Ohio State Route 7

• Ohio River
• Symmes Creek
• Wayne National Forest
• Shade River
• Hocking River

• Lookout Park
• Muskingum River
• Duck Creek
• Little Muskingum River
• Opossum Creek

• Sunfish Creek
• Yellow Creek
• Beaver Creek State Park
• Pine Lake
• Shenango Wildlife Area

• Kinsman Lake
• Ashtabula River
• Conneaut Creek
• Lake Erie

[edit] History

• 1924 – Original route established^[2]; originally routed from the Indiana state line near Elizabethtown to Conneaut along the current U.S. Route 50 from Indiana to Cleves, the current State Route 264 from Cleves to Bridgetown, currently unnumbered roads from Bridgetown to Cincinnati, current U.S. Route 52 from Cincinnati to Aberdeen, current State Route 41 from Aberdeen to 1 mile east of Bradyville, a currently unnumbered road from 1 mile east of Bradyville to Manchester, current U.S. Route 52 from Manchester to 1 mile south of Chesapeake, its current alignment from 1 mile south of Chesapeake to North Lima, a currently unnumbered road paralleling Interstate 680 from North Lima to Youngstown, and its current alignment from Youngstown to Conneaut^[3].
• 1926 – Truncated at Chesapeake; Indiana state line to Cleves certified as U.S. Route 50; Cleves to Bridgetown certified as State Route 264; Bridgetown to Chevoit certified as State Route 268; Cincinnati to 7 miles east of Cincinnati dually certified as U.S. Route 50 and U.S. Route 52; Chevoit to Chesapeake certified as U.S. Route 52; 1 mile south of Marietta to 1 mile north of Newport dually certified with U.S. Route 50N; swapped alignments with State Route 164 from North Lima to Youngstown^[3].
• 1935 – 1 mile south of Marietta to 1 mile north of Newport dually certified with U.S. Route 50A^[3].
• unknown – New 4-lane divided alignment built in Conneaut from the Monroe Township line to just south of U.S. Route 20 (around the time Interstate 90 was constructed in the late 1950s)^{[citation needed]}.
• 1962 – Belpre to Marietta upgraded to 4 lanes^[3].
• 1966 – Brilliant to Toronto upgraded to 4 lanes^[3].
• 1969 – Pomeroy bypass added^[3].
• 1970 – Bridgeport to Martins Ferry and Steubenville to East Liverpool upgraded to divided highway; East Liverpool to 5 miles north of East Liverpool upgraded to freeway^[3].
• 1971 – Rush Run to Brilliant upgraded to divided highway^[3].
• 1972 – 3 miles north of Powhatan Point to 3 miles north of Dilles Bottom, and Rayland to Rush Run upgraded to divided highway^[3].
• 1974 – 7 miles south of Pomeroy to 2 miles south of Pomeroy upgraded to divided highway^[3].
• 1975 – U.S. Route 50A certification removed (1 mile south of Marietta to 1 mile north of Newport)^[3].
• 1976 – 2 miles south of Pomeroy to Pomeroy, and Yorkville to Rayland upgraded to divided highway^[3].
• 1977 – Rush Run to Empire, and 1 mile south of Wellsville to 5 miles north of East Liverpool upgraded to freeway^[3].
• 1978 – 4 miles south of Newell Run to 2 miles south of Newell Run, and Martins Ferry to 2 miles north of Martins Ferry upgraded to divided highway; 2 miles north of Martins Ferry to Rush Run upgraded to freeway^[3].
• 1979 – Extended 1 mile south on the former alignment of U.S. Route 52^[3].
• 1989 – 3 miles north of Dilles Bottom to 2 miles south of Bellaire upgraded to divided highway^[3].
• 1993 – 2 miles south of Bellaire to Bridgeport upgraded to divided highway^[3].

[edit] Chesapeake and Proctorville bypass

Historical map of the Chesapeake Bypass.

The Chesapeake bypass was first proposed in 1953 ^[4].

In 1961, the U.S. Route 52 expressway opened from Chesapeake westward towards Sheridan. The original eastern terminus of the four-lane divided highway was at the current Chesapeake northbound-only exit ramp east of Tallow Ridge Road [7]. U.S. Route 52 originally crossed at the present-day Robert C. Byrd Bridge that connects Chesapeake to Huntington, West Virginia. In 1979, the U.S. Route 52 designation moved to the Nick Joe Rahall II Bridge as tolls on that span were removed that year; the segment east of the Rahall Bridge to the Chesapeake interchange was renumbered to State Route 7.

Ten years later, the four-lane expressway was extended eastward to an incomplete trumpet interchange just east of Big Branch Road [8]. A four-lane connector route from the partially-complete interchange to the foot of the Robert C. Byrd Bridge at State Route 527 was completed. At the same time, the two-lane Chesapeake interchange ramp just east of Tallow Ridge Road was converted to a northbound-only exit ramp. The abrupt terminus at Chesapeake was envisioned to connect to Proctorville.

On May 31, 2002 ^[5], ground was broken for Phase 1-A of the Proctorville bypass ^[6]. Phase 1-A entailed a two-lane connector road from the East Huntington Bridge to Irene Road, with the original loop ramp from the bridge to State Route 7 being modified into an access road. Phase 1-B was designated from Irene Road to State Route 7 near Fairland East Elementary in Rome. Phase 2 was envisioned from Irene Road west to Chesapeake. The total cost was originally estimated to be at $165 million ^[5].

On April 27, 2003, Phase 1-A of the Proctorville bypass opened to traffic ^[7]. The $6.5 million^[5], one-mile section of three-lane roadway was opened from the foot of the East Huntington Bridge to Irene Road and signed as State Route 607.

On June 3, 2003, bids were opened for Phase 1-B from Irene Road to State Route 7 near Fairland East Elementary ^[8]. The projected cost of the 4.5-mile segment was originally $27 million, however, when the bids were let, the cost had decreased to $24.3 million. The lowest bid, which was also accepted, came in at $22.1 million ^[9]. The road was designed as a two-lane limited-access facility on four-lane right-of-way. Construction began on August 4 ^[10], with an original estimated completion date of June 30, 2005.

Due to an unusual amount of rain, blamed on two hurricanes, caused major delays ^[11]. More than one-dozen major slips along Phase 1-B required an additional $30 million in repairs and the purchase of additional land for highwall excavations. Another change was the design of the roadway; originally projected to be widened in the future when higher traffic counts warrant the expansion, it was designed on wide right-of-way with no grade separation between the opposing lanes. During the repair of the slips, a terraced roadway was constructed to separate the future southbound lanes from the northbound by a highwall when the roadway is expanded to four-lanes.

Other cost overruns had pushed the cost of construction to $62 million total, which includes Phases 1-A and 1-B, up from the original estimates of $32 million. The primary cause was rapidly increasing land values and "unchecked zoning" along the project's projected right-of-way along with geo-technical problems with rocky soil ^[8]. Property values along the projected route, for instance, increased 91.5% from 1992 to 2001 alone.

In October 2006, a small 1/2-mile segment of the Phase 1-B bypass opened to traffic between the State Route 607 and Irene Road intersection to State Route 775 ^[12]. The remainder, east to State Route 7 near Fairland East Elementary, opened on December 8, 2006. It includes intersections with State Route 775, Kinley Avenue, and State Route 7. Upon completion, Phases 1-A and 1-B were signed as State Route 7; the bypass from the State Route 775 junction to the loop at the East Huntington Bridge was co-numbered with State Route 775.

Phase 2 of the bypass, from the Chesapeake bypass to Irene Road at Proctorville, has not been funded. Funding which had been previously promised by the Ohio Department of Transportation were later denied ^[4]. Phase 2 is estimated to cost $76 million to complete ^[8].

[edit] Pomeroy Bypass

The Pomeroy bypass from Middleport east to U.S. Route 33 was completed in 1968. At the time of completion, the bypass was two lanes but was upgraded to four lanes, divided, in 1976 from State Route 143 to U.S. Route 33 near Rock Springs. The bypass was extended east in 2000 from Rock Springs to a partial diamond interchange with State Route 7 as a four-lane divided expressway. It was initially signed just State Route 7. The diamond interchange was later completed with all connections, and the highway was extended eastward to Ravenswood, West Virginia as U.S. Route 33.

[edit] Auxiliary routes

[edit] Alternate State Route 7 in Bridgeport

Alternate State Route 7 is a short connecting loop that serves as a link from State Route 7, U.S. Route 40, and U.S. Route 250 to Interstate 70 in Bridgeport. Its western (southern) terminus is at State Route 767, and its eastern (northern) terminus is along U.S. Route 40 at its intersection with U.S. Route 250 and the northern terminus of State Route 767.

County	Location	Mile	Road(s)	Notes
Belmont	Bridgeport	0.00	SR 767	SR 767 passes south-north just north of its interchange with SR 7.
		0.38	I-70	I-70 passes under SR 7 Alt west-east; full-access interchange (I-70 exit 225).
		0.46	US 40	SR 7 Alt joins US 40 which enters from the west.
		0.72	US 40 - US 250 SR 767	US 40 continues east, duplexed with US 250 which joins from the north; northern terminus of SR 767.

Legend
Crossing, no access	Concurrency termini	Decommissioned	Unconstructed	Closed

[edit] Business State Route 7 from Middleport to Pomeroy

Business State Route 7 stretches from 1¾ west of Middleport to about 4 miles east of Pomeroy. This route follows the former alignment of State Route 7 that was replaced by the Pomeroy Bypass, and runs through the downtown areas of Middleport and Pomeroy. It joins with State Route 833 (the former alignment of U.S. Route 33) from a mile west of Pomeroy to 1¾ east of Pomeroy, including a brief concurrency with State Route 124, and then heads northeast to the eastern U.S. Route 33/State Route 7 interchange. This route is not listed at ODOT’s Technical Services Straight Line Diagrams as a state-maintained route.

[edit] Gallery

Assembly for State Route 7 and U.S. Route 20 in Conneaut.

Signs in Marietta indicating that this stretch of road is simultaneously State Route 7 North and State Route 60 South]].

State Route 7 south of Dilles Bottom.

The highway somewhere between Marietta and Pomeroy.

[edit] Sources

1. ^ Mileages retrieved from Technical Services Straight Line Diagrams unless otherwise noted.
2. ^ Explanation of the Ohio State Highway System (The Unofficial Ohio State Highways Web Site) by John Simpson
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q} Route 7 (The Unofficial Ohio State Highways Web Site) by John Simpson
4. ^ ^{a b} Malloy, David. "Chesapeake Bypass on hold indefinitely." Herald-Dispatch [Huntington] 2004. 11 Feb. 2007.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Malloy, David. "Chesapeake bypass gets aid from feds." Herald-Dispatch [Huntington] 2002. 11 February 2007.
6. ^ Blair, Allen. "Bypass construction set in Lawrence, Ohio." Daily Independent [Ashland] 2002. 11 February 2007.
7. ^ Malloy, David. "Traffic eased in Proctorville, but congested elsewhere." Herald-Dispatch [Huntington] 27 April, 2003. 11 February 2007 [1].
8. ^ ^{a b c} Malloy, David. "Overruns raise concerns about bypass." Herald-Dispatch [Huntington] 23 May, 2003. 11 February 2007 [2].
9. ^ Malloy, David. "Bids opened for Chesapeake Bypass project." Herald-Dispatch [Huntington] 5 June, 2003. 11 Feb. 2007 [3]/
10. ^ Malloy, David. "Chesapeake Bypass construction to start." Herald-Dispatch [Huntington] 11 July, 2003. 11 Feb. 2007 [4].
11. ^ Malloy, David. "Bridge work may be bid on in fall." Herald-Dispatch [Huntington] 15 April, 2005. 11 Feb. 2007 [5].
12. ^ Malloy, David. "Section of new Chesapeake Bypass could open next week." Herald-Dispatch [Huntington] 21 Oct. 2006. 11 Feb. 2007 [6].

[edit] External links

• The Unofficial Ohio State Highways Web Site, by John Simpson
• Ohio Highway Ends | Ohio Route 7 from state-ends.com by Dan Garnell