I75 Construction
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| Brent Spence Bridge Construction over the Ohio River |
It dawned on me recently while passing a drivers training vehicle on the freeway that when I received my drivers license permit at age 15 back in 1963, there were no freeways in the area. Dad had trained me how to drive using surface streets, the only roads available. It wasn’t until 4 years later during my sophomore year in college that I75 opened through Ohio. Going to college in Michigan during my freshman year meant long, 5 hour drives via US Routes 25 and 23 with countless traffic lights along the way especially around Toledo. Plus the I75 construction made maneuvering through that city even more challenging and time consuming.
Once I75 was completed, the drive time shortened to only 3 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, heading south during those days before the interstate yielded similar problems. For example, going to a Reds ballgame took 3 hours using only surface streets, except for one stretch of US 25 in Cincinnati called a Limited Access Urban Highway that had been constructed during WWII.
These highway concepts really took hold after the war when former General Eisenhower, then President, conceived of the Interstate Highway system after observing how the network of autobahns in Germany was a critical enabler to the Third Reich's war machine. In fact, he dictated that every five miles a straightaway should exist for the purpose of landing military aircraft in an emergency.
As I75 was being constructed through Shelby County, land that had been purchased for the freeway right-of-way divided numerous farms with parcels on each side of the freeway. The farmers had to transport their equipment to the nearest freeway overpass miles away to access their land. It was considered a real hardship back in the day, but Dad had little sympathy for those farmers as they were paid a nice premium for the land purchased by the federal government. It took a lot of dirt to build up the overpasses, so land was also acquired that was dug out for the overpass fill, eventually creating ponds all along the length of the freeway.
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| Russell Road I75 Overpass northwest of Sidney |
Before the interstate, I recall a visit to Crosley Field, where the Reds played at the time, parking on the area where I75 was being constructed as shown on this aerial photo. Note the Crosley Field bleachers in right field; check out this previous blogpost on watching a Reds game from that venue during Johnny Bench’s rookie season.
The last section of I75 to be completed was through Dayton and it created quite a traffic disruption. The summer between my freshman and sophomore year in college was especially problematic because I was living at home while working in Dayton at Frigidaire. I would help Dad milk the cows, drive to work then return after the shift in time to help him milk that evening. With gas only 39 cents a gallon, I was able to save a lot of money by avoiding room and board costs that summer, which helped me eventually afford a new car that I had posted in this recent blog.
I75 literally divided Dayton down the middle and was a major contributor in my view to some of Dayton’s subsequent urban issues. The very last segment of I75 to be completed was the Needmore Road intersection north of Dayton that had the only stoplight between Cincinnati and Toledo, creating an intersection that was notorious for many accidents as drivers were not used to stopping.
Another interesting phenomenon about I75 is how the exit intersections evolved over the years, starting initially with a gas station or two, then fast food places, followed by shopping centers, big box stores and businesses that unfortunately led to the detriment of many downtowns like Sidney. Take a look at this aerial photo of the SR 47-I75 interchange that 50 years ago was all farmland!
Now over 50 years later, the entire I75 stretch through Ohio is being rebuilt literally from the ground up. Bridges are being replaced and widened while roadways are being expanded to three lanes. So traveling back home is like deja vu all over again with construction zones from Toledo south that never seem to finish.
Back to my lack of drivers training on the interstate, my first trip on the new freeway back in 1967 resulted in a traffic ticket for going 80 mph. My ’62 Chevy seemed like a brand new car traveling over the smooth roadway. The speed just got away from me - so I explained to the cop - to no avail. The ticket cost me $25 plus a trip to traffic court. It wasn’t my last ticket along that venerable highway that I’ve traveled so many times over the years. Now the cops simply take a credit card to pay the $200 fine!
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