An innerbelt or outerbelt is a

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

or collection of roadways which is or implies that it is inner or outer ring road in relation to another ring road. Use of these terms is most common and near-exclusive to routes in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, mostly in the state of

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 ...

Examples

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

– Akron's innerbelt is designated as

Ohio State Route 59 State Route 59 (SR 59) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving the Akron metropolitan area. The western terminus of State Route 59 is in downtown Akron at a partial interchange with the Interstate 76/Interstate 7 ...

, from its terminus at Interstate 76 (I-76) to its proposed end at State Route 8. *

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

– Charlotte's innerbelt is composed of I-277 orbiting to the east, south, and north of downtown and of I-77 covering the west side. *

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

– Chicago's outerbelt is a collection of bikeways and hiking trails which form a loop around Chicago's southern and central regions. *

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

– Cleveland's innerbelt is formed by the confluence of

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

and the northern terminuses of

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. This short stretch of highway ends at " Dead Man's Curve". Cleveland's innerbelt was planned as a closed loop. The highway is in the early stages of an extensive rebuild (the record of decision (ROD) was issued on September 18, 2009). This rebuild includes replacement of the Innerbelt Bridge along its route by the

George V. Voinovich Bridges The George V. Voinovich Bridges are two bridges in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., that carry Interstate 90 in Ohio, Interstate 90 (I-90, Innerbelt Freeway) over the Cuyahoga River. They are named for George Voinovich, former mayor of Cleveland, List o ...

. *

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

– In Columbus, the innerbelt is formed by I-670 to the north, I-71 to the east,

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

to the south, and

Ohio State Route 315 State Route 315, known locally as the Olentangy Freeway, running almost parallel to Olentangy River Road for most of its length, is a north–south highway in central Ohio, in the Columbus metropolitan area. It may be seen abbreviated as SR 31 ...

to the west. Columbus is the sole city in the United States to frequently refer to one of its highways ( Interstate 270) as The Outerbelt.

References

{{reflist Types of roads

Examples

See also

References