The Washington, D.C.-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) have selected the Ohio Turnpike and Interstate 70 as the state’s top two transportation infrastructure projects of the 20th century. Former Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes and former Ohio House of Representatives member Vernal "Vern" G. Riffe Jr. were also named the state’s top transportation public officials of the past century.
The selections were revealed March 14 at an event hosted by the Ohio Contractors Association (OCA). ARTBA Director John Kurtz, president of Cleveland-based Kurtz Brothers Inc., presented awards to Ohio Contractors Association Chairman David Barns and Ohio Department of Transportation Executive Director Gordon Proctor.
ARTBA conducted a national survey to help identify the top two transportation infrastructure projects and public officials of the past century in all 50 states. The survey was sent to members of Congress, the nation’s governors, state transportation department heads, newspaper editors, state and local chambers of commerce executives and college history professors.
The Ohio Turnpike was recognized because of its importance to the Ohio economy and for providing unparalleled mobility to the state’s motorists.
The 241-mi. Ohio Turnpike winds its way through 13 counties of northern Ohio’s industrial area as a central link in the network of toll roads reaching from Boston to Chicago. By connecting with Indiana and Pennsylvania at either end, the Turnpike also is an important factor in Ohio’s internal transportation system, intersecting with 36 other routes, including five Interstate highways.
The Ohio Turnpike Commission was created in 1949 and the first 22 miles of the highway, from the Pennsylvania border to Youngstown, were opened on Dec. 1,1954. The remaining 219 miles began receiving traffic 10 months later. The Turnpike has experienced steadily increasing use and revenues, now accommodating more than 45 million vehicles and collecting nearly $210 million annually in tolls, which are used to help maintain the system.
A major expansion program to add a third lane in each direction was started in 1996 and is nearing completion.
Ohio’s strategic geographic position as the gateway between the Midwest and the East Coast made it essential for the state to have a comprehensive system of modern highways. Interstate 70 (I-70), running 225 miles across the state, is the critical member of that system, cutting through the center of the state from east to west and serving both urban and rural areas. I-70 runs from Wheeling, WV, in the east through the state capital of Columbus, on through Springfield, bypassing Dayton and on to the Indiana border. It carries millions of motorists annually.
ARTBA gave "honorable mentions" to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in recognition of their important role to the state’s economy, travel and tourism industries.
ARTBA also recognized two former Ohio public officials.
Republican James A. Rhodes, known as "Mr. Construction," was Ohio governor for 16 years in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. With a "jobs and progress" mantra, Rhodes secured voter support for a 1964 and a 1968 proposal, both to issue $500 million in bonds to finance construction of transportation projects. He initiated the building of an airport in every county, most of the state’s four-lane non-interstate highways and the Ohio turnpike.
Vernal "Vern" G. Riffe, Jr. (D) was as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1958 to 1994. He served 20 years as speaker beginning in 1974, making him the longest serving speaker in Ohio history. Riffe worked closely with Governor James Rhodes on development of the state’s transportation policy and successfully enacted legislation raising the gas tax to build and maintain new highways.
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