Ohio Turnpike during 1978 Blizzard   Save
Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission Audio/Visual Records
Description: Taken by the Ohio Turnpike Commission, this aerial photograph show the results of the 1978 Blizzard on Ohio Turnpike traffic, January 1978. A semitruck can be seen stranded in heavy snow next to a freeway overpass. In January and February 1978, a series of three storms hit the Midwest and Northeast United States. These storms were some of the most severe winter events to occur in recent history, and collectively are known as the Blizzard of 1978. The second storm found Ohio in its path. From January 25 to 27, between one and three feet of snow fell across Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Winds averaged between fifty and seventy miles per hour, creating snowdrifts as deep as twenty-five feet. With temperatures already hovering near zero, the wind chill was deadly, reaching sixty degrees Fahrenheit below zero. Created by the Ohio Turnpike Act of 1949, the Ohio Turnpike Commission was authorized to construct, operate, and maintain a turnpike (and related projects) for the State of Ohio. The groundbreaking took place on October 27, 1952, and on December 1, 1954, the first section of the turnpike to be completed (the Niles-Youngstown to the Pennsylvania border) was opened to the public. The remaining portions of the road were completed by October 1, 1955. Over the following decades, various maintenance projects were undertaken and improvements made. In 2013, the 130th General Assembly passed H.B. 51, which renamed the Ohio Turnpike Commission the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA7617AV_B22_Blizzard17
Subjects: Blizzards; Natural disasters; Climate and Weather; Transportation--Ohio; Traffic accidents;
Places: Ohio