Which way does 71 go through Columbus?

DRAFT

I-71 runs Cleveland to Cincinnati. Through Columbus it does something odd, and if you have ever missed the split, you know exactly what.

Coming in from the south

71 comes in from Grove City on the diagonal, hits the south split at the west edge of downtown, and merges with 70 for a couple of miles. That merged stretch, "the split", is the one everyone means when they say "the split". Two directions, four freeways, one road surface. Nobody enjoys it in the rain.

Downtown, the overlap

For about two and a half miles, 70 east and 71 north share pavement. The signs try to tell you which lanes will peel off for which freeway. Sometimes it works. If you want 71 north, stay center-right and watch for the 3rd Street exit; you'll see the sign for the split about a mile before it happens.

Coming out the north side

Past downtown, 71 leaves 70 and shoots straight north through Weinland Park, Clintonville, and out through Worthington. From there it is a nearly straight line to Polaris, then Delaware, then Cleveland. The northern exit off 270 is at 71 and Polaris, on the mark's northeast corner.

If someone tells you "take 71 north through Columbus", they mean the whole trip: through the split, across downtown, and out the top. Half an hour, sometimes.