(abbreviated '''I-71''') is an in
Cleveland, Ohio . I-71 runs concurrently with
Interstate 75 from a point about twenty miles (30 km) south of
Cincinnati into downtown Cincinnati.
Much of Interstate 71 in Ohio was intended to be . Ohio State Highway 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 Ohio State Highway 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 Ohio State Highway 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 Ohio State Highway 1 in order to complete the route.
In
1960 , Ohio State Highway 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);
Ohio State Highway 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);
Ohio State Highway 18 from near Medina to
Montrose ;
U.S. Highway 21 from Montrose to
Brecksville ;
Ohio State Highway 82 from Brecksville to
Aurora ;
(an alternate Ohio State Highway 1 ran from
Twinsburg southeast along
Ohio State Highway 14 to
Streetsboro and then on
Ohio State Highway 43 to Aurora, in order to connect Highway 1 to the Ohio Turnpike;)
Ohio State Highway 306 from Aurora to
Ohio State Highway 84 ;
Ohio State Highway 84 from Ohio State Highway 306 to just west of what was then
Ohio State Highway 44 ;
due south to
Interstate 90 along what is now a section of Ohio State Highway 44;
and finally Interstate 90 to the Pennsylvania state line.
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 Ohio State Highway 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.
Bolded cities are officially-designated
Control Cities for signs.
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.
