Interstate 270 (Ohio)
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| Interstate 270 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System |
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| Length: | 54.97 mi[1] (88.47 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | Late 1950s (Completed in 1975) | ||||||||
| Beltway around Columbus, Ohio | |||||||||
| Major junctions: |
 I-71 (north) I-70 (west) US 33 US 23 I-71 (south) I-670 I-70 (east) |
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Interstate 270 (abbreviated I-270) is the beltway loop freeway in the Columbus metropolitan area, commonly known locally as "The Outerbelt". The "western" (and "eastern") terminus of I-270, at least in terms of the zero-milepost, is at the junction with Interstate 71 east of Grove City, Ohio. I-270, along with Interstate 670, provides access to Port Columbus International Airport. The entire length of I-270 is 54.97 miles (88.47km).
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[edit] Route description
| Major cities Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs |
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
[edit] History
Planning for an outerbelt around Columbus began in the late 1950s. The outerbelt was completed in stages, with the south section finished first and the east portion last.
[edit] Planning
By the early 1960s detailed planning for the route had begun, and several controversies arose. The first involved the location of the northern segment, which was originally planned to pass south of Worthington, passing through the Ohio Deaf School and just north of the then ten year old Graceland Shopping Center. Through vigorous lobbying throughout 1961, and with the help of Ohio Governor Michael DiSalle, residents were able to get the outerbelt relocated to pass north of Worthington[2].
Another contentious issue involved the routing of the eastern portion of the outerbelt between Port Columbus International Airport and the city of Gahanna. While the airport wanted the outerbelt pushed out towards Gahanna so as to leave land for future runway expansion, the residents of Gahanna wanted it pushed back towards Columbus. The final compromise led to an interesting kink in I-270 as it jogs around the airport[3].
[edit] Construction
Construction of the outerbelt began in 1962, and work was begun on various disconnected sections. The first portion to be completed connected U.S. 23 with I-71 south of Columbus[4]. The portion between U.S. 23 and Interstate 71 on the north side opened in August, 1967[5].
The section between Interstate 70 on the West Side and Interstate 71 on the South Side opened in August, 1970[6]. In late 1970, sections opened on the East Side between U.S. 33 and Interstate 70, and between State Rt. 3 in Westerville and State Rt. 161 on the East Side. It was now possible to bypass Columbus using I-270 by going around the south side of the city[7].
In June, 1971 the section between Morse Road and State Rt. 161 on the East side opened. In October, 1971, another section on the East Side between Interstate 70 and East Main Street opened. It would take four more years to complete the northeast portion of the outerbelt[8].
The last section of I-270, on the East Side, between Hamilton Road and East Broad Street, was opened on August 20, 1975[9]. The total cost of the ten year construction project was 175 million dollars, compared to the original 1961 estimate of 104 million dollars.
[edit] Accidents, Incidents and Snipers
- In December, 1965 during the construction of the northern section of I-270 across the N&W and NYC railroad tracks between Rt. 23 and I-71, the New York Central's Ohio State Limited was wrecked after it hit a piece of earthmoving machinery, resulting in the operator's death and the injury of several passengers and crew. The train was dumped into the cornfield resulting in a major operation to clean it up[10].
- On November 4, 1968, David R. Booth, age 29, became the first person to die on I-270 when he hit another car while merging onto State Rt. 23 from I-270[11].
- In February, 1974, three trucks traveling on I-270 on the south side near State Rt. 33 were struck by gunfire during a violent Teamsters Strike[12].
- Ohio highway sniper attacks: The highway was again the subject of national media attention in 2003 when 24 sniper shootings were reported along the southern portion of the interstate and other neighboring highways. Sixty-two-year-old Gail Knisley was shot to death on November 25, 2003, making her the only fatality associated with the string of shootings. Charles A. McCoy, Jr., who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1996, was accused of the shootings and stood trial in 2005. The first trial with death penalty charges resulted in a hung jury on May 9, 2005, most likely due to McCoy's severe mental illness. Rather than face a retrial, McCoy accepted a plea arrangement where he avoided the death sentence. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison on August 9, 2005.
[edit] Expansion and noise barriers
In 1978 the first noise barriers were constructed on the portion of I-270 passing near Gahanna. Noise barriers have been slowly added around the length of the 55 mile long belt as development has crowded up to the noisy road[13].
Massive development followed the construction of I-270, especially around the north and northwest sides. The northern suburbs of Westerville, Worthington and Dublin, and Hilliard to the west benefited the most. As in other sizeable cities across America, the effect of this outerbelt driven development was to hasten the decline of the Columbus core. The south portion of the I-270 was much slower to develop due to the location of sewage treatment and landfill facilities, as well as quarries and the flood prone Scioto River. Grove City began to develop in the 1990s with the addition of office/warehouse space, and the conversion of Rickenbacker Air Force Base to a civilian air freight facility.
[edit] Exit list
| Location | Mile | # | Destinations | Notes |
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| Grove City | 0.0/55.0 | 55 | I-71 - Columbus - Cincinnati |
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| Urbancrest | 2.1 | 2 |  US 62 -  SR 3 - Grove City |
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| Columbus | 5.0 | 5 | Georgesville Rd | WB changes to NB and SB changes to EB |
| 7.0 | 7A |  US 40 east - Broad St |
NB combined as Exit 7 | |
| 7B | US 40 west - Broad St |
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| 8.7 | 8 | I-70 - Columbus - Dayton |
some signage says Indianapolis instead of Dayton | |
| 10.5 | 10 | Roberts Rd | ||
| Hilliard | 12.6 | 13A | Fishinger Rd - Upper Arlington | SB combined as Exit 13 |
| 13B | Cemetery Rd - Hilliard - Franklin County Fairgrounds | |||
| 13.8 | 14 | Davidson Rd | proposed | |
| Columbus | 15.6 | 15 | Tuttle Crossing Blvd | The Mall at Tuttle Crossing |
| Dublin | 17.3 | 17A | US 33 east -  SR 161 east - Dublin - Muirfield (NB) |
to "Olde Dublin"; NB changes to EB and WB changes to SB |
| 17B | US 33 west - SR 161 west - Marysville - Plain City |
to most of residential Dublin | ||
| Columbus | 19.8 | 20 | Sawmill Rd - Columbus Zoo, Zoombezi Bay, Muirfield (WB) | first SPUI in Ohio |
| Worthington | 22.8 | 22 |  SR 315 |
severe weaving issues; interchanges will be braided in project beginning 2009 |
| 23.8 | 23 | US 23 - Worthington - Delaware - Toledo |
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| Columbus | 25.8 | 26 | I-71 - Columbus - Cleveland |
EB formerly split into 26A and 26B |
| 27.4 | 28 |  SR 710 - Cleveland Ave |
eastern terminus of SR 710 | |
| Westerville | 28.7 | 29 | SR 3 - Westerville |
EB changes to SB and NB changes to WB. Route 3 known as State Street north of I-270 and Westerville Road south of I-270 |
| Columbus | 30.5 | 30 | SR 161 - Worthington - New Albany |
formerly exits 30A-B; shares CD roads with exit 33 |
| 32.2 | 32 | Morse Rd | no connection to exits 30 or 33 | |
| 32.9 | 33 | Easton Way - Easton | shares CD roads with exit 30; provides access to Morse Road via Stelzer Road | |
| Gahanna | 35.4 | 35A | I-670 west - US 62 west - Airport |
NB exits combined as exit 35; Johnstown Rd exit is NB-exit-only, no entrance |
| 35B | US 62 east - Gahanna |
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| 35 | Johnstown Rd | |||
| 37.8 | 37 |  SR 317 - Hamilton Rd |
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| Columbus | 39.5 | 39A |  SR 16 west - Broad St - Whitehall - Taylor Station Rd |
Taylor Station Rd exit is NB-exit-only via Old Morrison Rd and Westbourne Ave |
| 39B | SR 16 east - Broad St - Newark |
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| 41.3 | 41A | US 40 west - Main St - Whitehall |
exits 41A-43B share CD roads | |
| 41B | US 40 east - Main St - Reynoldsburg |
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| 42.8 | 43A | I-70 west - Columbus |
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| 43B | I-70 east - Wheeling - Zanesville |
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| 46.1 | 46A | US 33 west - Columbus |
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| 46B | US 33 east - Lancaster |
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| Obetz | 49.0 | 49 | Alum Creek Dr - Obetz - Rickenbacker Int'l Airport | SB becomes WB and EB becomes NB |
| Columbus | 52.7 | 52A | US 23 north - Columbus |
EB combined as exit 52 |
| 52B | US 23 south - Circleville |
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| Note: all locations are within Franklin County. | ||||
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ All mileages from ODOT Straight Line Diagram, Franklin 270R unless otherwise noted.
- ^ Meeting Decries 'Near' Outerbelt, Columbus Dispatch, February 9, 1961 pg. 1A
- ^ OHIO DEPT OF HIGHWAYS COMPLETES WORK ON A PROPOSED NEW ALIGNMENT THROUGH GAHANNA FOR THE OUTERBELT EXPRESSWAY WHICH WOULD PERMIT FUTURE EXPANSION FOR PORT COLUMBUS (MAP), Columbus Dispatch, MArch 30, 1967 pg. 1B
- ^ OHIO HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT REPORTS ON THE STATUS OF 6 COLUMBUS EXPRESSWAY PROJECTS: OUTERBELT, FT HAYES INTERCHANGE, EAST FREEWAY, PARSONS AND FULTON EXPRESSWAYS, Columbus Dispatch, June 16, 1963, pg. 14A
- ^ THE OUTERBELT EXPRESSWAY (I-270) BETWEEN THE NORTH FREEWAY AND N HIGH ST IS OPENED AT CEREMONIES LED BY THE WORTHINGTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, Columbus Dispatch, August 15, 1967, pg. 1B
- ^ 8.5 MILE STRETCH OF OUTERBELT, I-270, BETWEEN I-70 WEST AND SOUTH FREEWAY, WILL OPEN 8/17 (MAP: MAJOR HIGHWAYS AROUND AND THRU COLS), Columbus Dispatch, August 13, 1970, pg. 1B
- ^ A MISSING LINK IN THE COLS OUTERBELT OPENS TO TRAFFIC NOV 20, ALLOWING EAST-WEST TRAFFIC TO PASS COLS; THE 3.2 MILE LINK BETWEEN RT 33 AND I-70 BEATS A THANKSGIVING DEADLINE, Columbus Dispatch, November 19, 1970, pg. 1A
- ^ THE OPENING OF E MAIN ST (RT 40) OVER THE OUTERBELT IS SCHEDULED FOR 6/21, AND WORK ON E MAIN ST-NOE-BIXBY RD INTERSECTION MAY ALSO BE COMPLETED BY THAT DATE, Columbus Dispatch, June 13, 1971, pg. 19A
- ^ Outerbelt Finish Set for Aug. 20, Columbus Dispatch, July 9, 1975 pg. 1C
- ^ DANA B BOLIN, 49, OF ATHENS, OHIO, IS KILLED AND ABOUT 30 PEOPLE ARE INJURED IN THE CRASH OF NEW YORK CENTRAL'S OHIO STATE LIMITED PASSENGER TRAIN IN WORTHINGTON, Columbus Dispatch, December 19, 1965, pg. 1A
- ^ DAVID R BOOTH, 29, 1066 CORWIN AVE, DIES WHEN HIS CAR COLLIDES WITH ANOTHER JUST NORTH OF I-270 EXIT ONTO RT 23, SOUTH OF COLUMBUS, Columbus Dispatch, November 4, 1968, pg. 1B
- ^ THREE TRUCKS TRAVELING IN CONVOY ON THE COLUMBUS OUTERBELT NEAR U S 33 ARE STRUCK BY GUNFIRE AS VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN THE STRIKE BY INDEPENDENT TRUCKERS, Columbus Dispatch, February 4, 1974, pg. 1A
- ^ PHOTO: NOISE FROM THE OUTERBELT ARE ERECTED IN GAHANNA; CITY THREATENED TO SUE OHIO DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION IF BARRIERS WERE NOT ERECTED, Columbus Dispatch, June 1, 1978, pg. 10B
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