| SR-7 | |||
| Get started | Chesapeake | ||
| End | Conneaut | ||
| Length | 292 mi | ||
| Length | 470 km | ||
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According to foodezine, State Route 7 or OH-7 is a state route in the U.S. state of Ohio. The road forms a long north-south route from Chesapeake to Conneaut, running a long stretch through the Ohio River valley, parallel to the border with West Virginia. On the northern part of the route through the Ohio River Valley it is a mix of a freeway and 2×2 divided highway between Shadyside and East Liverpool. The road then heads north parallel to the Pennsylvania border and passes through the town of Youngstown. At 470 kilometers long, OH-7 is the longest state route in Ohio.
Travel directions
OH-7 and US 22 at Steubenville.
Ohio River Valley
OH-7 begins at Chesapeake, opposite the larger West Virginia city of Huntington as an extension of US 52. A short stretch is a 2×2 divided highway, after which OH-7 forms a predominantly two-lane highway through the winding and scenic Ohio River Valley. The road heads northeast and largely follows the Ohio River Valley, often right along the river. Numerous bridges over the Ohio River connect to OH-7. Most places on the route are quite small. From Pomeroy to Belpre, OH-7 cuts off a bit through the hinterland, where there is also a double numbering with the US 50. This section is a 2×2 divided highway and passes through the city of Parkersburg in West Virginia.
Further north, OH-7 passes through Marietta, one of the larger towns on this stretch of the Ohio River on the Ohio side. There is a connection to Interstate 77. Marietta is followed by a longer two-lane stretch that leads through a more sparsely populated part of the valley, most places on the other side in West Virginia.
Near Moundsville, West Virginia, OH-7 becomes a 2×2 divided highway. The road leads as a beautifully situated highway through some small towns on the Ohio River. The highway runs parallel to the town of Wheeling in West Virginia and provides direct access to Interstate 470 and indirectly via Bridgeport to Interstate 70. In Martins Ferry the highway is interrupted by a number of intersections. Further north is a longer stretch of freeway to the town of Steubenville. Parallel to OH-7 is a railway line and some old factory complexes.
Through Steubenville are a number of intersections. There is then a short double numbering with US 22. Then follows a mix of intersections and grade-separated crossings until East Liverpool, where the Ohio River enters the northernmost area of Ohio. Large factories and power plants are regularly found on both sides of the Ohio River.
Northeast Ohio
In East Liverpool, OH-7 turns north and leaves the Ohio River Valley. A short stretch of OH-7 coincides with the US 30 / OH-11 freeway north of East Liverpool. OH-7 then forms a more secondary route parallel to OH-11 toward the town of Youngstown. Due to the urban area of Youngstown, it is often a regular city road. It crosses the Ohio Turnpike (I-76) south of Youngstown and Interstate 80 north of the city. Then OH-7 heads straight north for another 80 kilometers, a few miles parallel to the Pennsylvania border. OH-7 here is Ohio’s easternmost north-south route. The road leads through a flat rural area made up of a mix of forests and meadows. South of the port city of Conneaut you cross Interstate 90, after which OH-7 ends in Conneaut on US 20.
History
According to bittranslators, OH-7 has its origins in the first road numbering of 1912, when it was a very long route that followed the entire course of the Ohio River in the state, from the Indiana border west of Cincinnati to the Pennsylvania border east of EastLiverpool. In 1923 the route was extended to Conneaut, OH-7 was about 755 kilometers long at the time. However, with the introduction of the US Highways in 1926, the east-west section was renumbered to US 50 between Elizabethtown on the Indiana border to Cincinnati, and US 52 further from Cincinnati to Chesapeake.
Chesapeake – Proctorville
Originally, US 52 ran at Chesapeake over the predecessor of the current Robert C. Byrd Bridge to Huntington. In 1970, however, the West Huntington Bridge opened to traffic, allowing US 52 to enter West Virginia a little further west. The old section at Chesapeake became part of OH-7, starting a few miles to the west. This 2×2 lane section opened to traffic in 1961. An extension further east was originally planned here so that traffic could avoid the entire built-up area of Chesapeake.
The Proctorville Bypass, just east of Chesapeake, opened in two phases in 2003 and 2006. It was planned to connect to the Chesapeake expressway, which opened in 1961, and is in preparation for an extension.
Pomeroy
Pomeroy’s two-lane bypass opened in 1968, which was doubled to 2×2 lanes in 1976. At the time, only the bypass to US 33 opened north of Pomeroy. The section on the northeast side was opened in 2000 with 2×2 lanes.
Coolville – Marietta
Between 1962 and 1966, the section between Coolville and Belpre was widened to 2×2 lanes, and coincides with US 50. In the first half of the 1960s, the section between Belpre and Marietta was also widened to 2×2 lanes. The section between Marietta and Newport has also been numbered as US 50N and later US 50 Alternate for some time.
Shadyside – East Liverpool
Beginning in about 1960, stretches of OH-7 along the Ohio River parallel to the West Virginia Panhandle began to be widened to 2×2 lanes, the many stretches between Shadyside and East Liverpool, a 100-kilometer stretch along the Ohio River that was completed in many phases. has been widened to 2×2 lanes, although not all sections are freeway. The expansion was done with small sections, where connections to the 2×2 sections were also built later. By 1970 a large section between Bridgeport and East Liverpool had already been provided with 2×2 lanes. Until the 1970s, the last sections were widened to 2×2 lanes, partly due to built-up areas. Due to the height differences, regular interchanges with I-70 and I-470 could not be constructed at Bridgeport. An exit gives access to I-470.
