Interstate 80 in Ohio


Interstate 80 in the US state of Ohio runs across the northern part of the state. Most of the route is part of the Ohio Turnpike; only an stretch is not part of the toll road. That stretch of road is the feeder route to the Keystone Shortway, a shortcut through northern Pennsylvania that provides access to New York City.

Route description

In Ohio, I-80 enters with I-90 from the Indiana Toll Road and immediately becomes the Ohio Turnpike. The two Interstates cross rural northwest Ohio and run just south of the Toledo metropolitan area. In Rossford, the turnpike intersects with I-75 in an area known as the Crossroads of America.
In Elyria Township, Lorain County, just west of Cleveland, I-90 splits from I-80. I-80 runs east-southeast through the southern suburbs of Cleveland and retains the Ohio Turnpike designation. Just northwest of Youngstown, the Ohio Turnpike continues southeast onto I-76, while I-80 exits the turnpike and runs east to the north of Youngstown, entering Pennsylvania south of Sharon, Pennsylvania.

History

Image:I80Cuyahoga.JPG|thumb|left|I-80 over the Cuyahoga River
I-80 was constructed as part of the Ohio Turnpike, the origins of which predate the establishment of the Interstate Highway System in 1956. The Ohio General Assembly created the Ohio Turnpike Commission in 1949, which was the first step in designing and constructing the east–west freeway. Construction began on October 27, 1952, and the freeway was completed on October 1, 1955.
Although I-80 presently uses the Ohio Turnpike across most of the state, it was once planned to split between Norwalk and Edinburg Township, with I-80N passing through Cleveland and I-80S passing through Akron.

Auxiliary routes

InterstateCityNotes
40pxInterstate 280ToledoConnects the Ohio Turnpike to I-75
40pxInterstate 480ClevelandConnects the Ohio Turnpike to I-271 and Cleveland
40pxInterstate 480NClevelandConnects I-480 to I-271 north
40pxInterstate 680YoungstownConnects I-80 to the Ohio Turnpike