Ohio Turnpike

[OldDawg]

Maybe a stupid question...

Was on the Ohio Turnpike tonight and just wondered....

Why is interstate 80 "the Ohio Turnpike???"
What is so special about it that warrants that I pay to travel on it.
Why not interstates 71, 75, 77, 70?

Is it because there are very few exits (which slows down traffic)???

I would get it if I-80 went through some mountain ranges.

[Spin]

IIRC it was built by the turnpike commission as some sort of private entity, before the Interstate highways came long.

[skatingtripods]

80 was part of the Eisenhower project to connect the states via one continuous freeway. 80 just runs east-west across Ohio. 71 and 77 both run north-south. All states' turnpikes run east-west to my knowledge.

[Spin]

Found out for sure.

The turnpike and the interstate highway system are two different things. The turnpikes came first, and when the interstate system came along they included the turnpikes. The toll roads can still collect tolls, but do not receive federal money for maintenance.

PA has one that runs north-south, from Scranton to Philly. I've been down that one before.

[skatingtripods]

PA has one that runs north-south, from Scranton to Philly. I've been down that one before.

I've gone from Breezewood to Philly before. That's definitely east-west.

[FUDU]

The point being missed here is the fact that the Ohio turnpike still charges to drive on it is a total scam.

[OldDawg]

PA has one that runs north-south, from Scranton to Philly. I've been down that one before.

I've gone from Breezewood to Philly before. That's definitely east-west.

77N-S is turnpike in WV.

[Orenthal]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Turnpike

I swear I always hear people 50 and over complain that they were only supposed to collect tolls for a certain number of years... Kind of like the complaining you hear about the Ohio Lottery not saving the schools. I wonder if there was some such limit that has been extended forever. Like any tax it never goes away!

[The Tribe Zone]

Just for shitters and grinners.....and as a side point....

Even numbers go east-west

Odd numbers go north and south...


I didn't see that posted, wasn't sure it was common knowledge.......

[Spin]

I've gone from Breezewood to Philly before. That's definitely east-west.

There's two segments to the PA pike...

[FUDU]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Turnpike

I swear I always hear people 50 and over complain that they were only supposed to collect tolls for a certain number of years... Kind of like the complaining you hear about the Ohio Lottery not saving the schools. I wonder if there was some such limit that has been extended forever. Like any tax it never goes away!

I've always heard that as well and believe it to be true.

I've even heard some originalists claim that the concept of state or federal toll roads to be unconstitutional.

Either way I'm with you, its nothing more than a tax and it is not going away.

[Spin]

It'll only get worse. They're installing those Pay-Pass whatever systems at all the gates, with big message boards and other shit we don't need at each gate.

Guess who's paying for all that shit?

All to drive on the highway with the worst weather in Ohio. I swear it can be 40' and sunny anywhere else, and the pike looks like an episode of Ice Road Truckers.

[RC]

Yeah, it sucks to have to pay to drive on I-80 but with my job I travel all over the midwest and now with the traveling I do I will never bitch about i-80 again.

Why you ask?

Ever drive PA's turnpike of I-76? That is the most horribly maintained piece of shit I have ever driven on and the tolls are much higher than Ohio's.

I drove from Youngstown, OH to North East, MD last winter. I have to take 76 from the Ohio border to basically the Lancaster, PA exit. One way cost 21 dollars. You can drive all of I-80 from one side to the other and it doesn't cost that much and the travel is much nicer. Better maintained roads, nicer rest stops etc.

I shouldn't be surprised. It is yinzer nation and it goes right by Pittspuke.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

I've always heard that as well and believe it to be true.

I've even heard some originalists claim that the concept of state or federal toll roads to be unconstitutional.

Either way I'm with you, its nothing more than a tax and it is not going away.

I'm an originalist and toll roads are not unconstitutional UNLESS a state charges for you to come in from another state and does so directly on its border. The Feds could do a toll road across state lines because of the commerce clause.

My dad worked on the turnpike when we lived in Ohio when I was a kid. There was a point where it was going to shift to a non-toll interstate but a decision was made to not do so mainly because of the turnpike's use for both state and national commerce. At least back then the tolls allowed for better services on the turnpike. The potholes were patched more quickly and the road was more consistently salted in the winters.

I don't think that happens anymore, at least not since they decided to redistribute the turnpike tolls to other state projects last year. But the Ohio Turnpike used to be known as one of the best roads in the country. A good friend who used to drive semis cross country has told me this before. And I have experienced it a couple of times as I've driven out of Pennsylvania or Indiana, especially in winter, to find the Ohio Turnpike in much better shape than the other roadways, especially the shitty Indiana Toll Road.

That's what I recall being told in the past. I can ask my dad next time I talk to him because he'll recall all that stuff, but the Turnpike's maintenance used to be among the best in the nation. Hope it still is.

[dmiles]

I thought maybe it was some Indian term for "must drive one lane for next 30 miles"