US20 In Ohio: Fremont, Home Of A President

In the north western area of Ohio, US Route 20 runs through the city of Fremont, the county seat for Sandusky County. As US 20 approaches from the east, it circles the city on the northern side via a bypass; however, it still technically runs through town as State Route 20 (State Street). The bypass is also named the “Grand Army of the Republic Highway), and it crosses the Sandusky River.
Not too far from where US20 runs through and around downtown Fremont is The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center. Hayes was the 19th President of the United States. The Center is on 25 acres of wooded land that was originally a part of Hayes’ estate; Hayes named the area Spiegel Grove. The 31 room Victorian home of Hayes and his wife Lucy Webb Hayes which is on the property is open to visitors. This is where they retired after Hayes’ presidency concluded. The house still contains much of the family’s original furnishings from that era. Hayes and his wife are buried at a memorial on the property.

Also part of the The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center is the Hayes’ Presidential Library. This was created and opened in 1916, long before President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established a formal system for presidential libraries, but Hayes’ library is considered the first.

The site was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1964, and in 1966 was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

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US20: Travel Via YouTube

I compiled a list of all the videos I could find on YouTube that feature US Route 20. I found several, some professionally done, some very amateur (with lots of shaky cam). The videos from Mohawk Valley (NY) Living are very well done and they really make me want to check out that area. Enjoy!


Mohawk Valley Living #170 Route 20 (part 1 of 2)


Mohawk Valley Living #170 Route 20 (part 2 of 2)




Mohawk Valley Living #118 Road Trip along Route 20



Mohawk Valley Living #120 Route 20, Cherry Valley (1 of 2)




US 20 - Schoharie County, NY




US Route 20 - Charlton, Massachusetts


US Route 20 West to Westfield, MA



US 20 Dubuque – Over the Mississippi


The US Route 20 Blog homepage can be found at usroutetwenty.blogspot.com, here.

US20 In Oregon: Road Improvements

The Oregonian says that a stalled project for improvements to a stretch of US Route 20 in Oregon is now moving forward. In an article titled ” U.S. 20 gets a boost” they give some details:


The project: In 2006, the Oregon Department of Transportation and contractor Granite Construction began a $150 million project to straighten a treacherous 10-mile section of U.S. 20 between Pioneer Mountain and Eddyville, a popular route to the coast.

The new stretch would shave four miles off the current drive, open the road to 53-foot semitrailers -- currently not permitted on the tight curves -- and be expected to reduce the accident rate.

What happened: In 2007, the project came to a halt after the state Department of Environmental Quality fined ODOT $90,000 and Granite Construction, doing business as Yaquina River Constructors, $240,000 for water quality violations involving erosion that damaged salmon spawning grounds in the Yaquina River and its tributaries.

After nearly a year of negotiations, ODOT and Granite agreed on a plan to stabilize ancient landslides. Workers returned to the job last spring, setting a new completion date of late 2011.

What's new: The Oregon State Transportation Commission added $13.8 million in federal stimulus money to the project. The extra cash will allow ODOT to make improvements on curves at the west end of the project that it originally had tabled because the repairs were too expensive.

"It would not have been fully up to standard," said Vivian Payne, ODOT Area 4 manager. "This additional money allows us to make those curve improvements the right way."

It is also more environmentally friendly, Payne said, because they will replace a culvert with a bridge. "In the long run, it will be a better highway for users as well as a better environmental solution for fish and other resources."


The full article, ” U.S. 20 gets a boost” can be found here.




The US Route 20 Blog homepage can be found at usroutetwenty.blogspot.com, here.