Ohio Interstate System

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

^I agree completely.  No freeway connection to Toldeo/Detroit is pretty frustrating.

The Ohio State lobby.  Wolverines be damned.   

[Sykotyk]

I agree, US-23 (at least until the OH-15 part) should become a freeway for the entire length.

As for I-76, I've always felt, as mentioned already, to duplex it with I-71, follow US-30 west to Indiana. From there, no general concensus. US-30 needs a lot of work to become a freeway in Indiana.

Plus, with Indiana's selling their soul to satan leasing the toll road, a new freeway anywhere near the toll road is not going to happen.

Sykotyk

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

I agree, US-23 (at least until the OH-15 part) should become a freeway for the entire length.

As for I-76, I've always felt, as mentioned already, to duplex it with I-71, follow US-30 west to Indiana. From there, no general concensus. US-30 needs a lot of work to become a freeway in Indiana.

Plus, with Indiana's selling their soul to satan leasing the toll road, a new freeway anywhere near the toll road is not going to happen.

Sykotyk

It's not like US 30 is full interstate standard from the Indiana/Ohio border to East Canton (someday to Oh 11) either.

[interstate696]

Yeah, well it would make it easier for Buckeyes to enter Michigan since they will now have a direct route if it is converted to a limited expressway (US-23), or do they take the long way home and take I-70 to I-75 to US-23 Ann Arbor

[Sykotyk]

It's not like US 30 is full interstate standard from the Indiana/Ohio border to East Canton (someday to Oh 11) either.

No, but from I-71 to Indiana there's a total of 1 stop light (at the I-71/US-30 interchange, coincidently. After that, the two-lane stretch from I-75 towards US-23 has been completely bypassed. They're already capping cross roads in the western part of the state so they don't intersect with US-30 anymore. There's a nice bypass around Beaverdam (where it crosses I-75).

There's a cemetery right off the road going west bound that would have to be routed around (not generally safe to have tombstones a few yards off the shoulder).

And in Indiana until it intersects with I-469, there's again only 2 lights (intersection with I-469 NB and the shopping facility/truck stop/etc just east of I-469 a few hundred yards).

So, yes, the US-30 corridor in that stretch can easily be updated to freeway standards. As for the I-71 to E Canton stretch.... that's a different story. There's Oroville and a couple of other lights to bypass between I-71 and the Wooster, as well as the recent alignment east of Wooster until the Massillon bypass.

Sykotyk

[exit322]

30 has stoplights at OH-57 south of Orrville, and one operational in Dalton at OH-94 - there's another one constructed at Kurzen Road in Dalton, but it's just flashing right now.

[thenetwork]

30 has stoplights at OH-57 south of Orrville, and one operational in Dalton at OH-94 - there's another one constructed at Kurzen Road in Dalton, but it's just flashing right now.

Orrville, Oroville -- probably the same place we're all thinking of...Also of note is the RR crossing by SR-302 on the US-30/SR-3 leg of the Wooster Bypass.

[Sykotyk]

Oops, I meant Orrville.

Anyways, that stretch, for the most part is built up as much as it needs. Until US-30 or US-62 is built up to freeway or expressway standards further east, Canton doesn't require a freeway to end there, honestly.

The big detriment to an I-76 that crosses US-30 from I-71 to I-469 is that it acts as a free alternate to the Turnpike, and politics aside, I'm not sure that's entirely wanted. Same reason US-20 and OH-2 will probably never be built up more further west (I'd love to see OH-2 to freeway standards all the way to I-280, maybe then they could realign I-90 along that corridor).

Sykotyk

[exit322]

30 has stoplights at OH-57 south of Orrville, and one operational in Dalton at OH-94 - there's another one constructed at Kurzen Road in Dalton, but it's just flashing right now.

Orrville, Oroville -- probably the same place we're all thinking of...Also of note is the RR crossing by SR-302 on the US-30/SR-3 leg of the Wooster Bypass.

Indeed - I've traveled on that stretch of highway as long as I can remember (late 1980s) and have not once seen a train crossing it.  It's an 'exempt' crossing, such that buses and the sort don't have to stop.  They might want to check the triggers to see if the red lights would even come on if a train were there.

[mightyace]

30 has stoplights at OH-57 south of Orrville, and one operational in Dalton at OH-94 - there's another one constructed at Kurzen Road in Dalton, but it's just flashing right now.

Orrville, Oroville -- probably the same place we're all thinking of...Also of note is the RR crossing by SR-302 on the US-30/SR-3 leg of the Wooster Bypass.

Indeed - I've traveled on that stretch of highway as long as I can remember (late 1980s) and have not once seen a train crossing it.  It's an 'exempt' crossing, such that buses and the sort don't have to stop.  They might want to check the triggers to see if the red lights would even come on if a train were there.

During my Ohio days (1985-1995), I'd sometimes go down that way going to/from church retreats.  Anyway, I think that the line is a branch line.  It looks that way on Google maps.

Depending on the state of the branch, it might be possible to abandon it or relocate where the branch meets the mainline.  Both of these options would be cheaper than grade separating this crossing.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

It's not like US 30 is full interstate standard from the Indiana/Ohio border to East Canton (someday to Oh 11) either.

No, but from I-71 to Indiana there's a total of 1 stop light (at the I-71/US-30 interchange, coincidently. After that, the two-lane stretch from I-75 towards US-23 has been completely bypassed. They're already capping cross roads in the western part of the state so they don't intersect with US-30 anymore. There's a nice bypass around Beaverdam (where it crosses I-75).

There's a cemetery right off the road going west bound that would have to be routed around (not generally safe to have tombstones a few yards off the shoulder).

And in Indiana until it intersects with I-469, there's again only 2 lights (intersection with I-469 NB and the shopping facility/truck stop/etc just east of I-469 a few hundred yards).

So, yes, the US-30 corridor in that stretch can easily be updated to freeway standards. As for the I-71 to E Canton stretch.... that's a different story. There's Oroville and a couple of other lights to bypass between I-71 and the Wooster, as well as the recent alignment east of Wooster until the Massillon bypass.

Sykotyk

There are multiple sections of 4-lane US 30 with crossroads that would need bridges before it would be interstate standard from Indiana to Mansfield (much less from Mansfield to Canton).  Especially on the new sections that been built this decade. 

[exit322]

It probably won't happen...nor does it need to happen.  US 30 simply isn't busy enough to further upgrade, nor would it be with a marginal movement of traffic from the pikes if it were to happen.  Shunpikers already use it.

[Sykotyk]

There are multiple sections of 4-lane US 30 with crossroads that would need bridges before it would be interstate standard from Indiana to Mansfield (much less from Mansfield to Canton).  Especially on the new sections that been built this decade. 

Well, in a the new stretch (I-75 to US-23), they simple 'capped' crossroads with cul-de-sacs and eliminated the tie-in to US-30.

If there wasn't a movement to make it a freeway, that setup wouldn't make sense.

Sykotyk

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

But there's a handful of intersections along US 23 between US 23 and Wyandot/Crawford Co line.  And that was completed 5 years ago.

[Sykotyk]

If there's no plans for overpasses, frontage roads, etc, why do that if the road can't be upgraded further for years?

I'm not saying tomorrow, but the long-range plans seems to be there. Look at the Beaverdam bypass built.

Sykotyk

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

You know of any long term plans?
Maybe 20-30 years down the line.  But there have been many a highway proposal from ODH/ODOT that never came to fruition (mostly due to $$$ the last 4 decades)

[mightyace]

There is a problem...the fact that I-75 does not connect to the new I-80. If anybody has any ideas, let me know.

Not necessarily a problem, the current alignment of I-80 (a.k.a. The Ohio Turnpike) did not have a direct connection to I-75 until sometime in the 80s or 90s.

[Hellfighter]

If you realign I-80 to that route, what happens to the Ohio Turnpike Portion that's only I-80?

[leifvanderwall]

I totally agree with I-76 being converted onto US 30 from Mansfield to the southern Chicago suburbs. I drove Hwy 30 from US 31(Plymouth) to Pittsburgh 2 years ago and it was smooth sailing from Fort Wayne to Canton, but the two lane through Lisbon slowed me down quite a bit. I still like I-78 be extended westward using the US 22 freeway, following Ohio 43 west to Canton, and taking over the US 30 corridor to Mansfield.

Also another idea that is not so far fetched is Ohio getting its own I-82 by using the US 422 corridor, the OH 5/82 Warren bypass, I-480, and the Ohio 2 west to Toledo

[njroadhorse]

My biggest question is why is I-76 not extended across the US 30 corridor to I-75?  It might be a pointless idea to end it there, but is there anything stopping it from being extended?

[Stephane Dumas]

another possibility how about extending I-72 from Champaign IL into Ohio via Lafayette IN, following a corridor close to
IN-25 and US-24 to Fort Wayne where it follow US-30 into Ohio?

[leifvanderwall]

I don't know the inside scoop , but I think the I-80/90 tollway is a bigger e-w priority north of Indy than making US 30 an interstate and many traditionists (we have plenty viewing this website) want to preserve the US name. One could argue US 30 in Iowa should be an interstate , but it is too close to I-80 in that state. As far as I-72 being extended, I think to Ft. Wayne is enough unless you want to stretch to Toledo & Cleveland.

[thenetwork]

It is probably a safe bet that in order for I-76 to be possibly be extended along US 30, they would have to do some major upgrades to the US 30 mainline from I-71 to SR 309 in the Mansfield.  That is one of the oldest stretches of highway and has some very substandard exits and shoulder-less bridges.

[Sykotyk]

One of the biggest hinderances to making US-30 an extension of I-76 is that it would take business away from the Indiana Toll Road and Ohio Turnpike.

Sykotyk

[leifvanderwall]

Hey, that's supposed to be I-94's job.