Interstate 490 (Ohio)

Interstate 490
Troy Lee James Highway
Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length:	2.43 mi[1] (3.91 km)
Existed:	1990[2] – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-71 / I-90 in Cleveland
	I-77 in Cleveland
East end:	East 55th Street, Bower Avenue in Cleveland
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Ohio Highways Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← I-480 I-670 →

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, the eastern terminus is a junction with East 55th Street, just east of I-77.

In 2008, the Ohio Department of Transportation closed I-90 to trucks over the Innerbelt Bridge due to weight concerns. Trucks traveling eastbound are detoured onto I-490 east, then exit at I-77 north and rejoin I-90 east at I-77's northern terminus. Traveling westbound, trucks exit I-90 west at I-77 south, then exit at I-490 west before rejoining I-90 at I-490's western terminus.^[3][4]

History

Detailed map of I-490 and surrounding freeways

The original plans of the Cleveland and other city and federal highway authorities called for the highway – also known as the Clark Freeway and, at various times and in various sections, as Interstate 80N^[5] and Interstate 290 – to bisect the east side of the city and the eastern suburbs; the I-290 designation would have continued north along I-271. A referendum in Shaker Heights in the late 1960s, however, barred the city from allowing the highway to pass through the city and its Shaker Lakes.^[6][7] This put a large and impassable hole in the plans and made the completion of the highway as a whole impossible. A segment at the western end opened in 1990 as I-490.

The interchanges between I-490 and West 7th Street and between I-90 and West 14th Street/Abbey Avenue were designed to complete the missing movements at the stack interchange at what is now the termini of both I-71 and I-490; I-71 was to continue along the Innerbelt to Dead Man's Curve (in addition to the original Clark Freeway plans), while I-290 was to have used a portion of present I-90 meet the Parma Freeway. After the freeway revolts killed the Clark Freeway east of East 55th Street and the Parma Freeway, I-90 was realigned to follow the Innerbelt and part of I-290. In 2003, I-490 was dedicated to Troy Lee James, renaming the road to Troy Lee James highway.^[8]

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.^[9]

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

Opportunity Corridor

There have been subsequent proposals to employ part of the I-290 routing. The current plan, part of the Innerbelt project, proposes an expressway to University Circle, named the "Opportunity Corridor". After temporary rejections in 2002^[10] and 2006 – the latter due to Secretary of State Ken Blackwell's loss in the 2006 gubernatorial campaign after he had reintroduced the plan as part of a plan to lease the Ohio Turnpike^[11] – the plan is active again. In June 2008, the start date for the project was planned to be 2015,^[12] earlier than the 2025 or later date previously planned.^[13] In 2009, a plan to incorporate the highway as a toll road was proposed.^[14] That same year, a director of the project was named,^[15][16] and the Opportunity Corridor Steering Committee was formed,^[15] holding its first meeting on May 15.^[17] As of July 2011 the earliest date of construction is 2016, providing that funding is available.^[18] According to Ohio government officials, funding may be available as a result of the passage of the 2013 Ohio transportation budget bill.^[19] The Opportunity Corridor has a number of opponents, including a grassroots group, Clevelanders for Transportation Equity.^[20] Many of the objections are rooted in the upheaval of the local community, which is predominantly lower income and African-American.^[21]

Exit list

The entire route is in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County.

Mile[22]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
0.00	0.00	—	I-90 west – Toledo	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; western terminus of I-490
0.06	0.10	1A	I-71 south / SR 176 south – Columbus	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
0.92	1.48	1B	West 7th Street / Houston Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
1.65	2.66	2A	SR 14 / SR 43 (Broadway)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
1.72	2.77	2B	I-77 / SR 10 – Downtown Cleveland, Akron	Exit 161 (I-77); SR 10 concurrency proposed[23]
2.43	3.91	—	East 55th Street	Eastern terminus of I-490; at-grade intersection
		Begin at-grade highway eastbound and limited access highway westbound
		—	SR 10 (Opportunity Corridor)	Future terminus of I-490[12]; road continues as SR 10[23]
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access       Unopened

References

Further reading

• Breckenridge, Tom (2010-09-18). "Homes, businesses in Cleveland neighborhoods would be leveled to make way for Opportunity Corridor". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2010-09-22. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 490 (Ohio).

• Opportunity Corridor project page (Ohio Department of Transportation)

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