The Ohio Turnpike, seven decades on

Construction in numbers

Timeline

1. 1949

   Turnpike Commission authorised

   The Ohio General Assembly created the Ohio Turnpike Commission as an independent body, empowered to issue revenue bonds and design a coast-to-coast highway across the northern third of the state.

2. 1952

   Ground broken

   Construction begins 27 October. At peak some 10,000 workers and 2,300 pieces of heavy equipment are deployed.

3. 1955

   Opens to traffic

   1 October. 241 miles complete in just 35 months. $326 million in revenue bonds funded the build, ahead of the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act that created the Interstate Highway System.

4. 1956

   First full year

   10 million vehicle trips recorded across the new road. The Turnpike opens before most of the federal interstate network exists.

5. 1975

   Speed limit drops to 55 mph

   National Maximum Speed Law forces a reduction from the original 70 mph. Compliance was uneven from day one.

6. 1998

   Distance-based exit renumbering begins

   Original sequential numbering (Exit 1 to Exit 18 from Indiana) starts being replaced with mile-marker-based numbers (Exit 2 to Exit 239).

7. 2002

   Sequential numbers retired

   The legacy numbering system is fully removed from signage, completing the transition to mile-marker exit numbers.

8. 2011

   Speed limit raised to 70 mph

   1 April. Class 1 limit returns to its 1955 value. Trucks and buses also at 70 mph (no split limit).

9. 2013

   Renamed and broadened

   Becomes the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission. New legislation expands the body's funding authority for non-Turnpike state infrastructure projects.

10. 2024

    2024-2028 Schedule of Tolls adopted

    Five-year published rate plan with a 2.7 percent annual increase scheduled each January through 2028.

11. 2026

    Current rates take effect

    1 January. Class 1 E-ZPass rate $0.073/mi, cash $0.106/mi. Full route $19.00 / $27.75 westbound.

Why the Turnpike came before the interstates

By 1949 Ohio politicians and businesses were tired of waiting for federal money to build a modern east-west highway across the state. The Turnpike Commission was authorised to raise its own bonds, repaid by tolls, with a target completion date no federal program could match. When the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 finally launched the Interstate System, the Ohio Turnpike was already a year old and carrying traffic. The federal interstates ultimately ran either side of it, but the Turnpike kept its original alignment, its original cross-section, and most importantly its tolls.