August 25, 1975 – Section of Route 2 Opens

Although it might seem strange to someone too young to remember, there was a time when State Route 2 west of Lorain (the freeway, that is) was completed in various chunks over many years.

I can still remember when Route 2 ended at Baumhart and you had to get off.

But that era eventually ended. The photo and caption above – which appeared on the front page of the Journal of August 24, 1975 – announces the opening of the section from Baumhart Road in Lorain to State Route 61 (Ceylon Road) in Berlin Heights on August 25, 1975 – 39 years ago today.

As the caption notes, the section of Route 2 from State Route 61 to State Route 13 in Huron was not built yet. I can't remember what the delay was all about; I thought it had something to do with environmental issues or acquiring land or something. Does anybody remember?

According to this Wiki history of Route 2, the section from Huron to Ceylon was upgraded to freeway in August 1990. No wonder it still seems new to me.