According to iTypeJob, Youngstown is a small city in the US state of Ohio. The city has a population of 60,000, but has a more extensive urban area of 538,000 residents (2021) that extends into Mahoning County and Trumbull County.
Introduction
Youngstown is located in eastern Ohio, bordering Pennsylvania. The urban area further consists of Warren, Austintown and Boardman and extends along the Mahoning River for more than 35 kilometers. The Youngstown region was one of the prominent industrial cities of the United States, but its population has declined dramatically. In 1950 the city had almost 170,000 inhabitants, in 2021 there were only 60,000 left. No US city has lost as large a percentage of residents as Youngstown. Not only the city of Youngstown is shrinking, but also the entire urban area. Mahoning County had a population of 303,000 in 1970 and 228,000 in 2020. In Trumbull County, the decline is less pronounced, from 241,000 in 1980 to 202,000 in 2020. Despite this, the Youngstown metropolitan area is one of the few in the United States that has been continuously growing for decades. in terms of population.
Road network
Youngstown has a very extensive highway network for a city of this size. There are cities of this size in the United States that have no highways at all, but Youngstown has an extensive network of diverse routes. What is special is that Youngstown has a Downtown Loop, a small ring road around the center, similar to Rochester in New York state. Two major Interstate Highways run past Youngstown. Interstate 76 comes from Akron and curves toward Pittsburgh. This highway runs more along than through the city area. Interstate 80 comes from Cleveland and runs east to New York City. This highway traverses the north of Youngstown. Both I-76 and I-80 form part of the Ohio Turnpike, the change of numbers is just outside of Youngstown. Interstate 680 traverses the city of Youngstown from north to south, handling most of the commuter traffic to and from downtown.
In addition, Youngstown has another north-south highway, State Route 11, which is the longest freeway in Ohio with State Route status. It runs south to the West Virginia border at East Liverpool and north to Lake Erie at Ashtabula. Around nearby Warren, State Route 5 and State Route 82 form the Warren Outer Belt. State Route 193 and US 422 form the Downtown Loop of Youngstown. There is also the short State Route 711, a freeway between I-680 and I-80 in Youngstown.
History
Little is known about the construction history of the highways in and around Youngstown. Like most industrial cities in the region, the highway network will largely have been built in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1954, the Ohio Turnpike opened along Youngstown. State Route 11 was built through the Youngstown region from 1968 to 1972. In 1970-1971 the Warren Outer Belt opened. It is not known when I-680 and the Downtown Loop in Youngstown were built, probably also in the 1960s. The most recent highway was State Route 711 which opened in 2005.
Congestion
Congestion is a virtually unknown phenomenon in the Youngstown area. The highway network is designed for a significantly larger population.
