Historic Look: Expressway built to alleviate traffic

ZANESVILLE – Before the first shovel full of dirt was pulled from the earth for the construction of what is now Interstate 70, Zanesville was looking to get the federal government to fund a massive relocation of highways and bridges.

"Chamber of Commerce officials will ask the U.S. government to appropriate 26 million dollars for the construction of new roller-type dams to change the Muskingum river channel from four and one-half to nine feet in depth. Historic Y Bridge and the Fifth Street Bridge would fall beneath the dredges and bulldozers would be replaced by two new bridges," Norris Schneider wrote in the Sept. 8, 1945, edition of The Times Recorder.

The article went on to talk about challenges the city was already facing, including the condition of the Y Bridge and ongoing congestion in downtown Zanesville.

Flash forward to 1951 and local government officials were still trying to come up with a plan to relocate U.S. 40 through or around Zanesville and get a new bridge across the Muskingum River. The city and county decided to fund a survey to study its options.

In 1953, a new plan was proposed. An article in the April 19, 1953, Times Recorder outlined the plan.

"Plans for a six-mile expressway to carry National highway (U.S. 40) traffic through Zanesville, eliminating a bottleneck that was developed in this city's business district, were released in detail by city and county officials last night. The route, selected with the approval of the State Highway department and federal road authorities, was one of six outlined in a set of proposals submitted by the Columbus engineering firm of Alden E. Stilson & Associates, which was engaged to make a comprehensive survey of the problem.

"Cost of the project is estimated at $11,744, 000 of which the federal government would pay 50 percent, the state 25 percent, and the city and county, 25 percent, or $2,926,000."

The article went on to detail the plan, which proposed a four-lane highway that would leave U.S. 40 at Rehl Road and rejoin it east of Pleasant Grove Road. A bridge over the river near the foot of Park Street would be built.

It was predicted that the project would take five years.

"The vastness of the proposed project may be comprehended from the fact that it calls for a change in the channel of the Licking River at one point, and for the relocation of 1,300 of the Nickel Plate railroad track between Lee and Keen streets."

During the following year, there was much discussion over the new bridge and funding until the county signed an agreement with the state. Then it was another year of discussion and debate, including acquiring the land needed to build the bridge — as many as 60 parcels of land were expected to be affected.

In 1956, a major campaign to get voters to approve funding for the new expressway was in full force. People wrote testimonials in the paper, and the Jaycees organized to get the "yes" votes to the polls. The campaign was successful and worked as expected to begin in the summer of 1957.

In 1957, the first house in the path of the bridge was razed. It was a frame duplex at 927-929 Maple Ave. that was formerly owned by Phillip J. and Catherine Adornetto.

While a lot of behind-the-scenes work took place, including razing houses and developing construction plans, the actual construction of the Expressway didn't take place until 1960. Throughout the year, there were signs of progress as piers began to take shape, land was cleared and the railroad tracks were relocated.

Next week, we will look at the project after 1960.

About the series

Each week, The Times Recorder features a historical photo from its archives or from the public. If you have a photo or a suggestion for an upcoming photo, send it to trnews@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com.