The above below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on Thursday, July 25, 1963, notes that the extension of the bypass around Elyria was going to be open for traffic the following Monday.
The article noted that the bypass project had dated back to 1955. Apparently this was the final piece of the puzzle, extending from U. S. Highway 20 south to Ohio State Route 10.
Here’s a 1960s map showing much of the just-completed extension of the bypass.
While it’s great to be able to take these bypasses if you’re in a hurry, channeling traffic around a city via high-speed expressways wasn’t such a good idea for its local economy.
But with an incessant ’need for speed,' that’s what this country focused on after World War II with the construction of the Eisenhower Interstate System and various limited access state highway projects. We see the sad results today in cities today (such as Lorain), where most of the new commercial development is out by the highway exits.
The Route 57 Bypass, looking east towards the intersection with Furnace Street
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UPDATE (July 22, 2020)
One commenter was wondering what the area in the photo looked like before the bypass was built. Here are a few aerials from the Historic Aerials website, along with a map of the same area today for street name reference.
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| 1952 |
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| 1962 |
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| 1969 |
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| Today |
I note at the top of the map is Bendix Westinghouse. I remember the big wet skidpad they had for testing semi-trailer brakes. If you were lucky you could see some testing underway.
ReplyDeleteThis is extremely interesting to me. Thanks for all the great posts. Been following for a year or so.
ReplyDeleteI remember the signs on the bypass that said "Lights are timed to 48 (?) MPH" to encourage you to do just below the speed limit.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I live on Louisiana Ave and my backyard looks on to just about where you took the photo looking towards Furnace street! I often wondered how the area looked before the bypass went in. Any information on that subject?
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