I was on the Ohio Turnpike a few weeks ago, and the thought occurred to me that it isn't particularly useful to Ohio residents for in-state travel. Admittedly, it is useful for Clevelanders headed to Pittsburgh or Toledoans going to Chicago, but if the Buckeye State started with a clean sheet and set out to build a superhighway to serve the most important travel corridor in the state, I'd posit that Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati would be roughly equivalent to the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Pittsburgh-Harrisburg-Philadelphia route.
I'm sure their priorities were shuffled by the need to connect to the already-completed Pennsylvania Turnpike route, though.
Anyway, that got me wondering: What long distance toll road (>50 miles) has the highest percentage of traffic that drives its entire length?
And perhaps this follow-up question has the same answer: What toll road is least valuable (directly, in terms of personal use) to its in-state residents?
Despite the impetus for these questions being Ohio, I'm going to guess that the answer is the Indiana Toll Road. What do you think?
Well we know in Illinois most traffic is Illinois from I-PASS users. There is a big pick up in Traffic after Toledo so I think you are right about Indiana and that's why politically they could sell it
One of the main reasons Ohio didn't implement EZ Pass until relatively recently was there wasn't much of a benefit to Ohio residents, as the Ohio Turnpike is heavily used by out-of-staters. They really didn't want to spend the money to implement electronic tolling, but there was a high demand for it, and numerous toll runners thinking they could use EZ Pass, finally persuaded Ohio to get the system.
The Turner Turnpike (I-44 between OKC and Tulsa) probably sees extremely high through traffic counts, though it's extremely important to residents of Oklahoma. The Cherokee Turnpike (part of US 412 between Tulsa and NWA) isn't long enough to qualify at only 33 miles, but would also have a huge percent of through traffic. Oklahoma's other turnpikes either have major connections/destinations in the middle (Muskogee on the Muskogee, US 69/McAlester on the Indian Nation, US 69 on the Will Rogers, Lawton on the H.E. Bailey, Stillwater on the Cimarron) or are too short (Chickasaw, Creek, Kilpatrick).
On the other end of the spectrum, the Kansas Turnpike probably has the lowest percentage of traffic using the entire length because of the existence of the free section of I-35 between KC and Emporia.
I'd have to guess that the Indiana Toll Road is pretty far down the list. There's a lot of traffic that enters or exits at I-65 or I-94.
Delaware Turnpike?
Quote from: corco on May 13, 2015, 12:58:45 AM
Delaware Turnpike?
Not long enough, and if you believe that I-295 between I-95 and the Delaware Memorial Bridge is part of the turnpike (as Wikipedia suggests), then it would still be pretty far down the list because of I-95/I-495 traffic.
Quote from: corco on May 13, 2015, 12:58:45 AM
Delaware Turnpike?
Under 50 miles, but if you were to lose that criteria factor, there's still a lot of people that only use it to get to and from Rt. 1 and the Christiana Mall at exit 4 (tax free shopping), and a lot of people that use it at Exit 1 to avoid the tolls and for the U of D, so they're not driving it the entire length.
And I should add that it's a primary route for people south of Wilmington to take into Wilmington for work, so it's very useful for state residents as well.
I'd have to agree with Indiana. Not for the most traffic using the entire length, but definitely the least valuable for its state's residents. I feel like the majority of the in-state traffic is just between NWI and South Bend, and even that's primarily because of Notre Dame.
On the other hand, though, I feel like quite a few people would use the ITR to commute between places like Valpo and Portage to the steel mills in Gary and East Chicago. Not sure, though.
As a South Bend resident who uses the ITR a lot, you might think I'd defend its usefulness to Hoosier drivers. I won't. I think I'm the exception to the rule. I feel that most Hoosiers worried little when it was leased out. It's not a part of their lives.
Granted, a lot of drivers get off and on the Toll Road at I-94 and I-65, but many of them are also out-of-staters as well. The ones getting off at 94 in particular are mostly Illinois or Michigan residents traveling between those states.
I would not classify the ITR as being the least useful. When I lived in Northern Indiana I used it a lot to get to/from Chicago and those trips would have been a lot longer without it. I would classify it as a road on which very few of the trips are intra-state.
Quote from: cabiness42 on May 13, 2015, 03:25:42 PM
I would not classify the ITR as being the least useful. When I lived in Northern Indiana I used it a lot to get to/from Chicago and those trips would have been a lot longer without it. I would classify it as a road on which very few of the trips are intra-state.
Um...doesn't "A road on which very few of the trips are intra-state" = "Least useful to state residents"?
Quote from: jeffandnicole on May 13, 2015, 03:32:59 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on May 13, 2015, 03:25:42 PM
I would not classify the ITR as being the least useful. When I lived in Northern Indiana I used it a lot to get to/from Chicago and those trips would have been a lot longer without it. I would classify it as a road on which very few of the trips are intra-state.
Um...doesn't "A road on which very few of the trips are intra-state" = "Least useful to state residents"?
In a way, yes, but not entirely. As in cabiness42's example, someone who lives in Valparaiso–who would be an Indiana resident–and uses the ITR to commute to Chicago every day would probably consider it very useful.
Although considering that the number of people who work out of state, though sizable, is a relatively small percentage of the workforce (about 5.3 million of 126.9 million people, or about 4%), the impact of cross-state commuters would probably be likewise comparatively minor.
Also keep in mind that even though a toll road such as the ITR may be of vital importance to a group of state residents–for either intrastate or interstate travel–that proportion is likely dwarfed by the proportion of Pennsylvanians using the Turnpike to commute to the Delaware and Lehigh Valleys, New Yorkers on the the Thruway, etc.
I don't know that a lot of people actually drive the whole length of the Ohio Turnpike in one shot. Even for through-state travel, a lot of traffic that entered at Westgate is going to branch off and take 80 or 90 rather than following the Turnpike all the way through to Eastgate. Likewise, a not insignificant amount of traffic that entered at Eastgate is going to branch off up 75 or 23 to go to various points in Michigan, or even 24 to Fort Wayne.
There certainly are trips for which following the whole Ohio Turnpike is the most logical route. But the percentage of them would have been higher before the Keystone Shortway was completed, since then NYC-bound traffic would likely take the PA Turnpike.
The New Jersey Turnpike definitely has a decent number of trips using its entire length, what with it being the de facto through route for I-95 even if it is not officially so. But given traffic counts at the northern end versus the southern end, the percentage can't be that high.
Then there's also the counter-question - what major toll road has the lowest percentage of trips following its whole length? I'd wager that it'd be the New York State Thruway simply because its route is relatively circuitous and it is definitely not the fastest way to get between its endpoints.
But if we count detolled turnpikes the Connecticut Turnpike would also compete in this contest simply because the easternmost few miles of it (CT 695) don't go much anywhere and traffic counts are low even in total.
Quote from: Duke87 on May 13, 2015, 10:23:35 PM
I don't know that a lot of people actually drive the whole length of the Ohio Turnpike in one shot. Even for through-state travel, a lot of traffic that entered at Westgate is going to branch off and take 80 or 90 rather than following the Turnpike all the way through to Eastgate. Likewise, a not insignificant amount of traffic that entered at Eastgate is going to branch off up 75 or 23 to go to various points in Michigan, or even 24 to Fort Wayne.
There certainly are trips for which following the whole Ohio Turnpike is the most logical route. But the percentage of them would have been higher before the Keystone Shortway was completed, since then NYC-bound traffic would likely take the PA Turnpike.
Living in Wisconsin I've travelled many times to MD and I have always driven the entire OH Turnpike end to end. I remember particularly a few times waiting in line to pay the toll (Pre EZPass) where the display for the car in front of me showed the toll for the entire drive through as well (10.25 at the time).
The last couple of times I've technically not driven the entire length as I have exited the road for fuel/food because it is often cheaper off the turnpike and my EZPass makes it much simpler than having to keep getting tickets.
Quote from: briantroutman on May 13, 2015, 03:55:33 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on May 13, 2015, 03:32:59 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on May 13, 2015, 03:25:42 PM
I would not classify the ITR as being the least useful. When I lived in Northern Indiana I used it a lot to get to/from Chicago and those trips would have been a lot longer without it. I would classify it as a road on which very few of the trips are intra-state.
Um...doesn't "A road on which very few of the trips are intra-state" = "Least useful to state residents"?
In a way, yes, but not entirely. As in cabiness42’s example, someone who lives in Valparaiso—who would be an Indiana resident—and uses the ITR to commute to Chicago every day would probably consider it very useful.
But the entire point of the thread is referring to people that live in the same state as the toll road. If one lives in Indiana and commutes to Illinois, then that isn't a intrastate trip, and has nothing to do with the question posted in this thread!
Quote from: Duke87 on May 13, 2015, 10:23:35 PM
The New Jersey Turnpike definitely has a decent number of trips using its entire length, what with it being the de facto through route for I-95 even if it is not officially so. But given traffic counts at the northern end versus the southern end, the percentage can't be that high.
It's been 12 years since I worked Interchange 1, but I believe that Exits 18E/W (GWB), 16E (Lincoln Tunnel), 11 (GSP) & 10 (287) seemed to be the interchanges I'll get the most number of tickets from.
When I worked Interchange 3, there was quite a number of shorter trips, especially those where people could've simply used 295 for their entire trip.
The Mass Pike has to be one where few people drive its entire length. Not everyone is going to Logan, and a good chunk of people leaving Boston heading west get off at Exit 9. Couple that with the people who use it to go toward Foxboro and the Cape (11A) , and NH and ME (10 or 11A), and it's very rare that people drive the whole thing.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on May 14, 2015, 12:37:02 AM
The Mass Pike has to be one where few people drive its entire length. Not everyone is going to Logan, and a good chunk of people leaving Boston heading west get off at Exit 9. Couple that with the people who use it to go toward Foxboro and the Cape (11A) , and NH and ME (10 or 11A), and it's very rare that people drive the whole thing.
If you're going to Logan you don't even drive the whole length, you miss the last half mile. Driving the entire length requires going from the NY line into MA 1A.
What's weird is in my mind I don't think of the Big Dig section as being part of the MassPike proper, so I didn't even consider this. But officially it is, so it's also a contender.
As for most likely to be driven its whole length, I wonder how the West Virginia Turnpike fares on this metric. At first glance it seems like a likely candidate since there are no major cities near the route south of Charleston to draw traffic away, but then I-64 and US 19 definitely draw a lot of early exits so maybe not.
What about the New Hampshire Turnpike? Aside from traffic to/from Portsmouth, it's basically a path between Massachusetts and Maine.
Quote from: vdeane on May 14, 2015, 09:46:59 PM
What about the New Hampshire Turnpike? Aside from traffic to/from Portsmouth, it's basically a path between Massachusetts and Maine.
Doesn't meet the 50-mile criteria postulated by the original post. But otherwise, I thought of it too.
There really aren't that many people who drive the OH Turnpike end-to-end. Of the 3 interstates that cross the OH border at one end or another, not one follows the Pike the entire way (I-80 comes the closest covering 90.4% of the mainline, or 218 of the 241 miles). And the fact that the Pike is only 2-lanes each way at both state lines is another clue.
The PA Turnpike should easily be the winner in the "impossible to ride the entire toll road from end to end" due to all of the branches it has added over the past couple of decades -- some are not even connected to the mainline...yet.
Quote from: thenetwork on May 15, 2015, 01:09:35 AM
There really aren't that many people who drive the OH Turnpike end-to-end.
Let's be clear about something... the "highest percentage of through traffic" could still be a very low number. If the percentage of through motorists (I'm just making these numbers up) is 0.1% on the NY Thruway, 0.3% on the PA Turnpike, and 0.8% on the OH Turnpike, Ohio could be the winner, even though only 8 cars out of 1,000 actually drive the whole length.
Even though none of the three Interstate designations follow the OH Turnpike from border to border, it's still the most logical route from the Chicago area and other points north and west to the southern half of PA, MD, DC, and northern VA.
Compare that with the PA Turnpike, which you'd really only drive end-to-end if you were headed from Northern OH to somewhere in central NJ. If your destination was any further north, you likely would have diverted onto I-78 or I-80 at some point. Any further south, and you might go through Philadelphia or across US 322 or I-295.
Quote from: thenetwork on May 15, 2015, 01:09:35 AM
The PA Turnpike should easily be the winner in the "impossible to ride the entire toll road from end to end" due to all of the branches it has added over the past couple of decades -- some are not even connected to the mainline...yet.
As far as I'm concerned, driving mainline from the OH/PA border to the NJ/PA border satisfies the requirement. The NE Extension, Mon-Fayette, etc. are separate roads. Similarly, one would not need to take the Berkshire Connector to travel the NY Thruway end-to-end. Yonkers to the PA border is enough.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on May 14, 2015, 12:37:02 AM
The Mass Pike has to be one where few people drive its entire length.
I hadn't really considered that...I always just thought of the Mass Pike being the NY Line to "Boston" ; I didn't really take into account the Big Dig, Logan, and beyond. So the only people who would drive the entirety of the Mass Pike would be people who live in Winthrop and headed to a vacation in Albany? That might be the winner for the "lowest percentage through traffic" prize.
Of course I don't know how many people would drive from NYC to Erie by way of Albany, Syracuse, and Buffalo.
What about the Illinois toll roads? I'd have to suspect a lot of truck traffic drives the Tri-State and the Jane Addams Tollways end to end, but the Ronald Reagan does not since one could easily take I-80. I can't even see someone in Sterling or Rock Falls taking I-88 east to Chicago, since they could just take US 30 to Sugar Grove and then possibly catch I-88 by Aurora. In the years since I left the DeKalb area, I've driven I-88 several times and it always seems empty west of DeKalb. (And BTW, did they really have to change the names of the Northwest and East-West tollways?)
President George Bush Turnpike in Dallas just makes the cut at 54 miles, and as a 5/8 beltway of Dallas, sees zero end-to-end traffic. It's 20 miles longer than the most direct route between the endpoints, and 15 miles longer than the most direct route that doesn't involve driving through downtown. That might match the NY Thruway for lowest percent of end to end traffic. If Denver's E-470 and Northwest Parkway are counted as a single road, that would also be in the running, mostly because of the insanely high toll rate. E-470 on its own isn't quite long enough.
By the way, must one travel between the precise start and endpoints to be considered traveling the full length? Or is traveling far enough to pay the maximum toll sufficient? Eastbound on the Mass Pike, the last barrier is at exit 18, so leaving at I-93 would count if it's just going by toll. Westbound is different because of the extra toll at the airport.
Quote from: DandyDan on May 15, 2015, 04:41:18 AM
What about the Illinois toll roads? I'd have to suspect a lot of truck traffic drives the Tri-State and the Jane Addams Tollways end to end, but the Ronald Reagan does not since one could easily take I-80. I can't even see someone in Sterling or Rock Falls taking I-88 east to Chicago, since they could just take US 30 to Sugar Grove and then possibly catch I-88 by Aurora. In the years since I left the DeKalb area, I've driven I-88 several times and it always seems empty west of DeKalb. (And BTW, did they really have to change the names of the Northwest and East-West tollways?)
Actually, the fastest way to get from Sterling and Dixon to Chicago is I-88. US-30 goes through a lot of towns east of I-39. I've also noticed more traffic west of I-39 in the past few years. Most of the plates are Illinois ones, but there's a few Iowa ones here and there. Thus, I conclude that I-88 is mostly used by locals and people going to/from DeKalb, Rochelle, Dixon, and Sterling.
Quote from: Brandon on May 15, 2015, 04:20:57 PM
Quote from: DandyDan on May 15, 2015, 04:41:18 AM
What about the Illinois toll roads? I'd have to suspect a lot of truck traffic drives the Tri-State and the Jane Addams Tollways end to end, but the Ronald Reagan does not since one could easily take I-80. I can't even see someone in Sterling or Rock Falls taking I-88 east to Chicago, since they could just take US 30 to Sugar Grove and then possibly catch I-88 by Aurora. In the years since I left the DeKalb area, I've driven I-88 several times and it always seems empty west of DeKalb. (And BTW, did they really have to change the names of the Northwest and East-West tollways?)
Actually, the fastest way to get from Sterling and Dixon to Chicago is I-88. US-30 goes through a lot of towns east of I-39. I've also noticed more traffic west of I-39 in the past few years. Most of the plates are Illinois ones, but there's a few Iowa ones here and there. Thus, I conclude that I-88 is mostly used by locals and people going to/from DeKalb, Rochelle, Dixon, and Sterling.
That might be true, but I'm sure there's some shunpikers who prefer US 30. In fact, when my father was working for Union Pacific and always had to go to Chicago to ride the rails each year, he always took US 30 and could probably provide gas receipts from gas stations along US 30 to prove it. It also looks like the shorter route, purely based on mileage (which may also explain why my dad would take it).
I suppose there is also the possibility of traffic going between the Quad Cities (and points west) and Rockford (and points north), which would turn at Rochelle between I-39 and I-88.
As for highest percentage of 'end to end' for a former tollway, although it is fairly short, the Denver-Boulder Turnpike (US 36) in Colorado probably had a very high percentage of its traffic doing the 'end to end' thing before it was freewayized.
What were the 'end to end' percentages of the various Kentucky Parkways before they were freewayized?
Mike
Quote from: mgk920 on May 16, 2015, 11:28:37 AM
What were the 'end to end' percentages of the various Kentucky Parkways before they were freewayized?
Hard to know, but given the OP's criterion of more than 50 miles, the most likely candidate would be the Western Kentucky Parkway. Second most likely is probably the Bluegrass Parkway. Less than 50 miles, I'd guess the Audubon.
Quote from: hbelkins on May 16, 2015, 07:01:20 PM
Quote from: mgk920 on May 16, 2015, 11:28:37 AM
What were the 'end to end' percentages of the various Kentucky Parkways before they were freewayized?
Hard to know, but given the OP's criterion of more than 50 miles, the most likely candidate would be the Western Kentucky Parkway.
You think much of that would have been through traffic? I'm trying to figure out what the Western Kentucky logically be the through route to...except perhaps Louisville/Lexington to Memphis, as an alternative to I-65 and I-40. Well–I suppose Paducah to Elizabethtown.
I'd have imagined a lot of the Pennyrile's traffic was end-to-end, since it was (and remains) the logical route from Nashville to Evansville and the Wabash Valley region all the way up to I-74 or so.
For purposes of this discussion, I would say anyone paying the highest end to end toll would be considered as driving the whole toll road.
So in the example of the NJTP, if you start at the Del Mem Bridge, you would pay maximum NJTP toll if you don't exit the highway, and go to either the Lincoln Tunnel or the GW Bridge.
So given this criteria, I would guess that the IN toll road probably has the highest percentage of end to end users.
Quote from: dfwmapper on May 13, 2015, 12:54:30 AM
The Turner Turnpike (I-44 between OKC and Tulsa) probably sees extremely high through traffic counts, though it's extremely important to residents of Oklahoma. The Cherokee Turnpike (part of US 412 between Tulsa and NWA) isn't long enough to qualify at only 33 miles, but would also have a huge percent of through traffic. Oklahoma's other turnpikes either have major connections/destinations in the middle (Muskogee on the Muskogee, US 69/McAlester on the Indian Nation, US 69 on the Will Rogers, Lawton on the H.E. Bailey, Stillwater on the Cimarron) or are too short (Chickasaw, Creek, Kilpatrick).
I would imagine the Indian Nation is up there in terms of out-of-state traffic. It is too far east for it to be of any use to anyone in Oklahoma City, Norman, or Lawton (Oklahoma's #1, #3, and #4 cities respectively). It's a straight shot south from Tulsa, but it lets out at Hugo, OK, across the river from Paris, TX, which isn't a major destination for most people. My guess is that the majority of traffic from Tulsa exits at McAlester to follow US-69/US-75 to Dallas. South of there, I have no idea who it's intended for. I do know that part of my family that was living in Nacogdoches, TX used it to travel to Kansas City, so there's your out-of-state use case.
Quote from: briantroutman on May 16, 2015, 07:50:19 PM
You think much of that would have been through traffic? I'm trying to figure out what the Western Kentucky logically be the through route to...except perhaps Louisville/Lexington to Memphis, as an alternative to I-65 and I-40. Well–I suppose Paducah to Elizabethtown.
Although the WK-24-Purchase-51 routing would be my preferred through route to Memphis and points west (because of Nashville and how much I dislike I-40), most through traffic from Kentucky takes 65 and 40. I'd think it's traffic from Louisville, Frankfort and Lexington going to Paducah.
The Bluegrass shed a lot of its traffic at Lawrenceburg for people going to Frankfort.
Quote from: mrsman on May 17, 2015, 08:29:17 AM
For purposes of this discussion, I would say anyone paying the highest end to end toll would be considered as driving the whole toll road.
So in the example of the NJTP, if you start at the Del Mem Bridge, you would pay maximum NJTP toll if you don't exit the highway, and go to either the Lincoln Tunnel or the GW Bridge.
So given this criteria, I would guess that the IN toll road probably has the highest percentage of end to end users.
Still not buying it. Too much Chicago-Indy traffic using the Skyway and the ITR to I-65, Chicago-Michigan traffic using the Skyway to the ITR to I-94, and traffic between points north/west of Chicago and Ohio using I-80/I-94, all of which are less than the full toll in either direction.
Florida's Turnpike, I rarely think anyone goes the whole length of it from Wildwood to Homestead. Many people do use it from metro area to metro area, including tourists as it carries a lot of people between Miami/ Fort Lauderdale to Orlando. Some, I am sure, use it to bypass I-95 from Miami to West Palm Beach for South Florida regional users, but if someone goes from I-75 at its north end to Miami exit at Golden Glades which is 47 miles from its actual southern terminus.
Those to Key West are advised to use the Sawgrass part of the way down and return to the Turnpike via I-75, so they in fact leave the toll road for a short bit, so they are not on it fully.
It has been a long time since I was on it, but Mexico's Highway 1D (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Federal_Highway_1D) between between Tijuana and Ensenada might just qualify - when I last was on it, it seemed that few locals were driving it (presumably they shunpike onto nearby (and "free") Highway 1), but over half of the traffic had California or other U.S. registration plates displayed.
Quote from: mrsman on May 17, 2015, 08:29:17 AM
For purposes of this discussion, I would say anyone paying the highest end to end toll would be considered as driving the whole toll road.
So in the example of the NJTP, if you start at the Del Mem Bridge, you would pay maximum NJTP toll if you don't exit the highway, and go to either the Lincoln Tunnel or the GW Bridge.
Technically the Lincoln Tunnel, Interchange 16E, isn't the highest toll, even though it's within the same toll plaza as 18E. One would have to use 18E or 18W.
For those starting from the north, there's probably a good possibility those north of I-80 would utilize the entire NJ Turnpike south thru Interchange 1. But for those living near Interchange 1 and south, there's very few that would use the Turnpike going North for two reasons: One: There's relatively few people living south of Interchange 1 which would find the Turnpike convenient to use from that point, and Two: They are most likely to jump on 295 North, compared to those coming south to exit the Turnpike to get to 295.
Quote from: dfwmapper on May 17, 2015, 10:50:17 PM
Quote from: mrsman on May 17, 2015, 08:29:17 AM
For purposes of this discussion, I would say anyone paying the highest end to end toll would be considered as driving the whole toll road.
So in the example of the NJTP, if you start at the Del Mem Bridge, you would pay maximum NJTP toll if you don't exit the highway, and go to either the Lincoln Tunnel or the GW Bridge.
So given this criteria, I would guess that the IN toll road probably has the highest percentage of end to end users.
Still not buying it. Too much Chicago-Indy traffic using the Skyway and the ITR to I-65, Chicago-Michigan traffic using the Skyway to the ITR to I-94, and traffic between points north/west of Chicago and Ohio using I-80/I-94, all of which are less than the full toll in either direction.
Most folks going to/from Chicago use the Ryan/Bishop Ford/Borman, not the Skyway/Toll Road for going to/from Indy.
Quote from: Brandon on May 18, 2015, 06:46:24 PM
Quote from: dfwmapper on May 17, 2015, 10:50:17 PM
Quote from: mrsman on May 17, 2015, 08:29:17 AM
For purposes of this discussion, I would say anyone paying the highest end to end toll would be considered as driving the whole toll road.
So in the example of the NJTP, if you start at the Del Mem Bridge, you would pay maximum NJTP toll if you don't exit the highway, and go to either the Lincoln Tunnel or the GW Bridge.
So given this criteria, I would guess that the IN toll road probably has the highest percentage of end to end users.
Still not buying it. Too much Chicago-Indy traffic using the Skyway and the ITR to I-65, Chicago-Michigan traffic using the Skyway to the ITR to I-94, and traffic between points north/west of Chicago and Ohio using I-80/I-94, all of which are less than the full toll in either direction.
Most folks going to/from Chicago use the Ryan/Bishop Ford/Borman, not the Skyway/Toll Road for going to/from Indy.
^This^
When I lived in Schaumburg from 1979-1990, we went on 2-3 out of state trips to the east and south every year and we
never used the Skyway. Depending on my dads mood, we would usually take the Ike/Ryan/Ford/Borman routing to either I-65 or the ITR depending on where we were going. Sometimes we would hit the Tri-State if the traffic reports on WBBM-AM weren't indicating massive back ups at what seemed like a million toll plazas back then (have that quarter and dime ready every 10 minutes or so). Once I even remember doing the Adams (then NW Tollway)/Kennedy/Ryan/Ford/Borman routing but my dad said never again after a massive back up just past the Edens Junction cost us 45 minutes on a New York trip which was a 16 hour marathon back in the mandatory double-nickle days.
My little brother and I used to lobby hard to take the Skyway just once as we had never been on it and my dad was emphatic-NO. He wasn't paying a king's ransom just for the privilege to expose the car to "giant car eating potholes" (my dad was quite prone to hyperbole, LOL).
The Ohio Turnpike is weird because, while many people take I-80 or I-90 through the width of the state, you don't have as many going end-to-end, but the number is still probably pretty high compared to somewhere like New York, where you'd save a couple hours by using I-80 or NY 17 to get between NYC and Ripley and, while some (mainly older) individuals drive a significant portion of the length, most cut the corner. Even if they don't drive the entire length, the Ohio Turnpike is used by people driving through Ohio (by definition, "through traffic") at a high rate.
As far as usefulness to state residents, the Ohio Turnpike does probably rank pretty low given where it runs. Except for Toledo and Elyria, it keeps away from developed areas, but even then exits are limited, making it relatively useless to state residents, and, having driven the thing several times, I know that the percentage of out-of-state plates is pretty high. Compare that to I-71, which is mostly Ohio plates with a similar amount of traffic, if not more.
Quote from: Brandon on May 18, 2015, 06:46:24 PM
Quote from: dfwmapper on May 17, 2015, 10:50:17 PM
Quote from: mrsman on May 17, 2015, 08:29:17 AM
For purposes of this discussion, I would say anyone paying the highest end to end toll would be considered as driving the whole toll road.
So in the example of the NJTP, if you start at the Del Mem Bridge, you would pay maximum NJTP toll if you don't exit the highway, and go to either the Lincoln Tunnel or the GW Bridge.
So given this criteria, I would guess that the IN toll road probably has the highest percentage of end to end users.
Still not buying it. Too much Chicago-Indy traffic using the Skyway and the ITR to I-65, Chicago-Michigan traffic using the Skyway to the ITR to I-94, and traffic between points north/west of Chicago and Ohio using I-80/I-94, all of which are less than the full toll in either direction.
Most folks going to/from Chicago use the Ryan/Bishop Ford/Borman, not the Skyway/Toll Road for going to/from Indy.
I only do that during off peak hours. During the day I'd rather pay than white knuckle the Borman.