The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a 241.26-mile-long (388.27 km), limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor to Chicago and Pittsburgh. The road runs east–west in the northern section of the state, with the western end at the Indiana–Ohio border near Bryan where it meets the Indiana Toll Road, and the eastern end at the Ohio–Pennsylvania border near Petersburg, where it meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The road is owned and maintained by the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission (OTIC), headquartered in Berea.
Built from 1949 to 1955, construction for the roadway was completed a year prior to the Interstate Highway System. The modern Ohio Turnpike is signed as three Interstate numbers: I-76, I-80, and I-90.
Route description[]
The entire length of the Ohio Turnpike is 241.3 miles (388.3 km), from the western terminus in Northwest Township near Edon, where it meets the Indiana Toll Road at the Ohio–Indiana border, to the eastern terminus in Springfield Township near Petersburg where it meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the Ohio–Pennsylvania border. Most of the turnpike, 218.7 miles (352.0 km) between the Indiana border and an interchange with Interstate 76 (I-76) near Youngstown, is signed as part of I-80, while the eastern 22.6 miles (36.4 km), between the I-80/I-76 interchange and the Pennsylvania border, is signed as part of I-76. For 142.8 miles (229.8 km), between the Indiana border and Elyria, I-90 is cosigned with I-80 as part of the turnpike.
The Ohio Turnpike does not pass directly into any major city, but does provide access to the four major metro areas in northern Ohio through connected routes. Two auxiliary Interstate highways, I-271 near Cleveland and I-475 near Toledo, cross the turnpike, but do not have direct connections. In Northwest Ohio, the turnpike passes through the southern part of the Toledo metropolitan area, with direct access to Toledo through I-75 and I-280.
In Northeast Ohio, the turnpike passes through the southern suburbs of Greater Cleveland and the northern edge of the Akron metro area, with direct access to Cleveland via I-71, I-77, and I-480. Akron is connected to the turnpike via I-77 and State Route 8 (SR 8) in the north and I-76 on the east. The turnpike is located on the western and southern edges of the Mahoning Valley, with direct access to Youngstown through the remaining portion of I-80 east of the Turnpike, and I-680.
In North Jackson, I-80 and I-76 swap each other's right-of-way; I-76 continues east as I-80 and I-80 continues southeast as I-76, carrying the turnpike with it. In Petersburg, the concurrent routes cross the state lines into Pennsylvania, automatically becoming the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Tolls[]
Tolls are based upon the distance traveled, as well as the height and axle-count of vehicle driven. As of December 2019, the toll for a typical non-commercial passenger vehicle to travel the entire turnpike is $13.25 for E-ZPass holders and $19.25 for non E-ZPass holders. For purposes of toll calculation, as these barriers are not actually exits, the Westgate toll barrier is counted as exit 2 and the Eastgate toll barrier is counted as exit 239 on toll tickets.
The Ohio Turnpike Commission had been hesitant to deploy an electronic tolling system, citing an apparent lack of commuter travel as well as significant implementation expenses. In December 2006, the commission indicated their intention to move forward with the implementation of an E-ZPass-compatible system as a "customer convenience". The system was activated on October 1, 2009. In 2009, the turnpike became the first publicly owned toll facility in the U.S.—and the second overall—to allow users to pay tolls with a debit or credit card.
In April 2008, Governor Ted Strickland and legislative leaders announced a planned stimulus package that would redistribute Turnpike tolls to road projects throughout the state. On May 23, the Ohio Senate Finance Committee voted to pass a new version of the package which would not involve tolls collected. In March 2019, the turnpike commission announced plans to add high-speed E-ZPass lanes to the Westgate and Eastgate toll plazas, which will allow E-ZPass users to travel through the toll areas at 70 mph (110 km/h). Construction is expected to begin in early 2020 with completion in late 2021 or early 2022