The Buckeye State, named for the buckeye tree native to its region, was officially admitted into the Union on March 1, 1803. Perhaps foreshadowing the rivalry between the Ohio State University and University of Michigan football teams, Ohio and Michigan fought against each other in the Toledo War in 1835 over the Toledo Strip. Congress intervened and Ohio was awarded rights to the land.
Today, with its estimated 11 million plus citizens, Ohio is the most densely populated state outside the Eastern Seaboard and has the seventh largest population overall in the U.S. Neighboring Pennsylvania to the east, Michigan to the northwest, Kentucky to the south, and Ontario Canada to the north, Ohio is home to the nation’s 10th largest highway network, and lies within a day’s drive of half of the population of North America. Bordered to the north by Lake Erie and to the south by the Ohio River, Ohio boasts numerous seaports. The state and its major cities of Columbus, the capital, Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown are a vital center of American economic and cultural life and a growing host to business and industry.
Roads
Ohio Turnpike: Officially named the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, the Ohio Turnpike is a 241.26 mile-long, limited-access toll highway that serves as a primary route to Chicago and Pittsburgh. The turnpike runs east-west in the northern section of the state, from the Indiana Toll Road to the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Interstate 70: I-70 starts at Cove Fort, Utah and its terminus is in Baltimore, Maryland. The 255 miles of the highway that cross Ohio pass through Columbus, Dayton, Springfield and Cambridge.
Interstate 71: I-71 starts in Louisville, Kentucky and its terminus is in Cleveland, Ohio. The 247 miles that run through Ohio have interchanges at the major cities of Cincinnati, Columbus, Seville, Strongville and Mansfield.
Interstate 75: I-75 starts in Hialeah, Florida and its terminus is in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan at the Canadian border. The 211 miles that run through Ohio pass through Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo.
Interstate 76: The 82 miles of I-76 that run through Ohio travel from Interstate 71 south of Cleveland to the Pennsylvania state line south of Youngstown and constitute the easternmost section of the Ohio Turnpike.
Interstate 77: I-77 starts in Columbia, South Carolina and its terminus is in Cleveland, Ohio. The 162 miles that traverse Ohio pass through the cities of Canton, Richfield, Brecksville, Independence and Akron.
Interstate 80: I-80 enters Ohio with I-90 from the Indiana Toll Road and becomes the Ohio Turnpike. The two Interstates traverse northwest Ohio and proceed south of Toledo. In Rossford, Ohio I-80 intersects Interstate 75 forming the “Crossroads of America”, one of the largest intersections of two interstate highways in the country. I-80 later splits from I-90 and travels south of Cleveland before continuing east to the north of Youngstown, and entering Pennsylvania.
Interstate 90: The Indiana Toll Road turns into the Ohio Turnpike as it enters Ohio where it follows the Ohio Turnpike before splitting just west of Cleveland and heading north near the shores of Lake Erie. In Cleveland, I-90 converges with traffic from Interstates 71 and 77 and passes through a section known as “Dead Man’s Curve” due to a near 90-degree turn that is responsible for a high rate of accidents.