Interstate 71

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Interstate 71 is an Interstate Highway in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with Interstate 64 in Louisville, Kentucky (which is locally called "Spaghetti Junction" - Google Maps satellite view); its northern terminus is at an intersection with Interstate 90 in Cleveland, Ohio. I-71 is coincident with Interstate 75 from a point about twenty miles (30 km) south of Cincinnati into downtown Cincinnati.

Contents

Route Description

Ohio

History

Much of Interstate 71 in Ohio was intended to be Ohio State Highway 1. Ohio State Highway 1 was originally planned in the 1950s as a second Ohio Turnpike extending southwest to northeast across the state. It was planned to run from Cincinnati to Conneaut and connect with an extension built across the panhandle of Pennsylvania to the New York State Thruway. As the highway was being planned, the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was enacted, and the project was converted from a toll road to a freeway. It was designated as Ohio State Highway 1, since the Interstate highway numbering system had not yet been implemented. Portions of the freeway began to be completed and opened in 1959 with the new Interstate highway funding, and they were marked as Ohio State Highway 1 as well as with their new Interstate highway number. Since large gaps existed along the corridor where no freeway had yet been completed, existing two-lane or four-lane highways were also designated as Ohio State Highway 1 in order to complete the route.

In 1960, Ohio State Highway 1 followed Central Ave. in Cincinnati, to John Street, to Lincoln Park Drive (now Ezzard Charles Drive), to Freeman Avenue, to Western Avenue, to Spring Grove Avenue, to Colerain Avenue to Interstate 75 (at what is now the I-75/I-74 interchange); Interstate 75 from current I-74 interchange to West Carrollton; U.S. Highway 25 (Dixie Drive) from West Carrollton to Interstate 70; Interstate 70 from Dixie Drive to near Enon (current I-70/OH 4 split); Ohio State Highway 4 from near Enon to Springfield; U.S. Highway 40 from Springfield to Columbus; Broad St. (US 40) in Columbus, to 4th Street, to Summit/3rd Street (US 23), to Hudson Street, to Interstate 71; I-71 from Columbus to just east of Medina (the only portion of Interstate 71 complete at the time); Ohio State Highway 18 from near Medina to Montrose; U.S. Highway 21 from Montrose to Brecksville; Ohio State Highway 82 from Brecksville to Aurora; (an alternate Ohio State Highway 1 ran from Twinsburg southeast along Ohio State Highway 14 to Streetsboro and then on Ohio State Highway 43 to Aurora, in order to connect Highway 1 to the Ohio Turnpike;) Ohio State Highway 306 from Aurora to Ohio State Highway 84; Ohio State Highway 84 from Ohio State Highway 306 to just west of what was then Ohio State Highway 44; due south to Interstate 90 along what is now a section of Ohio State Highway 44; and finally Interstate 90 to the Pennsylvania state line.

The Highway 1 signage was removed in 1966 as the Interstate highway numbers adequately marked the route and the state highway numbering was superfluous. The present day route of what was once planned as Ohio State Highway 1 is Interstate 71 from Cincinnati to just northeast of Medina, Interstate 271 for its entire length from northeast of Medina to Willoughby Hills, and Interstate 90 from Willoughby Hills to the Pennsylvania state line at Conneaut.


Length

Miles km state
96 154 Kentucky
247 398 Ohio
343 553 Total

Major cities along the route

Intersections with other Interstates

Spur routes

Three-digit Interstates from Interstate 71
I-271 Ohio
I-471 Northern Kentucky

See also

Reference

Primary Interstate Highways Interstate Highway marker
4 5 8 10 12 15 16 17
19 20 22 24 25 26 27 29
30 35 37 39 40 43 44 45
49 55 57 59 64 65 66 68
69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 (W)
76 (E) 77 78 79 80 81 82 83
84 (W) 84 (E) 85 86 (W) 86 (E) 87 88 (W) 88 (E)
89 90 91 93 94 95 96 97
99 238 H-1 H-2 H-3
Unsigned Interstate Highways
A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 PRI-1 PRI-2 PRI-3
Lists
Two-digit Interstates - Three-digit Interstates
Gaps in Interstates - Intrastate Interstates
Interstate standards - Proposed Interstates
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