State Route 5, 8 and 11 in Ohio

Ohio State Route 5

According to bestitude, State Route 5 or OH-5 is a state route and partial freeway in the U.S. state of Ohio. The road connects Ravenna to Kinsman via Warren. The part around Warren is a freeway. The total route is 82 kilometers long.

Travel directions

State Route 5 begins in the town of Ravenna and heads east to Warren. At Newton Falls there is a connection to the Ohio Turnpike (I-80). Farther east, State Route 5 forms the Warren Outer Belt, a 13-mile stretch of highway along the north side of Warren. The rest of the Warren Outer Belt is made up of State Route 82. From Warren , State Route 5 heads northeast through Cortland and Kinsman to the Pennsylvania border.

History

The current State Route 5 was created in 1932. Around 1968, the feeder opened from I-76 to Ravenna. In 1970, the first 3 miles of the Warren Outer Belt opened as a freeway and was then numbered State Route 5B. In 1971, another 5 miles of the Warren Outer Belt opened, after which the entire Outer Belt was numbered as State Route 5. The Warren Outer Belt has had freeway status since 1978.

State Route 8 in Ohio

State Route 8 or OH-8 is a state route and partial freeway in the U.S. state of Ohio. The road connects Akron to Cleveland and is 62 kilometers long. The southern 27 kilometers of this is a freeway.

Travel directions

State Route 8 at I-80.

State Route 8 begins in the city of Akron, at an unhappily designed interchange with Interstate 76 and Interstate 77. Here you can take I-76 west to Columbus and east to Youngstown, and I-77 north to Cleveland (parallel to SR-8) and south to Charleston. State Route 8 continues north along the east side of Downtown Akron with 2×3 lanes. The highway runs through an urbanized area between Akron and Cleveland, both agglomerations have grown together, although the exit density of State Route 8 north of Cuyahoga Falls is lower.

Near the suburb of Hudson is an interchange with the Ohio Turnpike (I-80). Not long after, the highway branches off to Interstate 271, Cleveland’s eastern bypass, after which State Route 8 continues as a city highway. The first part of it parallels I-271 for some distance, but later curves west and ends in Cleveland.

History

State Route 8 originally ran from Marietta to Cleveland, more or less the same route Interstate 77 in Ohio now travels. It was the primary route between Akron and Cleveland at the time, as there was no US Highway between the two cities. Since 1969, the route has been shortened to Akron. On August 6, 1954, the highway opened in Akron, between Perkins Street and East Cuyahoga Falls Avenue. In 1962, the freeway opened to traffic further south in Akron. In 1972 it was extended north through Cuyahoga Falls and by 1974 it was passable between the two places. On May 20, 1988, the freeway opened between Stow and State Route 303 near Hudson. Further north, State Route 8 was a divided highwaywith traffic lights. Between 2008 and 2011, the section between State Route 303 and I-271 in the southern Cleveland suburbs was converted to a freeway.

The freeway in Akron was known as State Route 8B in the 1960s.

Ohio State Route 11

According to biotionary, State Route 11 or OH-11 is a state route and freeway in the U.S. state of Ohio. The entire route is a north-south highway in the east of the state and runs from US 30 in East Liverpool through the town of Youngstown to Ashtabula on Lake Erie. The highway is 160 kilometers long.

Travel directions

US 30 / OH-11 north of East Liverpool.

The highway begins in East Liverpool, on the border with West Virginia, then heads north on 2×2 lanes. This area is initially hilly, but becomes flatter towards the north and less densely forested. After 50 kilometers you reach the city of Youngstown, a regional city with 74,000 inhabitants. The highway crosses the Ohio Turnpike, formed by Interstate 76. I-76 comes from Akron and Cleveland and heads toward Pittsburgh. There is no interchange with I-76, traffic has to take a detour via I-80, which one crosses a little further. Interstate 80 comes from Cleveland and heads toward New York. Interstate 680. also turns herewhich forms an access road from Youngstown. SR-11 and I-80 are then double-numbered with each other for a few miles, after which SR-11 turns north and passes the town of Warren. The highway then becomes very quiet and runs through the great plain north of Youngstown towards the shore of Lake Erie. Before Ashtabula, you cross Interstate 90, the highway from Cleveland to Buffalo. Not far after, SR-11 ends in Ashtabula, a regional town on Lake Erie.

History

Construction of the highway began in 1968 and the first sections opened in 1969. By 1972, the 160-kilometer highway was already completed. However, between Youngstown and Ashtabula not all connections were grade separated, around 1979 the last intersections between Gustavus and Jefferson were converted into connections. It is unclear why this is not an Interstate Highway, which would be obvious given the length and function of the highway. It is the longest freeway in Ohio that is a state route.

The freeway connects the industrial center of Youngstown with the ore port of Ashtabula on Lake Erie and the many industries of the Ohio River Valley, and thus had great economic importance at the time. In 1973 the road was named the ‘Lake to River Highway’. However, it could not prevent the heavy industry around Youngstown from shrinking sharply due to a reduced demand for steel.