WQIO Ohio's Super Station
Mansfield drivers should prepare for temporary road closures and traffic delays Saturday morning as thousands of runners and spectators descend on the Ohio State Reformatory for the 12th annual Shawshank Hustle.
The race is scheduled for Saturday, August 15, beginning and ending at the historic Ohio State Reformatory at 100 Reformatory Road.
The Mansfield Division of Police has released a list of closures motorists should expect during the event.
The southbound lane of Olivesburg Road, or State Route 545, will temporarily close between Reformatory Road and East Longview Avenue from approximately 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. for the start of the race.
Additional temporary closures will affect several streets between approximately 7:30 and 10:30 a.m.
Those streets include:
- East Longview Avenue
- North Main Street
- North Walnut Street
- North Park Street
- North Diamond Street
- Connecting streets along the race route
Police say the exit ramp from eastbound U.S. 30 to State Route 13/North Main Street/State Route 545 will also temporarily close. That closure is expected to remain in place from approximately 7:30 until 11 a.m.
Drivers should expect delays in the area surrounding the course throughout the morning.
The Shawshank Hustle is a 4.6-mile race that begins and ends at the Ohio State Reformatory and takes participants through Mansfield. The event draws runners to the community for a race built around the former prison’s connection to the film The Shawshank Redemption.
The race course uses city streets that are closed to traffic during the event to protect runners and spectators.
Police are asking motorists who need to travel through the affected areas Saturday morning to plan an alternate route and allow additional time for their trip.
The closures are temporary and are expected to be lifted as the race progresses and streets are cleared.
With the race beginning early Saturday morning, drivers traveling near the Ohio State Reformatory, downtown Mansfield and the Route 545 corridor should be particularly aware of the closures before heading out.
The event’s official course begins and ends at the Ohio State Reformatory, making the facility and surrounding streets the center of Saturday morning’s activity.
