Interstate 480 (I-480) is a

auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a subset of highways within the United States' Interstate Highway System. The 323 auxiliary routes generally fall into three types: spur routes, which connect to or i ...

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

in the

US state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

that passes through much of the

Greater Cleveland The Cleveland metropolitan area, or Greater Cleveland as it is more commonly known, is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, United States. According to the 2020 census results, the six-county Cleveland, OH ...

area, including the southern parts of the city of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. I-480 is one of 13 auxiliary Interstate Highways in the state. The western terminus of I-480 is an interchange with I-80 and the

Ohio Turnpike The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor between Chicago and Pittsburgh. The road runs east–west for in the northern sect ...

in North Ridgeville. Starting east through suburban Lorain County, I-480 enters

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or , see ) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The county seat and most populous city is Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,264,817, making it the second ...

, then approaches Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, which serves as the primary airport for

Northeast Ohio Northeast Ohio is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that comprises the northeastern counties of the U.S. state of Ohio. Definitions of the region consist of 16 to 23 counties between the southern shore of Lake Erie and the foothills ...

. After traversing

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and crossing the

Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River (see ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...

on the Valley View Bridge, the highway continues east toward the communities of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

and

Twinsburg Twinsburg is a suburban city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, located midway between Akron, Ohio, Akron and Cleveland. The population was 19,248 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Akron metropolitan area. History The first person to s ...

toward its eastern terminus at I-80 and the Ohio Turnpike in Streetsboro. On its route, I-480 crosses

I-71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the midwestern and Southeastern United States, southeastern regions of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64, I-64 and Interstate 65, ...

and I-77 and is concurrent with

I-271 Interstate 271 (I-271) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, Akron in the US state of Ohio. The highway is officially designated the Outerbelt East Freeway but is rarely referred to ...

for approximately . In 1998, the governor of Ohio, George Voinovich, gave I-480 the additional name of the "Senator John Glenn Highway", in honor of the former NASA astronaut and US senator from Ohio for 24 years. Parts of I-480 were to have been

and/or I-80N.

Route description

The freeway runs concurrently with

for . I-271 and I-480 were the only two auxiliary Interstates in the nation that ran concurrently with each other for any distance until 2022, when concurrencies between I-587 and I-795 and I-785 and I-840 in North Carolina were established with the designation of I-587 and the completion of the Greensboro Urban Loop. This is because I-80 was concurrent with I-271 until 1971, when I-80 was routed back on to the turnpike and replaced by I-480. Due to the convergence of these high traffic roads, congestion is common during peak times. They run concurrently through Bedford Heights,

, and Oakwood in

. Because of that, the

Ohio Department of Transportation The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT; ) is the administrative department of the government of Ohio, Ohio state government responsible for developing and maintaining all state and U.S. roadways outside of municipalities and all List of In ...

(ODOT) started a $120-million (equivalent to $ in ) widening project in 2016, separating I-271 traffic from I-480 traffic. The project was completed in 2020. I-271 I-480

The Valley View Bridge, which is high and spans , carries I-480 across the

valley. It is the busiest crossing in the state of Ohio with approximately 180,000 cars per day.

History

I-480 was conceived as a means of giving motorists a faster way of crossing Cleveland's southern borders and suburbs. The first segment of the route was partially concurrent with

and constructed simultaneously with that highway in 1965. Planning for the route was largely finished by 1968, and construction began on its first mile () began at the highway's interchange with I-77 in 1970. The segment from

west to Maple Heights opened in November 1976. The segment from Maple Heights west to

Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south ...

opened in January 1978. Construction from west to east began as political controversies and engineering work were resolved on the highway's middle section. I-480 between

and I-71 was completed in 1983. The of the route north and northeast of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport proved the most difficult to plan due to existing high levels of traffic on Brookpark Road and the expansion requirements of the airport. The final $115-million (equivalent to $ in ), segment linking the east and west ends of I-480 was finished in August 1987.

Exit list

Interstate 480N

Interstate 480N (I-480N) is officially designated as the spur freeway connecting I-480 to I-271 and US Route 422 (US 422) by ODOT. The highway lacks conventional confirming markers; the only shields for the route are on milemarkers. Other guide signs only refer to the routes at I-480N's termini. Interstate_480N_Ohio

;Major intersections

References

External links

Interstate 480 (Ohio) Endpoint Photos
{{3di, 80 80-4 Ohio 80-4 4 Ohio Cleveland area expressways Transportation in Lorain County, Ohio Transportation in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Transportation in Summit County, Ohio Transportation in Portage County, Ohio