Great Big New Truckstop On the Ohio Turnpike?

A large truckstop and service plaza complex could be built west of Toledo on the Ohio Turnpike, the Toledo Blade reported this week.

Gary Suhadolnik, the turnpike's executive director, said the truckstop proposal is in the preliminary stages, and several sites are being considered. But a 2005 budget the turnpike commission approved Dec. 20 includes $1.25 million for site development in Fulton County about a mile west of the State Rt. 109 interchange near Delta.
The service plazas near West Unity, Ohio, and Swanton are the smallest on the turnpike and among the oldest. Something more truck-oriented would dove-tail with an ongoing turnpike and Ohio DOT campaign to persuade truckers to use the turnpike instead of nearby two-lane secondary routes. That campaign includes fare reductions and a speed-limit hike that allowed all traffic, not just passenger vehicles and commercial buses, to go 65 mph.
"We want to get trucks to use the [toll] road and keep them on the road," Mr. Suhadolnik said.