Interstate 490 (Ohio)

Interstate 490 (I-490) is a 2.43-mile (3.91 km) Interstate Highway in Cleveland, Ohio. The western terminus is a junction with I-90 and I-71 on Cleveland's west side. After spanning the Cuyahoga River, I-490 reaches its eastern terminus at a junction with East 55th Street, just east of I-77.

Interstate 490
Troy Lee James Highway
I-490 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-90
Maintained by ODOT
Length	2.43 mi[1] (3.91 km)
History	Designated in 1973 Completed in 1990[2]
Major junctions
West end	I-71 / I-90 in Cleveland
	I-77 in Cleveland
East end	East 55th Street/Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland
Location
Counties	Cuyahoga
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Ohio Highways Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← I-480 → SR 500 ← SR 289 → SR 290

History

The original plans of the Cleveland and other city and federal highway authorities called for the highway – also known as the Clark Freeway[3] and, at various times and in various sections, as Interstate 80N[4] and Interstate 290 – to bisect the east side of the city and the eastern suburbs; the I-290 designation would then have continued north along I-271.[5] I-71 was to have continued along the Innerbelt to Dead Man's Curve, while I-290 was to have used the portion of present I-90 westward to the Parma Freeway near West 65th Street.[4] Freeway revolts in the late 1960s prevented the Clark Freeway east of East 55th Street and the Parma Freeway from being built; specifically, a referendum in Shaker Heights barred the city from allowing the Clark Freeway to pass through the city and its Shaker Lakes.[6][7] The Interstate 490 designation was applied to the Clark Freeway's altered proposed path in 1973,[8] but this alignment was also not built east of East 55th Street. Ultimately I-90 was realigned to follow the Clark Freeway routing west of I-71 and the Innerbelt, and the middle segment of the Clark Freeway between I-71 and I-77 opened in 1990.[2] The Opportunity Corridor expressway is being constructed to follow the path of the cancelled portion of I-490/Clark Freeway eastward from the end of the completed portion until it veers north toward the University Circle neighborhood.

In 2003, I-490 was dedicated to Troy Lee James, former member of the Ohio House of Representatives.[9]

In April 2011, the ramps between I-77 and I-90 to the west were removed, making I-490 the official route between those highways and between I-77 and I-71.[10]

Incomplete I-490 in Cleveland, looking east from West 14th Street in July 1973.

Exit list

The entire route is in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County.

mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
0.00	0.00	—	I-90 west – Toledo	Western terminus; I-90 exit 170C
0.20	0.32	1A	I-71 south / SR 176 south – Columbus	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; I-71 exit 247B
0.92	1.48	1B	West 7th Street / Houston Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
1.72	2.77	2A	SR 14 / SR 43 (Broadway)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
1.88	3.03	—	I-77 – Downtown Cleveland, Akron	Exit 161 on I-77; proposed western terminus of SR 10 concurrency[11]
2.43	3.91	—	East 55th Street	At-grade intersection; proposed to be converted to a grade-separated interchange[11]
		—	SR 10 east (Opportunity Corridor)	Planned extension to University Circle[11]
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access       Unopened

References

1. "Cuyahoga County Roadway Description Inventory Report - DESTAPE" (PDF). Ohio Department of Transportation. August 30, 2017: 94. Retrieved September 2, 2019. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
2. Thoma, Pauline (September 12, 1990). "Ceremony gets I-490 on road; Long-awaited bridge opens for business". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved February 25, 2008.
3. Cuyahoga County, Ohio (August 1966). "Route Location Studies: Clark Freeway, East 55th Street to Outer Belt East Freeway (Report Number 8)". Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
4. Ohio Department of Highways. "1957-1958 Biennial Report excerpt". Retrieved September 24, 2007.
5. Example: Map of Ohio Showing State Highway System (Map). Cartography by ODOH. Ohio Department of Highways. 1964. Archived from the original (MrSID) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
6. O'Malley, Michael (September 25, 2006). "Women saved Shaker Lakes from freeways". The Plain Dealer.
7. Cleveland Heights Historical Society. "Feature Stories: When Bad Ideas Happen to Good Suburbs: The Clark, Lee and Heights Freeways". Retrieved February 26, 2008.
8. U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee (November 10, 1973). "U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 1. Retrieved August 4, 2014 – via Wikimedia Commons.
9. "§5516.05: Troy Lee James highway". Ohio Revised Code. March 19, 2003. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
10. "Two Interstate 77/90 Ramps to Close Permanently as Part of Innerbelt Work" (press release). Ohio Department of Transportation District 12, April 5, 2011. Retrieved on 2011-07-19.
11. "Opportunity Corridor Public Hearing" (PDF). City of Cleveland. October 1, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.

Further reading

• Breckenridge, Tom (September 18, 2010). "Homes, businesses in Cleveland neighborhoods would be leveled to make way for Opportunity Corridor". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved September 22, 2010.

External links

• Opportunity Corridor project page (Ohio Department of Transportation)