Beachwood, Ohio, Oct. 1 — It was a great day for a drive with the leaves just starting to turn color. I clinched I-90 in Ohio and closed the gap between central South Dakota and Albany…a clinch that would last for all of five weeks.
These big boys were the first signs of the day. The size discrepancy between the 80 and 376 (previous PA 60) is almost comical.
Route: I-80, I-79 to end and turn around, US 20, PA 8, I-90, Shortman Road (NY), US 20, PA 89, I-86 to first NY exit and back, I-90, US 19, US 6N, US 20, OH 7, I-90 to exit 135 and turn around, I-80, I-480, I-80, OH 44, US 422 (.50, $1, .50 tolls).
The first stops of the day were in downtown Erie, after following I-79 all the way to its north end and then taking US 20 through the city. Traffic wasn’t bad. I missed seeing any “End 19” for US 19, if there was one.
Approaching the end of I-79 in Erie.
This is the best I could get for 19 and 20 together at this sequential intersection. US 20 and US 21 used to meet in Cleveland.
The first exit on I-90 in New York state is just past the line, a connector road to US 20 (and last exit before toll). This is my first time driving in New York, and it was split up, first crossing the line on US 20 and then crossing the line on I-86 in order to travel I-86 and clinch same in Pennsylvania.
Look at this great old button copy! Only 10 hours to Iowa from here…if I went straight back.
Waterford PA, along US 19, had some historic stuff related to George Washington. North of there was an “Old state line” marker from when there was no “notch” up to Lake Erie, but I was unable to stop and see it.
US 6/6N intersection is a stoplight, but no town. Special mile markers for 6N. Very scenic drive. US 6N went to 20, which I took across the state line; four lanes, little traffic. I eventually hopped back onto I-90.
Note the flashing arrow on I-90’s turn. This is shortly before the freeway got clogged.
A good chunk of I-90 east of I-271 was under construction, maybe expansion to 6 lanes. In some places, WB traffic was split so one lane was on the WB lanes and one was head-to-head in EB. It was going great until exit 175. One accident or something, and then another accident after I-71 on the other side of downtown, meant I was doing Dead Man’s Curve at 35 mph. As I crawled through the construction area, I could see the soon-to-open bridge to the right. It was about exit 165? that I-90 opened up again, still four lanes one way.
I took I-90 all the way until it rejoined I-80, then turned around at the next exit to follow I-80 to I-480. Now that I was heading east in early evening, my pictures were better. After following all of I-480, I kept going east, so that I would come back north on OH 44 and add Geauga County (which I-90 barely misses).
Headed for the only instance of two three-digit interstates paired up in the country. Straight ahead (red car) is the short unsigned I-480N connector, which goes to NB I-271.
New counties so far: 29 (2 IL, 7 IN, 11 KY, 7+1 OH, 1 PA)