Ohio State Route 7

State Route 7 (SR 7), formerly known as Inter-county Highway 7 until 1921 and State Highway 7 in 1922, is a north–south state highway in the southern and eastern portions of the U.S. state of Ohio. At about in length, it is the longest state route in Ohio. Its southern terminus is an interchange with U.S. Route 52 (US 52) just west of Chesapeake. Its northern terminus also serves as the eastern terminus of SR 531 in Conneaut. The path of SR 7 stays within of the Ohio River (Ohio's border with West Virginia) for the southern portion, with the river being visible from much of the route. The road also remains within of the Pennsylvania state line for the northern portion.

The highway is also parallel with West Virginia Route 2 for most of the route, seen from the Ohio River.

Route description

left|thumb|SR 7 north of SR 5 in Kinsman

thumb|left|Northern terminus of SR 7 at SR 531 in Conneaut

SR 7 starts in Chesapeake and runs along the Ohio River for about . This portion of the highway encounters routes like US 35, US 33, US 50, and Interstate 77 (I-77). It passes through many Ohio River towns like Marietta, Bellaire, and Steubenville. Once it reaches the Pennsylvania border it heads north along SR 11 & US 30 from East Liverpool to Rogers. After it exits State Route 11 in Rogers the route turns north and starts tracking toward Youngstown.

Upon reaching the junction with the Ohio Turnpike, OH SR 7 enters the Connecticut Western Reserve. Continuing north, it becomes Market Street in Boardman, Ohio, with a significant suburban increase. Then the highway heads east overlapped with US 62. At I-680, the routes travel along a freeway called the "Himrod Avenue Expressway". The freeway's junction with the US 422 freeway, the "Madison Avenue Expressway", features a modified partial cloverleaf interchange; one loop ramp is grade-separated over another, eliminating weaving. After the shared alignment with US 62, SR 7 then heads north again in Hubbard through many small towns to its northern terminus with SR 531 in Conneaut.

History

In 1912, Intercounty Highway 7 ran along the Ohio River, from Elizabethtown to the Pennsylvania state line in East Liverpool.

In 1927, the route's southern terminus was truncated from the Indiana state line to Chesapeake to make way for US 52 and a small segment of US 50

A tunnel was constructed north of Stratton in 1982. The $27 million project was necessitated for the expansion of the W. H. Sammis Power Plant.

Chesapeake and Proctorville bypass

upright=1.3|thumb|Historical map of the Chesapeake Bypass

The Chesapeake bypass was first proposed in 1953.

In 1961, the US 52 expressway opened from Chesapeake westward towards Sheridan. The original eastern terminus of the four-lane divided highway was at the current Chesapeake northbound-only exit ramp east of Tallow Ridge Road. US 52 originally crossed at the present-day Robert C. Byrd Bridge that connects Chesapeake to Huntington, West Virginia. In 1979, the US 52 designation moved to the Nick Joe Rahall II Bridge as tolls on that span were removed that year; the segment east of the Rahall Bridge to the Chesapeake interchange was renumbered to SR 7.

Ten years later, the four-lane expressway was extended eastward to an incomplete trumpet interchange just east of Big Branch Road. A four-lane connector route from the partially complete interchange to the foot of the Robert C. Byrd Bridge at SR  527 was completed. At the same time, the two-lane Chesapeake interchange ramp just east of Tallow Ridge Road was converted to a northbound-only exit ramp. The abrupt terminus at Chesapeake was envisioned to connect to Proctorville. Though the portion of SR 527 is signed as part of SR 7, it is not officially part of the route and many signs show this portion of SR 527 as "To SR 7."

left|thumb|State Route 7 runs through downtown Gallipolis

On May 31, 2002, ground was broken for Phase 1-A of the Proctorville bypass. Phase 1-A entailed a two-lane connector road from the East Huntington Bridge to Irene Road, with the original loop ramp from the bridge to State Route 7 being modified into an access road. Phase 1-B was designated from Irene Road to State Route 7 near Fairland East Elementary in Rome Township. Phase 2 was envisioned from Irene Road west to Chesapeake. The total cost was originally estimated to be at $165 million. The $6.5 million, The projected cost of the segment was originally $27 million, however, when the bids were let, the cost had decreased to $24.3 million. The lowest bid, which was also accepted, came in at $22.1 million. The road was designed as a two-lane limited-access facility on a four-lane right-of-way. Construction began on August 4, with an original estimated completion date of June 30, 2005.

thumb|upright|State Route 7 south of [[Dilles Bottom, Ohio]]

An unusual amount of rain, blamed on two hurricanes, caused major delays. More than one-dozen major slips along Phase 1-B required an additional $30 million in repairs and the purchase of additional land for highwall excavations. Another change was the design of the roadway; originally projected to be widened in the future when higher traffic counts warrant the expansion, it was designed on wide right-of-way with no grade separation between the opposing lanes. During the repair of the slips, a terraced roadway was constructed to separate the future southbound lanes from the northbound by a highwall when the roadway is expanded to four lanes.

Other cost overruns had pushed the cost of construction to $62 million total, which included Phases 1-A and 1-B, up from the original estimates of $32 million. The primary cause was rapidly increasing land values and "unchecked zoning" along the project's projected right-of-way along with geo-technical problems with rocky soil. The remainder, east to SR 7 near Fairland East Elementary, opened on December 8, 2006. It includes intersections with SR 775, Kinley Avenue, and SR 7. Upon completion, phases 1-A and 1-B were signed as SR 7; the bypass from the SR 775 junction to the loop at the East Huntington Bridge was co-numbered with SR 775.

Phase 2 of the bypass, from the Chesapeake bypass to Irene Road at Proctorville, has not been funded. Funding which had been previously promised by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) was later denied. In 2024 ODOT released the detailed plans for Phase 2 and future Phase 3 and 4 (Eventual 4 lane limited access highway). Phase 2 will build a 2 lane road with additional truck climbing lanes in specific areas (see citation 23) from the Western Interchange in Chesapeake to just west of Proctorville where it will convert to 4 lanes at the Proctorville Interchange (full interchange). State Route 243 will terminate at a roundabout with the new State Route 7 near the junction of the current County Road 68 and State Route 243 between Chesapeake and Proctorville.

In the fall of 2024 tree clearing began in the project right of way with expected completion in the Spring of 2025 with construction expected to start during the Spring of 2025 and conclude in 2028.

Pomeroy Bypass

The Pomeroy bypass from Middleport east to US 33 was completed in 1968. At the time of completion, the bypass was two lanes but was widened to four lanes, divided, in 1976 from SR 143 to US 33 near Rock Springs. The bypass was extended east in 2000 from Rock Springs to a partial diamond interchange with SR 7 as a four-lane divided expressway. It was initially signed just SR 7. The diamond interchange was later completed with all connections, and the highway was extended eastward to Ravenswood, West Virginia as US 33.

Major intersections

Auxiliary routes

===State Route 7 Alternate in Bridgeport===