/projects/projects/93006

There's not. It's basically just a rebuild of the existing bridges and pavement, which is unfortunate. I hope they at least extend some of the acceleration lanes to allow for smoother merges.

If it's made it this long there probably won't be any of that. It's bad form to demo much in historic downtowns these days. Zanesville is like a mini-Cumberland MD.

[I-55]

ODOT is getting ready to work on I-70 through Zanesville for most of the decade.
I'm not seeing anything about widening I-70 through there.
https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odot/projects/projects/93006

There's not. It's basically just a rebuild of the existing bridges and pavement, which is unfortunate. I hope they at least extend some of the acceleration lanes to allow for smoother merges.

Honestly, I'm not surprised that it'll take 6 years to just rebuild overpasses and add new pavement, considering it took ODOT 3 years to finish just the I-71 overpass over Stewart Rd in Cincy.

It took them almost my entire life to redo I-75 in Dayton. I've not been through there since 2019 so there may be more work underway.

[frankenroad]

ODOT is getting ready to work on I-70 through Zanesville for most of the decade.
I'm not seeing anything about widening I-70 through there.
https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odot/projects/projects/93006

There's not. It's basically just a rebuild of the existing bridges and pavement, which is unfortunate. I hope they at least extend some of the acceleration lanes to allow for smoother merges.

Honestly, I'm not surprised that it'll take 6 years to just rebuild overpasses and add new pavement, considering it took ODOT 3 years to finish just the I-71 overpass over Stewart Rd in Cincy.

It took them almost my entire life to redo I-75 in Dayton. I've not been through there since 2019 so there may be more work underway.

There is - on the south side.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Here's a video on the US 30 Corridor study from the state line to east of the city of Van Wert.

[lepidopteran]

ODOT is getting ready to work on I-70 through Zanesville for most of the decade.
https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odot/projects/projects/93006

Looks like they're eliminating a bridge over an abandoned railroad at the far eastern end of the project.  Historically, there were two railroads there, but I think only one remained by the time the Interstate was built.  Even then, it looks like that was just a spur to serve a now-demolished factory located between Ceramic Rd. and Harris Rd.

[Alex]

The new dogbone interchange joining I-475/U.S. 23 with Dorr Street in Springfield Township opened yesterday.

Dorr Street, I-475 interchange opening for traffic

After nearly two years of construction, the Dorr Street interchange at Interstate Highway 475 is opening to the public.

The $46.7 million project began in November 2019 and added a third lane of travel in both north and southbound lanes for two miles of the I-475/U.S. 23 corridor in addition to the new interchange that has multiple roundabouts on Dorr Street, something leaders say will be safer for drivers as well.

[JCinSummerfield]

The new dogbone interchange joining I-475/U.S. 23 with Dorr Street in Springfield Township opened yesterday.

Dorr Street, I-475 interchange opening for traffic

After nearly two years of construction, the Dorr Street interchange at Interstate Highway 475 is opening to the public.

I drove through there on Sunday, and was disappointed they weren't open yet.  My son will be using it daily to get to his job.  I know he's been looking forward to it opening.

The $46.7 million project began in November 2019 and added a third lane of travel in both north and southbound lanes for two miles of the I-475/U.S. 23 corridor in addition to the new interchange that has multiple roundabouts on Dorr Street, something leaders say will be safer for drivers as well.

[TempoNick]

Franklin County & Pataskala (in Licking Co) are not going to give up any state mileage to sort out a numbering issue out near Granville.
Unless someone(s) want to payoff ODOT....

I was just learning about the Avenue of the Saints, the route from St. Louis to St. Paul. I have driven much of it before, but I didn't realize it was supposed to be a highway to connect the two cities. Because of the mishmash of numbers it carried (US 218 and US 18 among others), Iowa gave it a consistent number, Iowa 27. It is also known as Missouri 27 for much of the road in that state.

[SkyPesos]

Franklin County & Pataskala (in Licking Co) are not going to give up any state mileage to sort out a numbering issue out near Granville.
Unless someone(s) want to payoff ODOT....

I was just learning about the Avenue of the Saints, the route from St. Louis to St. Paul. I have driven much of it before, but I didn't realize it was supposed to be a highway to connect the two cities. Because of the mishmash of numbers it carried (US 218 and US 18 among others), Iowa gave it a consistent number, Iowa 27. It is also known as Missouri 27 for much of the road in that state.

There's also the CKC with MO/IL 110, except the Illinois section is more of providing a N-S expressway for the western part of the state than be the fastest route from Chicago to Kansas City. From the Circle Interchange in Chicago to the I-72/I-172 interchange, the CKC (IL 110) is 310 miles, while I-55/I-72 is 290 miles, not to mention that it's toll free, as IL 110 runs concurrently with the tolled I-88 for some portion.

[Bitmapped]

Franklin County & Pataskala (in Licking Co) are not going to give up any state mileage to sort out a numbering issue out near Granville.
Unless someone(s) want to payoff ODOT....

I was just learning about the Avenue of the Saints, the route from St. Louis to St. Paul. I have driven much of it before, but I didn't realize it was supposed to be a highway to connect the two cities. Because of the mishmash of numbers it carried (US 218 and US 18 among others), Iowa gave it a consistent number, Iowa 27. It is also known as Missouri 27 for much of the road in that state.

ODOT gave SR 32 its number to bring consistency to the corridor. Originally, it was SR 32 (SR 74 prior to Interstate renumbering), briefly SR 772 (?), then SR 124, SR 346, and US 50 to the West Virginia line. The SR 32 designation was eventually extended east overlapping SR 124 and replacing SR 346, and then later SR 32 was also multiplexed with US 50 east of Athens to provide a consistent designation for the corridor.

I agree that the numbering on the Columbus-to-Newark corridor is confusing. At the very least, ODOT should extend SR 161 east to meet SR 16. I could see maybe replacing SR 16 with SR 161 east to Coshocton but I don't know there is an appetite for that renumbering. You still have the corridor east of there continuing as US 36, US 250, and US 22 over to Steubenville, and I don't see a state route getting extended over that.

[SEWIGuy]

Franklin County & Pataskala (in Licking Co) are not going to give up any state mileage to sort out a numbering issue out near Granville.
Unless someone(s) want to payoff ODOT....

I was just learning about the Avenue of the Saints, the route from St. Louis to St. Paul. I have driven much of it before, but I didn't realize it was supposed to be a highway to connect the two cities. Because of the mishmash of numbers it carried (US 218 and US 18 among others), Iowa gave it a consistent number, Iowa 27. It is also known as Missouri 27 for much of the road in that state.

The Avenue of the Saints was just a marketing gimmick to attract more road funding to the states in question.  There really wasn't a glaring need to have a dedicated corridor between the two cities, just like there wasn't one between Chicago and Kansas City.

[skluth]

Franklin County & Pataskala (in Licking Co) are not going to give up any state mileage to sort out a numbering issue out near Granville.
Unless someone(s) want to payoff ODOT....

I was just learning about the Avenue of the Saints, the route from St. Louis to St. Paul. I have driven much of it before, but I didn't realize it was supposed to be a highway to connect the two cities. Because of the mishmash of numbers it carried (US 218 and US 18 among others), Iowa gave it a consistent number, Iowa 27. It is also known as Missouri 27 for much of the road in that state.

The Avenue of the Saints was just a marketing gimmick to attract more road funding to the states in question.  There really wasn't a glaring need to have a dedicated corridor between the two cities, just like there wasn't one between Chicago and Kansas City.

The Avenue of the Saints is a marketing gimmick, granted. But as someone who lived in St Louis for about three decades, I disagree about the need. MSP and STL are the two largest metro areas between Chicago and Denver. I have a brother in Mpls and I noticed traffic increasing over the years which merited the improvement of the corridor to a non-stop four-lane highway. It's a lot different that the KC-Chicago corridor which was already well served with I-35/ US 36/ I-55 not to mention I-70/ 270/ 55 between the two cities. The Avenue of the Saints reduces the best four-lane routing from the I-55/39/90/94 corridor's 620 miles to 559 miles.

[SkyPesos]

Found this when browsing a list of ODOT Cincinnati area projects: A proposal for a potential new interchange at I-75 and Milliken Rd (MM 26, between OH 129 and OH 63 interchanges).

[TempoNick]

The Avenue of the Saints is a marketing gimmick, granted. But as someone who lived in St Louis for about three decades, I disagree about the need. MSP and STL are the two largest metro areas between Chicago and Denver. I have a brother in Mpls and I noticed traffic increasing over the years which merited the improvement of the corridor to a non-stop four-lane highway. It's a lot different that the KC-Chicago corridor which was already well served with I-35/ US 36/ I-55 not to mention I-70/ 270/ 55 between the two cities. The Avenue of the Saints reduces the best four-lane routing from the I-55/39/90/94 corridor's 620 miles to 559 miles.

More important than any connection to St. Paul, it gives Quincy, IL and Hannibal, MO highway access and a more direct route to St. Louis, Des Moines & Ames (via US-34, US-63 and Iowa 163), Iowa City. Waterloo, Dubuque and Cedar Rapids. These are pretty relevant cities in the region that you would want to get to.

The wife is from Sioux Falls so I make the trip between Columbus and Sioux Falls every so often by car, with various detours to explore some of these towns. She has no patience for this so she flies.

Did I mention how much I hate all these inconsistent road numbers?

[Harvestman]

Found these at a bar in Cincinnati.  The "exit 13" sign must be an I-75 relic but I'm unsure on where the others came from.