Cleveland Meeting and trip
Pete Jenior
My trip up consisted of I-71 all of the way, so there's not much to say
about that.
The crowd had already gathered at Rock Bottom Brewery when I arrived
(apparently we were meeting up at noon and not 12:30 like some old post or
website said). We were there for several hours, and it was great to see
everyone again and meet some new folks as well. This was only my second
time visiting the Flats, and I'd forgotten a lot about the area. There are
some massive bridges nearby...
After leaving the restaurant most of us did some exploring. We went through
downtown Cleveland and then some old industrial areas to so we could look
down on Dead Man's Curve on I-90. This curve is so sharp that there are
rumble strips on I-90 for it. Because much of the interstate is covered by
bridges here, cars driving over them made funny noises. [insert Tim Brown
comment here]
We then actually got on I-90 and went through the curve (yes, it is sharp!).
We took I-90 all of the out to I-271 where we saw the express/local lanes
they have there. We went as far south as the I-480 area, when we exited and
went "under" (into the valley below) the massive I-480 bridge over the
Cuyahoga River. We then took I-480 to SR 176 (I think) to I-90 back to the
Flats. We drove the long OH 2 viaduct before returning to the restaurant.
I then took a long trip home (spent Saturday night in a hotel). I drove OH
283 along lake heading east from Cleveland. It was really interesting to
see all of the different neighborhoods in this area and I did lots of little
sidetrips.
I went as far as OH 44 and then started heading south (on OH 44). Somewhere
between OH 2 and I-90 I lost OH 44 but by using a compass in the car I was
able to take various road that got me back to it. The only roads I've ever
been on in this area are I-90 and I-76, so i was really covering some new
terrain here. The area was quite nice too.
South of I-76 in Randolph I stopped at Jenior Ford (dealership) and looked
around (I knew it existed but had never been there).
This area must have gotten a lot of rain recently. Most creeks were
overflowing into the woods and all kinds of lowspots in fields were under
water.
Somewhere in this area there was a stretch of OH 44 that had horrible
pavement for several miles. There were some enormous potholes and in one
area there had been a landslide too (it wasn't on the road).
I took OH 183 to OH 800 (why such a high number) to OH 211 to OH 39 past
Sugar Creek and into Holmes County. This was my first time in Holmes
County, which is supposedly home to the largest Amish community in the
world. There were many Amish restaurants and shops and stuff like that, and
most of them were closed because it was Sunday.
OH 39 in this area is on a relatively new alignment with wide shoulders,
minimal grades, etc. (In many places there was an old road nearby). I guess
it is for tourist traffic, because other than that its not really an
important road.
I several dozen horses and buggies along OH 39. I've seen them before, but
never anything close to a concentration of that level.
I left OH 39 in Millersburg and got on US 62. As I expected, it is a pretty
minor road in this area and had little traffic, although it was well marked.
For that matter, US 62 is not that important of a route anywhere along its
length...
I took OH 13 down to Newark, and then got on the OH 16 expressway and headed
towards Columbus. The E-W route consisting of OH 16, OH 37, and OH 161
needs to be four lanes all of the way from Newark to I-270. The two lane
part was "full" and had there been any more cars travel speed would have
reduce significantly. In some areas there was already ROW for such an
expansion, but it others there was not.
I went south when I got to I-270 (I think this was my first time on this
part of 270. I then went into the city on 670, which I haven't been on
since shortly after it opened. This road was big and wide open and was
great to drive. I went to 315 and took it to 71.
I-71 was really crowded between Columbus and Cincinnati. There were some
times when I was only going 55 mph or so because of the traffic. I had to
be extra alert the whole time in case traffic suddenly slowed to 15 mph or
something (this happened several times). Just when I was beginning to think
that it was OK for 71 to only be two lanes between Cincinnati and Columbus,
something like this happens.
--
-Pete Jenior - Cincinnati, Ohio
-Civil Engineering Major
Georgia Tech (downtown Atlanta)
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg377a/roads.html
magyar
news:cb85od$5av$1...@news-int.gatech.edu...
<snip trip north and trip around Cleveland>
> I then took a long trip home (spent Saturday night in a hotel). I drove
OH
> 283 along lake heading east from Cleveland. It was really interesting to
> see all of the different neighborhoods in this area and I did lots of
little
> sidetrips.
Marc could of at least invited you for dinner. ;-)
> I went as far as OH 44 and then started heading south (on OH 44).
Somewhere
> between OH 2 and I-90 I lost OH 44 but by using a compass in the car I was
> able to take various road that got me back to it. The only roads I've
ever
> been on in this area are I-90 and I-76, so i was really covering some new
> terrain here. The area was quite nice too.
You turn left onto Oh 2 to continue south on Oh 44. :-)
> South of I-76 in Randolph I stopped at Jenior Ford (dealership) and looked
> around (I knew it existed but had never been there).
>
> This area must have gotten a lot of rain recently. Most creeks were
> overflowing into the woods and all kinds of lowspots in fields were under
> water.
What? It doesn't rain in Cincinnati? It's been bad in Columbus and even
around Cleveland. That Cleveland bridge trip Marc and I did the weekend
before was delayed two weeks due to heavy rains around Cleveland at that
time (and then returned last week).
> Somewhere in this area there was a stretch of OH 44 that had horrible
> pavement for several miles. There were some enormous potholes and in one
> area there had been a landslide too (it wasn't on the road).
>
> I took OH 183 to OH 800 (why such a high number)
For whatever the reason, ODOT reassigned the former Oh 8 route, south of
Canton as Oh 800 (and truncated Oh 8 at Central Interchange in Akron). This
was done back in the early 70s IIRC.
> to OH 211 to OH 39 past
> Sugar Creek and into Holmes County. This was my first time in Holmes
> County, which is supposedly home to the largest Amish community in the
> world. There were many Amish restaurants and shops and stuff like that,
and
> most of them were closed because it was Sunday.
Has Holmes County surpassed Lancaster County, Pa for largest Amish
population now?
(If you had gone 8 miles east of Oh 44 in Geauga County, you would of ended
up in Ohio's second largest Amish community)
> I took OH 13 down to Newark, and then got on the OH 16 expressway and
headed
> towards Columbus. The E-W route consisting of OH 16, OH 37, and OH 161
> needs to be four lanes all of the way from Newark to I-270. The two lane
> part was "full" and had there been any more cars travel speed would have
> reduce significantly. In some areas there was already ROW for such an
> expansion, but it others there was not.
MORPC, Licking Co, and ODOT are working on widening 161 from the Franklin
County line out to Oh 37 (and the Newark Bypass).
I guess this will be the preferred alt. route to Newark from Columbus
instead of Oh 16
> I went south when I got to I-270 (I think this was my first time on this
> part of 270.
So you saw Easton and some moved earth as part of the start of the Oh
161-I-270 interchange rebuild
> I then went into the city on 670, which I haven't been on
> since shortly after it opened. This road was big and wide open and was
> great to drive. I went to 315 and took it to 71.
So what do you think of the section between I-71 and 315?
> I-71 was really crowded between Columbus and Cincinnati. There were some
> times when I was only going 55 mph or so because of the traffic. I had to
> be extra alert the whole time in case traffic suddenly slowed to 15 mph or
> something (this happened several times). Just when I was beginning to
think
> that it was OK for 71 to only be two lanes between Cincinnati and
Columbus,
> something like this happens.
Isn't ODOT widen I-71 to 3 lanes (in each direction) around Jefersonville?
> --
> -Pete Jenior - Cincinnati, Ohio
> -Civil Engineering Major
> Georgia Tech (downtown Atlanta)
> http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg377a/roads.html
Sandor G
--
"I'ma low pay daddy singin' th' high price blues."
--Corey Harris singing Woody Guthrie
MrSparkle
"magyar" <roa...@copper.net> wrote ...
> "Pete Jenior" <gtg...@prism.gatech.eduFILTER> wrote in message
for traffic maintenance reasons, I think they are about to shift all traffic
to the NB set of lanes (NB and SB separated by a barrier), and rebuild the
SB lanes under no traffic
Marc Fannin
> I went up to Cleveland on Saturday for the mtr meeting that was held there.
> My trip up consisted of I-71 all of the way, so there's not much to say
> about that.
>
> [snip I-90 EB to I-271 SB to I-480 WB] We then took I-480 to SR 176 (I think)
Yup
> to I-90 back to the Flats. We drove the long OH 2 viaduct before returning
> to the restaurant.
Per Pete's request :)
> I then took a long trip home (spent Saturday night in a hotel). I drove OH
> 283 along lake heading east from Cleveland. It was really interesting to
> see all of the different neighborhoods in this area and I did lots of little
> sidetrips.
I took virtually the same route back after the meeting. It had been a
while for me and I think it was only the second time ever taking the
route continuously rather than in segments (I turned off at SR 640).
The big arch which said "Euclid Beach Park" in front of some condos
(did you see it?) is a remnant of an amusement park.
http://www.euclidbeach.com/
> I went as far as OH 44 and then started heading south (on OH 44). Somewhere
> between OH 2 and I-90 I lost OH 44 but by using a compass in the car I was
> able to take various road that got me back to it.
I lost you. SR 44 between SR 2 and I-90 is freeway, so it's kinda
tough to lose...maybe you were on old 44? Did you mean you had
trouble finding SR 44? Browse through
http://www.roadfan.com/paine.html#outer ("US 20 at Ohio 44") and
http://www.roadfan.com/conmad.html#conc (especially "Ohio Route 44
interchange with Ohio Route 84") and see if you recognize anything.
(FWIW you're not the only roadgeek to have gotten disoriented there -
groups.google.com/groups?selm=cc3aa42a.01062...@posting.google.com
)
> I several dozen horses and buggies along OH 39. I've seen them before, but
> never anything close to a concentration of that level.
My theory: It was Sunday, a day when most Amish sects prohibit work,
so that's when many trips are made.
________________________________________________________________________
Marc Fannin|musx...@kent.edu or @hotmail.com| http://www.roadfan.com/
Pete Jenior
"magyar" <roa...@copper.net> wrote in message > >
> > This area must have gotten a lot of rain recently. Most creeks were
> > overflowing into the woods and all kinds of lowspots in fields were
under
> > water.
>
> What? It doesn't rain in Cincinnati? It's been bad in Columbus and even
> around Cleveland. That Cleveland bridge trip Marc and I did the weekend
> before was delayed two weeks due to heavy rains around Cleveland at that
> time (and then returned last week).
It hasn't rained all that much in the last couple of weeks, but it sure did
rain a lot before that...
>
>
> > to OH 211 to OH 39 past
> > Sugar Creek and into Holmes County. This was my first time in Holmes
> > County, which is supposedly home to the largest Amish community in the
> > world. There were many Amish restaurants and shops and stuff like that,
> and
> > most of them were closed because it was Sunday.
>
> Has Holmes County surpassed Lancaster County, Pa for largest Amish
> population now?
According to some brochure I read, yes. Then again, it was a brochure...
> (If you had gone 8 miles east of Oh 44 in Geauga County, you would of
ended
> up in Ohio's second largest Amish community)
>
> > I took OH 13 down to Newark, and then got on the OH 16 expressway and
> headed
> > towards Columbus. The E-W route consisting of OH 16, OH 37, and OH 161
> > needs to be four lanes all of the way from Newark to I-270. The two
lane
> > part was "full" and had there been any more cars travel speed would have
> > reduce significantly. In some areas there was already ROW for such an
> > expansion, but it others there was not.
>
> MORPC, Licking Co, and ODOT are working on widening 161 from the Franklin
> County line out to Oh 37 (and the Newark Bypass).
> I guess this will be the preferred alt. route to Newark from Columbus
> instead of Oh 16
So those stakes I saw really were for something...
>
> > I then went into the city on 670, which I haven't been on
> > since shortly after it opened. This road was big and wide open and was
> > great to drive. I went to 315 and took it to 71.
>
> So what do you think of the section between I-71 and 315?
Not bad at all!
>
> > I-71 was really crowded between Columbus and Cincinnati. There were
some
> > times when I was only going 55 mph or so because of the traffic. I had
to
> > be extra alert the whole time in case traffic suddenly slowed to 15 mph
or
> > something (this happened several times). Just when I was beginning to
> think
> > that it was OK for 71 to only be two lanes between Cincinnati and
> Columbus,
> > something like this happens.
>
> Isn't ODOT widen I-71 to 3 lanes (in each direction) around Jefersonville?
>
Yes, but only in that area. I've never heard anything about widening
everything between Columbus and Cleveland, even many years from now.
-Pete
Pete Jenior
"Marc Fannin" <musx...@kent.edu> wrote in message
>
> > I then took a long trip home (spent Saturday night in a hotel). I drove
OH
> > 283 along lake heading east from Cleveland. It was really interesting
to
> > see all of the different neighborhoods in this area and I did lots of
little
> > sidetrips.
>
> I took virtually the same route back after the meeting. It had been a
> while for me and I think it was only the second time ever taking the
> route continuously rather than in segments (I turned off at SR 640).
> The big arch which said "Euclid Beach Park" in front of some condos
> (did you see it?) is a remnant of an amusement park.
> http://www.euclidbeach.com/
Yes I did see that arch. I got the impression that some of the lakeshore
areas I was going past had once been vacation type of areas...
>
> > I went as far as OH 44 and then started heading south (on OH 44).
Somewhere
> > between OH 2 and I-90 I lost OH 44 but by using a compass in the car I
was
> > able to take various road that got me back to it.
>
> I lost you. SR 44 between SR 2 and I-90 is freeway, so it's kinda
> tough to lose...maybe you were on old 44? Did you mean you had
> trouble finding SR 44? Browse through
> http://www.roadfan.com/paine.html#outer ("US 20 at Ohio 44") and
> http://www.roadfan.com/conmad.html#conc (especially "Ohio Route 44
> interchange with Ohio Route 84") and see if you recognize anything.
> (FWIW you're not the only roadgeek to have gotten disoriented there -
>
groups.google.com/groups?selm=cc3aa42a.01062...@posting.google.co
m
> )
I was on OH 283 and I got to OH 44. I went north to see the lake, and then
turned around and went south on OH 44 which was four lane divided. After
going past OH 2 I was on a two lane road. Looking at maps now I should have
gotten on OH 2 for a multiplex, but I must have missed the sign. At the
time I didn't remember that OH 44 was an expressway between OH 2 and I-90 (I
was kind of planning this on the fly), so was eventually tipped me off was a
lack of reassurance markers and, to a lesser extent, low traffic volumes,
road design, etc.
-Pete
Marc Fannin
> "Marc Fannin" <musx...@kent.edu> wrote in message
>
> > [Pete Jenior wrote:]
> >
> > > I went as far as OH 44 and then started heading south (on OH 44).
> > > Somewhere between OH 2 and I-90 I lost OH 44 but by using a compass in
> > > the car I was able to take various road that got me back to it.
> >
> > I lost you. SR 44 between SR 2 and I-90 is freeway, so it's kinda
> > tough to lose [snip]
>
> I was on OH 283 and I got to OH 44. I went north to see the lake, and then
> turned around and went south on OH 44 which was four lane divided. After
> going past OH 2 I was on a two lane road. Looking at maps now I should have
> gotten on OH 2 for a multiplex, but I must have missed the sign.
OK, yep, you missed the signs, though I can see how they'd be easy to
miss, what with the traffic in the area (a new retail area is just
south of SR 2), especially if you weren't expecting them. (What
Sandor replied with in the other post in this thread makes a bit more
sense now.) Since you implied that you didn't backtrack, I expect
that the way back was a bit crowded, you possibly saw a railroad
overpass construction project, and you didn't end up on US 20 since
there is no ramp from US 20 to SR 44 SB. :)
Pete Jenior
> "Pete Jenior" <gtg...@prism.gatech.eduFILTER> wrote...
>
> > "Marc Fannin" <musx...@kent.edu> wrote in message
> >
> > > [Pete Jenior wrote:]
> > >
> > > > I went as far as OH 44 and then started heading south (on OH 44).
> > > > Somewhere between OH 2 and I-90 I lost OH 44 but by using a compass
in
> > > > the car I was able to take various road that got me back to it.
> > >
> > > I lost you. SR 44 between SR 2 and I-90 is freeway, so it's kinda
> > > tough to lose [snip]
> >
> > I was on OH 283 and I got to OH 44. I went north to see the lake, and
then
> > turned around and went south on OH 44 which was four lane divided.
After
> > going past OH 2 I was on a two lane road. Looking at maps now I should
have
> > gotten on OH 2 for a multiplex, but I must have missed the sign.
>
> OK, yep, you missed the signs, though I can see how they'd be easy to
> miss, what with the traffic in the area (a new retail area is just
> south of SR 2), especially if you weren't expecting them. (What
> Sandor replied with in the other post in this thread makes a bit more
> sense now.) Since you implied that you didn't backtrack, I expect
> that the way back was a bit crowded, you possibly saw a railroad
> overpass construction project, and you didn't end up on US 20 since
> there is no ramp from US 20 to SR 44 SB. :)
>
of Oh 44, it didn't make sense to backtrack.
-Pete