Great Lakes Road Trip Day 10 Part 2; Indiana Toll Road, dunes, and the Ohio Turnpike

For most part my route from Chicago had me sticking to I-80/I-90 through to the Cleveland area. The Indiana Toll Road picks up I-80 in Lake Station but I turned off it onto I-94 given I was headed to the Indiana Dunes. I thought it was interesting to see no tollbooth attendants and credit card readers in their place.

I-94 basically is a disaster zone with traffic shifted all over the place and 55 MPH speed limits. Exiting I-90 I had to detour onto Ripley Street just to get to eastbound I-94. Thankfully I wasn't on I-94 for very long before I got off on US 20 to head towards the Indiana Dunes.

I took IN 49 up to the Indiana Dunes which had a weird older style state route shield on a modern blank. My understanding is that it has been in place for a good 5-6 years and I can't find a conclusive answer as to why it has retro styling.

The Indiana Dunes are both a National Seashore and a state park. I stopped in the state park portion to climb the Devil's Slide. I never had actually stopped at the Indiana Dunes to visit when I was traveling the area, I thought it was worth a quick look.

I attempted to use IN 39 to return to the Indiana Toll Road but the eastbound ramp was closed and I didn't want to take the detour. I used US 20 and US 31 near South Bend to rejoin the Toll Road.

I took the Indiana Toll Road east through the state to the Ohio Turnpike.

Construction the Ohio Turnpike was heavy and the highway patrol was enforcing the 50 MPH despite no work going on. Really it felt like the Turnpike ought to be 75-80 MPH east to the Cleveland area. I made the mistake of stopping for food at a plaza which had a good twenty five people deep line, first time I've had Hardee's since the 1980s. I left the Turnpike at I-71 and took it down to OH 18 for the night.

Comments

Unknown said…

Wow! beach and coastal scenic views along the Great Ocean Road, taken by you are awesome. It shows that you enjoyed a lot.
Visit:Great Ocean Road Day Tours

12:13 PM

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l

Ghost Town Tuesday; Mannfield, FL and the stairway to Hell

Back in 2015 I went searching the Lecanto Sand Hills for the original Citrus County Seat known as Mannfield. Unlike Centrailia in Hernando County and Fivay in Pasco County I did find something worth seeing. Mannfield is located in the Lecanto Sand Hill section of Withlacoochee State Forest somewhat east of the intersection of Citrus County Route 491 and Mansfield Road. Mannfield was named after Austin Mann and founded in Hernando County in 1884 before Citrus County Split away. In 1887 Citrus County was split from northern Hernando County while Pasco County was spun off to the south. Mannfield was selected as the new Citrus County seat due to it being near the county geographic center. Reportedly Mannfield had as many as 250 people when it was the County Seat. The town included various businesses one might include at the time, even a sawmill which was common for the area. In 1891 Citrus County voted to move it's seat to Inverness which set the stage for the decline of M

The National Road - Pennsylvania - Great Crossings Bridge and Somerfield

West of Addison, US 40 crosses the Youghiogheny River at what once was the town of Somerfield. When crossing the current modern two lane bridge, you many not realize that it is actually the third to cross the Yough at this site. The first - a stone arch bridge - was known as the Great Crossings Bridge. Built in 1818, this three arch bridge was part of the original National Road. The name Great Crossings comes from the men who forded the Youghiogheny here - George Washington and George Braddock. (1) If you cross the bridge at the right time, this historic bridge and what was once the town of Somerfield will appear out from underneath this massive man-made lake. Historical Postcard showing the 'Big Crossings' bridge and Somerfield. Image submitted by Vince Ferrari. The Great Crossings Bridge was located in the town of Somerfield. Somerfield, originally named Smythfield until 1827, would develop as a result of the National Road. (1) Somerfield would go through va

Gribblenation

Search This Blog