Ohio
Officials say Ohio drivers and out-of-state visitors successfully avoided 'post-eclipse gridlock'
Officials say Ohio drivers and out-of-state visitors successfully avoided ‘post-eclipse gridlock’
By: Tana Weingartner | WVXU
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CINCINNATI (WVXU) — State transportation and law enforcement officials have a message for people who traveled within or to Ohio for the April 8 total solar eclipse: Good job!
According to a release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Ohio Department of Transportation, data indicates people followed the advice to come early and stay late, and therefore the Buckeye State avoided “the post-eclipse gridlock other states experienced.”
Gov. Mike DeWine thanked everyone involved in planning for the celestial celebrations.
“I’m grateful to all our state and local partners who spent more than two years planning for this event,” he said.
Using data from more than 200 continuous traffic count stations around the state, the Ohio Department of Transportation reports traffic volumes increased 12.8% on Sunday, fell by 4.4% on Monday — the day of the eclipse — and then went back up by 15.8% the next day.
“This data shows that Ohioans and visitors did what we asked of them, and it worked to prevent a huge surge of traffic directly following the eclipse,” said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks in a release. “I also commend our crews for their efforts ahead of, during, and after the eclipse. It really paid off.”
The state patrol, which stepped up its presence on roads in and around the path of totality, conducted 16,285 traffic stops from Friday, April 5, through Tuesday, April 9. The agency reports traffic crashes decreased 6% compared to the same time frame the week prior. Troopers helped out 2,066 motorists with things like changing tires, giving directions, or helping folks who ran out of gas.
Traffic in the northern part of the state along the Ohio Turnpike was expected to be high. Service plaza and toll station hours were extended and gasoline and diesel fuel inventories increased.
By the numbers
ODOT reports the following data:
“The biggest increase in traffic on Monday came on State Route 31 north of Marysville where traffic was up by 71.7%, US 35 west of Chillicothe with a 67.4% increase in traffic, and SR 14 west of SR 165 to the Pennsylvania border saw a 42.8% increase.
“Within the path of totality, traffic on US 30 from Van Wert to Canton was up 13%, including a 53.4% increase west of US 224 near Van Wert. Traffic on US 23 between Chillicothe and Marion was up 11.5% with the biggest jump around Marion where traffic increased by 21.4%.
“The state’s interstates also saw increased traffic. I-71 north of US 30 saw a 21.5% bump in traffic volume, I-75 in Perrysburg was up 22.6%, and I-70 saw a 15.7% increase between I-270 and US 42. Traffic on I-74 between Cincinnati and Indiana saw traffic surge by 14.8%.
“On Tuesday, the entire I-70 corridor saw an 11.8% increase in traffic, the biggest bump in the Cambridge area where traffic volumes were up by more than 20%. Traffic on I-77 was up 11.1%, including a 20% increase in traffic south of Canton.
“The highest traffic volume increases on the Ohio Turnpike occurred on Monday, April 8, with 156,812 trips and Tuesday, April 9, with 162,381 trips. The Ohio Turnpike averages about 139,000 trips per day.”
A Kentucky woman who had been missing for more than two weeks was found dead in her vehicle in Ohio, authorities said.
The body of Debra Wireman was found in her vehicle on July 3 in Clermont County, Ohio, the Flemingsburg Police Department in Kentucky said on Facebook on Wednesday. Investigators were called to the scene after a report identifying the vehicle as belonging to a missing person, police said. The remains were identified as Wireman’s by the Clermont County Coroner’s Office on July 7, according to law enforcement.
Police in Kentucky said the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio is investigating the woman’s death. No additional information will be released by Flemingsburg police “out of respect for Debra’s family and the integrity of that investigation.”
“While this is not the outcome any of us hoped and prayed for, we are thankful that Debra has been found and that her family can now begin to receive the closure they deserve,” police added on Facebook.
Wireman, according to police, was last seen on June 17 at around 4:30 p.m. in Aberdeen, Ohio, while traveling toward Maysville, Kentucky. She was driving a white 2020 Kia Forte with front-end damage. Police said family and friends were “concerned for her welfare.”
“The overwhelming response from our community, neighboring agencies, the media, and countless individuals across the region demonstrated the very best of people coming together in the hope of bringing someone home safely,” Flemingsburg police said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Central Ohio has a new option for late-night sweets.
Jeff’s Donuts opened its first Ohio location Wednesday morning at 5717 N. Hamilton Road, between Gahanna and New Albany.
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Sixteen ‘almost feral’ children. Aged 18 months to 18 years. Hidden from sight in an Ohio house of horrors.
Until now.
It’s a situation difficult to fathom: Investigators found 16 kids living inside a 1,300-square-foot home in Vinton County, Ohio, confined in a 12-by-12 bedroom investigators say was covered in human waste. Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Sr., and Christina Siders were arrested on Tuesday, June 30th, and remain in jail after waiving their preliminary hearings today, Tuesday, July 7th.
Investigative reporter Anne Emerson goes beyond the headlines to understand the human impact in the developing Siders child abuse case. How did children live under these conditions for so long? We wanted to hear from the local community affected by this horrific story.
In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, we hear from those voices – from Captain Jeremiah Griffith who was a first responder to the shocking scene, to local Vinton County Pastor James Dimel who describes the community’s support of children who were trapped in a ‘den of evil’. Law enforcement and locals share their shock at the horror lurking in their own community. And Attorney Thomas Stolly, who represents Elizabeth Siders, says the case is more complicated than many believe, urging the public to remember that his client is presumed innocent.
Today, we react in real time to what we know so far in this developing story, and offer multiple perspectives of those closest to this case.
Subscribe to Criminally Obsessed for continuing coverage of the Siders investigation, true crime updates, courtroom developments, and exclusive interviews with the real people impacted by these cases.
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