| US 62 | |||
| Get started | Ripley | ||
| End | Masury | ||
| Length | 298 mi | ||
| Length | 480 km | ||
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According to Bestitude, US 62 is a US Highway in the US state of Ohio. The road forms an east-west route in a northeasterly direction through the south and east of the state, and is primarily a secondary primary route, and is of no concern to long-haul traffic. The road is 480 kilometers long.
Travel directions
US 62/68 at Ripley.
US 62 in Johnstown, northeast of Columbus.
Southern Ohio
US 62 in Kentucky comes from Frankfort and crosses the Ohio River at Maysville via the William H. Harsha Bridge, before entering Ohio. In Ohio, US 62 is immediately double-numbered 10 kilometers with US 52 to Ripley, after which US 68 turns north. US 62 then follows a 150-mile route north to Columbus. This route first leads through hilly and wooded area, but further north through flatter meadows with hardly any afforestation. The main place on this part of the route is Washington Court House, where it intersects US 35. The stretch from Ripley to Columbus is mainly a single carriageway.
Columbus Region
Closer to Columbus, US 62 parallels and intersects with Interstate 71 . US 62 is then a relatively simple two – lane city road to downtown Columbus. US 62 is double-numbered with US 40 through downtown Columbus and crosses the Scioto River. US 62 then partially coincides with Interstate 670 in eastern Columbus. The road then continues through the suburbs of Gahanna and New Albany, before leaving the Columbus region.
Northern Ohio
US 62 then follows a secondary route to the northeast. Virtually the entire 150 kilometers from Columbus to Canton is a simple single-lane road that passes through all the villages on the route, but there are no larger towns on this part of the route. The landscape is undulating with a fair amount of forest. The passage through Canton follows US 30 and Interstate 77, both of which are freeways. In northern Canton, US 62 forms the Malone Parkway, a short freeway. Between Canton and Alliance, US 62 is a 2×2 divided highway, with Alliance bypass having the characteristics of a freeway.
US 62 then runs through eastern Ohio. This stretch leads around the town of Youngstown. US 62 is largely a secondary route here that has no major role for through traffic, but a short section between I-80 and the Pennsylvania border is a semi-freeway. US 62 in Pennsylvania then continues through Sharon.
History
US 62 was added to the network in 1930, although the route did not run through Ohio from the start. In 1932, the route was extended from Maysville, Kentucky to Niagara Falls, New York, establishing the route through Ohio. Due to the fact that there are quite a few US Highways running through Ohio, US 62 has never really dominated. The route did connect important cities, such as the capital Columbus, the city of Canton and the industrial city of Youngstown. Despite this, US 62 is predominantly a single-lane road. Only in the larger cities are some sections of a divided highway, most prominent between Canton and Alliance in eastern Ohio.
Ohio River
In 1931, the Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge over the Ohio River opened to traffic. This suspension bridge was the first between Maysville, Kentucky and Aberdeen, Ohio. In 2000, an alternate bridge, the William H. Harsha Bridge, opened slightly to the west, eliminating traffic through Maysville. Both are considered part of US 62.
Ripley – Columbus
There is dual numbering of US 52, US 62 and US 68 between Aberdeen and Ripley. Originally, US 62 and US 68 split into two separate routes to the north, but later US 68 was routed over US 62 between Ripley and Redoak. This part was constructed in the late 1960s as a new 2×2 divided highway. Elsewhere, US 62 has not been upgraded between Redoak and Columbus and passes through all places on the route.
Columbus – Canton
In Columbus, US 62 was an important connection between the city center and the airport. Interstate 670 opened right over US 62 in 1965, but was not yet numbered I-670 at the time, making US 62 itself a freeway. Elsewhere in the suburbs of Columbus, US 62 has not been upgraded and is mostly a simple two-lane road.
Between Columbus and Canton, US 62 is pretty much a two-lane road that passes through every town. Moreover, the road follows a winding route that makes it little interesting for through traffic. US 62 originally ran into Canton town via Navarre Road, but was later rerouted over the Massillon and Canton freeway bypass, which was opened in 1972.
Canton – Youngstown
In the north of the city of Canton, US 62 has been developed as a freeway, the Malone Parkway, which runs for 3 kilometers from I-77 to the east. This part was probably opened in the 1960s. At the time it was planned as a 2×2 divided highway to Alliance, but a small section through Canton has never been built, the road narrows here to a narrower four-lane city road. The section between Canton and Louisville opened around 1956 and the extension to Alliance opened around 1970.
At the time, it was planned to extend the freeway from Alliance to Salem and possibly further to the Ohio Turnpike. The Alliance bypass is called US 62T and was opened to traffic about 1976. The Salem bypass is numbered OH-14T and opened to traffic circa 1973. The missing section between Alliance and Salem is approximately 16 kilometers long.
A freeway bypass has been constructed along the center of Youngstown that connects to Interstate 680. The portion along the east side of downtown is part of US 62 and opened to traffic circa 1972.
