Interstate 71

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Interstate 71
Main route of the Interstate Highway System

Length:

344 mi (553 km)

Formed:

1964

South end:

I-64/I-65 in Louisville, KY

Major
junctions:

I-75 near Cincinnati, OH

I-70 in Columbus, OH

I-76 in Seville, OH

I-80 in Strongsville, OH

North end:

I-90 in Cleveland, OH

Interstate 71 (abbreviated I-71) is an Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes/Midwestern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with Interstate 64 and Interstate 65 in Louisville, Kentucky (the Kennedy Interchange, locally called the "Spaghetti Junction" - Google Maps satellite view); its northern terminus is at an intersection with Interstate 90 in Cleveland, Ohio. I-71 runs concurrently with Interstate 75 from a point about twenty miles (30 km) south of Cincinnati into downtown Cincinnati. Almost three quarters of the route lies east of I-75.

While I-71 is designated a North-South highway, it is a major east-west route for cross-country traffic. It links I-80 and I-90 to I-70, and ultimately (via I-65) links to I-40.

1 Route description
- 1.1 Ohio
  - 1.1.1 History
2 Length
3 Major cities along the route
4 Intersections with other interstates
5 Notes
6 Spur routes
7 See also
8 References

[edit] Route description

[edit] Ohio

[edit] History

Much of Interstate 71 in Ohio was intended to be State Route 1. State Route 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 State Route 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 State Route 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 State Route 1 in order to complete the route.

In 1960, State Route 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); State Route 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); State Route 18 from near Medina to Montrose; U.S. Highway 21 from Montrose to Brecksville; State Route 82 from Brecksville to Aurora; (an alternate State Route 1 ran from Twinsburg southeast along State Route 14 to Streetsboro and then on State Route 43 to Aurora, in order to connect Highway 1 to the Ohio Turnpike;) State Route 306 from Aurora to State Route 84; State Route 84 from State Route 306 to just west of what was then State Route 44; due south to Interstate 90 along what is now a section of State Route 44; and finally Interstate 90 to the Pennsylvania state line.

Heading Northbound into Columbus from the South

In Columbus, The portion of Interstate 71 that bounds Worthington's eastern edge was originally called The North Freeway. It cost $US 13.8 million, and was constructed south from Rt. 161, arriving at 11th avenue by August, 1961. It took a year to get from 11th avenue to 5th avenue, mostly due to the need to construct a massive underpass under the Pennsylvania Railroad's Grogan Yard. Ironically, today only two tracks cross the viaduct, the rest of the structure supports a large, weedy field. By August of 1962, the freeway had reached Fifth Avenue, and reached downtown in November of 1962.

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 State Route 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.

[edit] Length


Miles	km	state
97	156	Kentucky
247	397	Ohio

344	553	Total

[edit] Major cities along the route

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

[edit] Intersections with other interstates

Interstate 64 and I-65 in Louisville, Kentucky (this is the complicated Kennedy Interchange.)
Interstate 264 in Louisville, Kentucky
Interstate 265 in Louisville, Kentucky
Interstate 75 in Walton, Kentucky. Interstate 75 runs concurrently with Interstate 71 until Cincinnati, Ohio, where it splits onto Fort Washington Way.
Interstate 70 in Columbus, Ohio
Interstate 76 near Seville, Ohio
Interstate 80 in Strongsville, Ohio
Interstate 270 in Columbus, Ohio/Worthington, Ohio
Interstate 275 in Cincinnati, Ohio
Interstate 670 in Columbus, Ohio
Interstate 480 in Cleveland, Ohio
Interstate 90 in Cleveland, Ohio
Interstate 490 in Cleveland, Ohio

[edit] Notes

The rivalry between the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns has been nicknamed "The I-71 Rivalry", because Cincinnati and Cleveland are directly connected by I-71.

[edit] Spur routes

Northern Kentucky - I-471
Weymouth, Ohio - I-271

	edit Auxiliary routes of Interstate 71
	Current and Future (F)	Former
	Ohio
	Kentucky/Ohio

[edit] See also

Carrollton bus disaster -- a drunk-driving tragedy involving a school bus that occurred on I-71

[edit] References

edit Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)
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	66 (W)		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			A-1		A-2		A-3		A-4		PRI-1		PRI-2		PRI-3
Lists		Main - Auxiliary - Suffixed - Business - Proposed - Unsigned Gaps - Intrastate - Interstate standards - Replaced