Governor Mike DeWine celebrates rest stop renovations that serve the whole family
ZANESVILLE, Ohio – A newly renovated rest stop on Interstate 70 was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony with Governor Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran.
Part of DeWine’s initiative to renovate 36 rest stops in the state, the I-70 Westbound stop outside of Zanesville shows travelers what Ohio has to offer down the road.
“Many times they’re driving through here on Interstate 70 or 71, 75, and they come in here and maybe they’re from some other state. What do we want their impression to be. We want to be good, we want to be that we are a welcoming people in Ohio,” DeWine said. “And, it’s also, we want the same thing for Ohio travelers who are going to be the majority of people using this. We want them to be safe. We want them to have picnic tables here so they can have a picnic. We wan them to have rocking chairs outside if they want to do that.”
The rest stop also features a story book trail featuring a book from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for the young travelers who need a break. Fran has spent her time as Ohio’s First Lady, working to expand the states Imagination Library program which now serves 61% of children in Ohio and 73% of Muskingum County children.
“Our experience has been with 8 kids and a lot of grandkids traveling around, not only Ohio, but other states, you want your kids to be able to get out and run. Or, walk around, take hike, get some of that energy off. And they’re going to be having the opportunity to do that,” DeWine said. “We also tell the story of Zanesville, we tell the story of Muskingum County and frankly what awaits people down the road. So if you look at all the pictures around here, all these are things that are either right here or they’re going to come across in the next 50, 60 or 70 miles traveling down the interstate highway.”
Some of the nearby attractions featured on the walls include the National Road and Zane Grey Museum, the Y-Bridge and building features pottery from the Zanesville Museum of Art.
