Interstate 71
Route information
Maintained by Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Ohio DOT
Length:	343.78 mi[1][2] (553.26 km)
Major junctions
South end:	I-64 / I-65 in Louisville, KY
	I-75 near Cincinnati, Ohio I-70 in Columbus, OH I-76 in Seville, OH I-80 / Ohio Tpk. in Strongsville, OH
North end:	I-90 / I-490 in Cleveland, OH
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main • Auxiliary • Business ← KY 70 KY KY 72 → ← I-70 OH SR 72 →

Interstate 71 (I-71) is an Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64 and Interstate 65 (the Kennedy Interchange) in Louisville, Kentucky. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 90 in Cleveland, Ohio. I-71 runs concurrently with Interstate 75 from a point about twenty miles (30 km) south of Cincinnati, Ohio into downtown Cincinnati. Almost three quarters of the route lies east of I-75, thereby putting it out of its proper place in the Interstate grid.

While I-71 is designated a north–south highway, it is a major east–west route for cross-country traffic. It links I-80 and I-90 to I-70, and ultimately (via I-65) links to I-40.^{[citation needed]}

Route description[link]

Kentucky[link]

In Kentucky, I-71 begins east of Downtown Louisville at the Kennedy Interchange, where it meets I-64 and I-65. This interchange is sometimes called "Spaghetti Junction". From Louisville, it roughly follows the Ohio River in a diagonal path toward Northern Kentucky. Between Louisville and Cincinnati, I-71 is largely a two-lane highway, except for a couple of miles in Sparta in which it runs three lanes each way. I-71 merges with Interstate 75 near Walton and intersects Interstate 275, the Cincinnati beltway. After passing through Covington, the freeway crosses the Ohio River via the lower level of the Brent Spence Bridge and continues into Cincinnati.

This section requires expansion.

Ohio[link]

In Cincinnati, I-71 splits immediately from I-75 and heads due east onto Fort Washington Way, where it continues through downtown Cincinnati concurrently with US-50 for less than a mile. Just east of downtown, US-50 splits from I-71 and continues east; I-71 bends north and receives Interstate 471, a spur from southeast of the city. I-71 then heads in a general northeast direction through urban Cincinnati and into its surrounding suburbs. After another interchange with the Interstate 275 beltway, the freeway leaves the metropolitan area and heads towards Columbus. It continues northeast until it reaches South Lebanon, Ohio, where it begins cutting east across the flat plains of southwest Ohio. The freeway crosses the Little Miami River on the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge, which is a continuous truss bridge and the tallest bridge in Ohio at 239 feet above the river. I-71 heads towards Columbus then intersects with the bypass I-270 before heading north into urban Columbus, where it junctions I-70 and exits out of Columbus. The highway continues north until near Delaware, where it again turns northeast. Beginning its path to Cleveland, I-71 enters the rolling farm country on the edges of the Allegheny Plateau. It continues in this fashion to Lodi/Westfield Center and its junction with I-76. Heading north to Medina, it meets the terminus of I-271. The highway then continues north into urban Cuyahoga County and Cleveland's suburbs, intersecting the Ohio Turnpike/I-80. Passing Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, I-71 meets I-480 and enters Cleveland's west side, continuing on to downtown. It junctions with State Route 176 and terminates at Interstate 90 on the Innerbelt.

History[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Ohio[link]

Much of Interstate 71 in Ohio was intended to be State Route 1. State Route 1 was originally planned in the 1950s as a second Ohio Turnpike extending southwest to northeast across the state. It was planned to run from Cincinnati to Conneaut and connect with an extension built across the panhandle of Pennsylvania to the New York State Thruway. As the highway was being planned, the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was enacted, and the project was converted from a toll road to a freeway. It was designated as State Route 1, since the Interstate Highway numbering system had not yet been implemented. Portions of the freeway began to be completed and opened in 1959 with the new Interstate Highway funding, and they were marked as State Route 1 as well as with their new Interstate Highway number. Since large gaps existed along the corridor where no freeway had yet been completed, existing two-lane or four-lane highways were also designated as State Route 1 in order to complete the route.

Heading northbound into Columbus from the south

Intersection of I-70 and I-71 in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1960, State Route 1 followed Central Ave. in Cincinnati, to John Street, to Lincoln Park Drive (now Ezzard Charles Drive), to Freeman Avenue, to Western Avenue, to Spring Grove Avenue, to Colerain Avenue to Interstate 75 (at what is now the I-75/I-74 interchange); Interstate 75 from current I-74 interchange to West Carrollton; U.S. Highway 25 (Dixie Drive) from West Carrollton to Interstate 70; Interstate 70 from Dixie Drive to near Enon (current I-70/OH-4 split); State Route 4 from near Enon to Springfield; U.S. Highway 40 from Springfield to Columbus; Broad St. (US 40) in Columbus, to 4th Street, to Summit/3rd Street (US 23), to Hudson Street, to Interstate 71; I-71 from Columbus to just east of Medina (the only portion of Interstate 71 complete at the time); State Route 18 from near Medina to Montrose; U.S. Highway 21 from Montrose to Brecksville; State Route 82 from Brecksville to Aurora; (an alternate State Route 1 ran from Twinsburg southeast along State Route 14 to Streetsboro and then on State Route 43 to Aurora, in order to connect Highway 1 to the Ohio Turnpike;) State Route 306 from Aurora to State Route 84; State Route 84 from State Route 306 to just west of what was then State Route 44; due south to Interstate 90 along what is now a section of State Route 44; and finally Interstate 90 to the Pennsylvania state line.

In Columbus, the portion of Interstate 71 that bounds Worthington's eastern edge was originally called the North Freeway. Costing US$13.8 million, it was constructed south from Route 161, arriving at 11th Avenue by August 1961. It took another year to construct the portion between 11th Avenue and 5th Avenue, mainly due to the need to construct a massive underpass under the Pennsylvania Railroad's Grogan Yard. Today, only two tracks cross the viaduct, and the rest of the structure supports a large, weedy field. By August 1962, the freeway had reached Fifth Avenue, and it reached downtown in November 1962.

The Highway 1 signage was removed in 1966 as the Interstate Highway numbers adequately marked the route and the state highway numbering was superfluous. The present day route of what was once planned as State Route 1 is Interstate 71 from Cincinnati to just northeast of Medina, Interstate 271 for its entire length from northeast of Medina to Willoughby Hills, and Interstate 90 from Willoughby Hills to the Pennsylvania state line at Conneaut.

Upon its completion, I-71 replaced State Route 3 as the primary highway link between Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland.

Recently, the interchange at milepost 121 north of Columbus was reconstructed to allow access to the eastern extension of Gemini Place. Before that, it was a simple diamond interchange with Polaris Parkway (Ohio State Route 750).

Exit list[link]

State	County	Location	Mile[1][2]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Kentucky	Jefferson	Louisville	0.000	0.000	1	I-65 – Nashville, Indianapolis I-64 – St. Louis, Lexington
			1.724	2.775	2	Zorn Avenue
		Indian Hills	4.966	7.992	5	I-264 (Watterson Expressway)
		Louisville	9.063	14.585	9	I-265 south (Gene Snyder Freeway) / KY 841 to US 42
	Oldham		14.488	23.316	14	KY 329 – Crestwood, Pewee Valley
			17.478	28.128	17	KY 146 – Buckner, Crestwood, Pewee Valley
			18.507	29.784	18	KY 393 – Buckner
		La Grange	21.869	35.195	22	KY 53 – La Grange, Ballardsville
	Henry		27.840	44.804	28	KY 153 to KY 146 – Sligo, New Castle
		Campbellsburg	33.505	53.921	34	US 421 – Campbellsburg, New Castle, Bedford
	Carroll		42.802	68.883	43	KY 389 to KY 55 – Prestonville, English
			44.312	71.313	44	KY 227 – Worthville, Carrollton
	Gallatin		54.980	88.482	55	KY 1039 to KY 465 – Vevay	Serves Kentucky Speedway
			56.673	91.206	57	KY 35 – Sparta, Warsaw	Serves Kentucky Speedway
		Glencoe	61.774	99.416	62	US 127 – Glencoe, Owenton
	Boone		72.195	116.187	72	KY 14 – Verona
			77.724	125.085	77	I-75 south – Lexington	South end of I-75 overlap; exit numbers switch to follow I-75's mileposts
			79.556	128.033	175	KY 338 – Richwood
		Florence	82.275	132.409	178	KY 536 (Mt. Zion Road)
			84.298	135.664	180	US 42 / US 127 – Union, Florence
			84.694	136.302	180A	Mall Road (KY 3157)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; serves Florence Mall
			85.449	137.517	181	KY 18 – Florence, Burlington
			86.652	139.453	182	KY 1017 (Turfway Road)
	Kenton	Erlanger	87.967	141.569	184	KY 236 – Erlanger	Signed as exits 184A (east) and 184B (west) southbound
			88.900	143.071	185	I-275 to I-471 – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
		Fort Mitchell	90.539	145.708	186	KY 371 (Buttermilk Pike)
			91.913	147.920	188	US 25 / US 42 / US 127 (Dixie Highway) – Fort Mitchell
		Fort Wright	92.870	149.460	189	KY 1072 (Kyles Lane) – Fort Wright, Park Hills
		Covington	94.707– 94.858	152.416– 152.659	191	12th Street (KY 1120), Pike Street (US 25 / US 42 / US 127) – Covington
			95.414– 95.507	153.554– 153.704	192	5th Street (KY 8) – Covington, Newport
Ohio River			0.00	0.00	Brent Spence Bridge Kentucky–Ohio state line
Ohio	Hamilton	Cincinnati	0.22– 0.50	0.35– 0.80	1A	I-75 north / US 50 west (River Road) / Fifth Street – Dayton
						Second Street, Third Street – Downtown Cincinnati, Riverfront
			1.11	1.79		US 50 east (Columbia Parkway) to I-471 / US 52	North end of US 50 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
					Lytle Tunnel Sharp turn (40 mph, 64 km/h) in both directions
			1.99	3.20	1J	I-471 south – Newport	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			2.33– 2.48	3.75– 3.99	2	US 42 (Reading Road) / Florence Avenue, Gilbert Avenue
			3.33	5.36	3	William Howard Taft Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			4.46– 6.03	7.18– 9.70	5	Montgomery Road (US 22 / SR 3), Dana Avenue
		Norwood	6.75– 6.96	10.86– 11.20	6	SR 561 (Edwards Road, Smith Road)
		Cincinnati	8.04	12.94	8A	Ridge Avenue south	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			8.04	12.94	8B	SR 562 – Norwood	Signed as exit 7 southbound
			8.51	13.70	8C	Ridge Avenue north	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			8.75	14.08	8	Kennedy Avenue, Ridge Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			9.91– 9.92	15.95– 15.96	9	Red Bank Road – Fairfax
		Silverton	10.68	17.19	10	Stewart Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			11.81	19.01	11	Kenwood Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			12.44	20.02	12	US 22 / SR 3 (Montgomery Road)
		Montgomery	14.13	22.74	14	SR 126 (Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway)
			15.80	25.43	15	Pfeiffer Road
			17.51– 17.54	28.18– 28.23	17	I-275 to SR 32 / I-75	Signed as exits 17A (east) and 17B (west) southbound
	Hamilton–Warren county line		19.88– 19.97	31.99– 32.14	19	Mason Montgomery Road, Fields Ertel Road
	Warren	Mason	23.53	37.87	24	Western Row Road, Kings Island Drive	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			25.30	40.72	25	SR 741 north (Kings Mills Road) – Mason
			28.33	45.59	28	SR 48 – South Lebanon, Lebanon
			32.56	52.40	32	SR 123 – Morrow, Lebanon
			36.74	59.13	36	Wilmington Road
	Clinton		45.11	72.60	45	SR 73 – Waynesville, Wilmington
			50.74– 50.75	81.66– 81.67	50	US 68 – Xenia, Wilmington
	Greene		58.01	93.36	58	SR 72 – Sabina, Jamestown
	Fayette	Octa	65.33	105.14	65	US 35 (SR 435) – Xenia, Washington Court House
		Jeffersonville	69.49	111.83	69	SR 41 / SR 734 – South Solon, Jeffersonville, Washington Court House
			75.03	120.75	75	SR 38 – Bloomingburg, Midway
	Madison		84.27	135.62	84	SR 56 – Mount Sterling, London
	Franklin		94.15	151.52	94	US 62 / SR 3 – Grove City, Orient, Harrisburg
			97.16	156.36	97	SR 665 (London-Groveport Road)
		Grove City	100.60	161.90	100	Stringtown Road – Grove City
			101.68	163.64	101	I-270 – Dayton, Wheeling	Signed as exits 101A (east) and 101B (west) northbound
		Columbus	103.86	167.15	104	SR 104 / Frank Road
			105.43	169.67	105	Greenlawn Avenue
			106.33	171.12	106A	I-70 west – Dayton	South end of I-70 overlap; exit numbers switch to follow I-70's mileposts
					99B	SR 315 north
			107.07– 107.17	172.31– 172.47	100A	US 23 south (High Street) / Front Street	No northbound entrance; southbound exit is via exit 100B
			107.41	172.86	100B	US 23 north (Fourth Street) / Livingston Avenue (US 33)
			107.90– 108.10	173.65– 173.97	107	I-70 east – Wheeling	North end of I-70 overlap
			108.20	174.13	108A	Main Street	No northbound exit
			108.63	174.82	108B	US 40 (Broad Street)
			108.93	175.31	—	Downtown C/D Roads	Southbound exit and northbound entrance (under construction)
			109.38	176.03	—	Leonard Avenue	Northbound exit only
			109.16– 109.61	175.68– 176.40	109A	I-670 – Port Columbus International Airport, Dayton	Signed as exits 109A (west) and 109B (east, combined with Leonard Avenue exit) northbound
			110.16	177.29	110A	Fifth Avenue	No northbound exit
			110.68	178.12	110B	11th Avenue
			111.15	178.88	111	17th Avenue
			112.33	180.78	112	Hudson Street
			112.98	181.82	113	Weber Road
			113.46	182.60	114	North Broadway
			114.53	184.32	115	Cooke Road
			115.58	186.01	116	Morse Road, Sinclair Road
			117.53	189.15	117	SR 161 (Dublin-Granville Road)
			119.21– 119.23	191.85– 191.88	119	I-270 – Dayton, Wheeling	Signed as exits 119A (east) and 119B (west) southbound
	Delaware		121.45– 121.92	195.45– 196.21	121	SR 750 (Polaris Parkway) / Gemini Place
			130.64	210.24	131	US 36 / SR 37 – Delaware, Sunbury
	Morrow		140.15	225.55	140	SR 61 – Cardington, Sunbury, Mount Gilead
			151.09	243.16	151	SR 95 – Fredericktown, Mount Gilead
	Richland	Bellville	165.25	265.94	165	SR 97 – Lexington, Bellville
Mansfield		168.81	271.67	169	SR 13 – Mansfield, Bellville
		172.97	278.37	173	SR 39 – Mansfield, Lucas
		176.91	284.71	176	US 30 – Mansfield, Wooster
Ashland		186.71	300.48	186	US 250 – Ashland, Wooster
Wayne		196.31	315.93	196	SR 301 – West Salem	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		197.92	318.52	198	SR 539 – West Salem, Congress
Medina	Lodi	203.89	328.13	204	SR 83 – Lodi, Wooster
	Seville	209.51	337.17	209	I-76 / US 224 – Lodi, Akron
	Medina Township	218.86	352.22	218	SR 18 – Akron, Medina
		220.71	355.20	220	I-271 north – Erie	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		222.91	358.74	222	SR 3 – Hinckley, Medina
	Brunswick	226.03	363.76	226	SR 303 – Brunswick, Hinckley
Cuyahoga	Strongsville	231.26	372.18	231	SR 82 (Royalton Road) – Strongsville, North Royalton	Signed as exits 231A (east) and 231B (west) southbound
		233.06	375.07	233	I-80 / Ohio Tpk. – Toledo, Youngstown
	Middleburg Heights	234.21	376.92	234	US 42 – Strongsville, Parma Heights
		235.37	378.79	235	Bagley Road – Berea, Middleburg Heights
	Brook Park	237.53	382.27	237	Snow Road, Engle Road – Cleveland Hopkins International Airport	Signed as exits 237A (east) and 237B (west) southbound
	Brook Park–Cleveland city line	238.77	384.26	238	I-480 – Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Toledo, Youngstown	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Cleveland	239.26	385.05	238	I-480 west / SR 237 south – Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Berea, Toledo	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		240.57	387.16	240	West 150th Street
		241.85	389.22	242A	West 130th Street	Signed as exit 242 southbound
	Cleveland–Linndale city line	242.41	390.12	242B	Bellaire Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Cleveland	244.5	393.5	244	Denison Avenue, West 65th Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		245.48– 246.20	395.06– 396.22	245	US 42 / SR 3 / (Pearl Road, West 25th Street) / Fulton Road
		246.6	396.9	246	SR 176 south – Parma	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		246.98	397.48	247A	West 14th Street, Clark Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		247.56	398.41	247B	I-490 east to I-77	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		247.56	398.41	247B	I-90 west – Toledo	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		247.81	398.81	—	I-90 east – Downtown Cleveland
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

Auxiliary routes[link]

• I-471 - links downtown Cincinnati with Interstate 275
• I-271 - provides access to Cleveland's eastern suburbs and enables travelers on Interstate 71 to access Interstate 90 east without going through Cleveland proper.

v t e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 71 Kentucky 471 Ohio 271 471

See also[link]

• Carrollton bus disaster, a drunk-driving tragedy involving a school bus that occurred on I-71

Sports rivalries involving cities on I-71

• The I-71 Rivalry: Cincinnati Bengals–Cleveland Browns (NFL)
• The Keg of Nails: Cincinnati Bearcats–Louisville Cardinals (NCAA Football)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 71

• I-71 on Cincinnati-Transit.net
• Interstate-guide.com: Interstate 71
• Historic photo; 1963 aerial view of I-71 construction between 17th and 5th avenues in Columbus, Ohio
• Historic photo; gasoline tanker crash and fire collapses Cleveland Avenue overpass in Columbus, Ohio 6/28/1966
• Historic photo; rebuilding the Cleveland Avenue overpass after it is was destroyed by a gasoline tanker fire in 1966

v t e Main Interstate Highways Signed 4 5 8 10 12 15 16 17 19 20 22 24 25 26 27 29 30 35 37 39 40 43 44 45 49 55 57 59 64 65 66 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 (W) 76 (E) 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 (W) 84 (E) 85 86 (W) 86 (E) 87 88 (W) 88 (E) 89 90 91 93 94 95 96 97 99 H-1 H-2 H-3 Unsigned A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 PRI-1 PRI-2 PRI-3 Lists Primary Main Intrastate Suffixed Temporary Future Gaps Auxiliary Main Future Unsigned Other Standards Business Bypassed Tolled Major Interstates highlighted