Goodbye to the old I-90 Innerbelt Bridge in Cleveland. Videos of today’s demolition are below.
If you want to see photos/video of the bridge long before demolition began – and before the building of the new bridge - check out my blog at these links:
All Things Cleveland Ohio: Cleveland City of Bridges
All Things Cleveland Ohio: Innerbelt Time Lapse
All Things Cleveland Ohio: Innerbelt Bridge In Trouble?
Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, All Things Cleveland Ohio.
Showing posts with label I-90. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I-90. Show all posts
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Cleveland Ohio I-90 Innerbelt (Video)
Take an “animated” drive on the I-90 Innerbelt in Cleveland Ohio (from I-71 to I-90 East up to Dead Man’s Curve).
© allthingsclevelandohio.blogspot.com unless otherwise noted
Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
All Things Cleveland Ohio, here.
© allthingsclevelandohio.blogspot.com unless otherwise noted
Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
All Things Cleveland Ohio, here.
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Freeways of Cleveland
Clevelanders sure love their freeways, well, until they get into a traffic jam. And I have a special, not-so-nice place in my heart for I-7I, considering that our family had to be relocated in 1964 so they could put the freeway right through our house.
Despite those days when something causes a horrific backup on the freeway, the city is lucky to have such an extensive freeway system. Here is a primer on the freeways of Cleveland and the metropolitan area:
I-90 – This is the longest interstate highway of the United States, going from one end of the country to another. As it travels through the Cleveland area, I-90 skirts downtown Cleveland on the eastern side before it moves westward. It provides a great view of the city when approaching from the southern end of the innerbelt and I-71. It also contains theInnerbelt Bridge, which crosses the Cuyahoga River. The innerbelt stretch of I-90 provides connections to both I-71 and I-77. I-90 is also the home of Cleveland’s famous Deadman’s Curve.
I-490 – This runs from just east of the city (East 55th street) and connects with I-77 and I-90/I-71. It is only about 2.5 miles long.
I-480 - This is officially named the Outerbelt South Freeway, but no one in town refers to it by that name. It provides access for many of the Cleveland’s suburbs, from Streetsboro (in Portage County) to North Ridgeville (Lorain County). I-480 crosses the Cuyahoga River over a large valley on a pair of bridges (one for each direction) called the Valley View Bridge. According to Wikipedia, the Valley View Bridge pair are steel multi-stringer highway girder bridges that are 212 feet (65 m) high and 4,150 feet (1,260 m) long. It’s a long way down, and frankly the concrete barriers and wire fencing on the sides never look very reassuring to me.
Ohio Route 176 – This is specifically the stretch that is unofficially called the “Jennings Freeway”, which connects to I-71 on the north, and connects with I-480/Brookpark Road on the south end. It provides speedy access to the city for west-siders.
I-77 – Cleveland has the distinction of being the starting point of I-77 in the US (it terminates in Columbia, South Carolina). It begins at a split off from I-90 on the innerbelt. While it does travel through residential areas, it also travels through the heart of Cleveland’s industrial area.
I-71 – Like I-77, I-71 also begins its trek in Cleveland, starting at the I-90 innerbelt. As it travels through my old neighborhood – and former home - it connects the western suburbs to Cleveland before it heads south to Columbus, Ohio, and later terminates in Louisville, KY.
I-271 – This freeway connects those living east and south of Cleveland, all the way from western Lake County, through eastern Cuyahoga County, through Summit County. It is also officially named Cleveland Outerbelt East – but I call it the local Autobahn because no matter how fast you are going, there will always be a caravan of cars speeding by you at warp speed. I-271 connects with I-90, I-480, I-77, and of course, I-71. And for those speed demons, it has express lanes, which, despite the normal speed limits, seems to make drivers think they have the license to exceed as much as possible.
Ohio Rt 2 – This state freeway connects the northern suburbs from the east and west side of the city. It runs concurrent with I-90 on the east side of the city, and it splits away from I-90 at Deadman’s Curve. It is also referred to as The Shoreway, as the freeway runs close to the shore of Lake Erie
I-80 – This is part of the Ohio Turnpike, which is officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike. (Shocknessy was the first chairman of the Ohio Turnpike Commission.) It is the only toll road of the bunch that services the area. This freeway sits far south and west of the city, but connects with I-480, I-71, and I-77 that feed into the city.
Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
All Things Cleveland, here.
Despite those days when something causes a horrific backup on the freeway, the city is lucky to have such an extensive freeway system. Here is a primer on the freeways of Cleveland and the metropolitan area:
I-90 – This is the longest interstate highway of the United States, going from one end of the country to another. As it travels through the Cleveland area, I-90 skirts downtown Cleveland on the eastern side before it moves westward. It provides a great view of the city when approaching from the southern end of the innerbelt and I-71. It also contains theInnerbelt Bridge, which crosses the Cuyahoga River. The innerbelt stretch of I-90 provides connections to both I-71 and I-77. I-90 is also the home of Cleveland’s famous Deadman’s Curve.
I-490 – This runs from just east of the city (East 55th street) and connects with I-77 and I-90/I-71. It is only about 2.5 miles long.
I-480 - This is officially named the Outerbelt South Freeway, but no one in town refers to it by that name. It provides access for many of the Cleveland’s suburbs, from Streetsboro (in Portage County) to North Ridgeville (Lorain County). I-480 crosses the Cuyahoga River over a large valley on a pair of bridges (one for each direction) called the Valley View Bridge. According to Wikipedia, the Valley View Bridge pair are steel multi-stringer highway girder bridges that are 212 feet (65 m) high and 4,150 feet (1,260 m) long. It’s a long way down, and frankly the concrete barriers and wire fencing on the sides never look very reassuring to me.
Ohio Route 176 – This is specifically the stretch that is unofficially called the “Jennings Freeway”, which connects to I-71 on the north, and connects with I-480/Brookpark Road on the south end. It provides speedy access to the city for west-siders.
I-77 – Cleveland has the distinction of being the starting point of I-77 in the US (it terminates in Columbia, South Carolina). It begins at a split off from I-90 on the innerbelt. While it does travel through residential areas, it also travels through the heart of Cleveland’s industrial area.
I-71 – Like I-77, I-71 also begins its trek in Cleveland, starting at the I-90 innerbelt. As it travels through my old neighborhood – and former home - it connects the western suburbs to Cleveland before it heads south to Columbus, Ohio, and later terminates in Louisville, KY.
I-271 – This freeway connects those living east and south of Cleveland, all the way from western Lake County, through eastern Cuyahoga County, through Summit County. It is also officially named Cleveland Outerbelt East – but I call it the local Autobahn because no matter how fast you are going, there will always be a caravan of cars speeding by you at warp speed. I-271 connects with I-90, I-480, I-77, and of course, I-71. And for those speed demons, it has express lanes, which, despite the normal speed limits, seems to make drivers think they have the license to exceed as much as possible.
Ohio Rt 2 – This state freeway connects the northern suburbs from the east and west side of the city. It runs concurrent with I-90 on the east side of the city, and it splits away from I-90 at Deadman’s Curve. It is also referred to as The Shoreway, as the freeway runs close to the shore of Lake Erie
I-80 – This is part of the Ohio Turnpike, which is officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike. (Shocknessy was the first chairman of the Ohio Turnpike Commission.) It is the only toll road of the bunch that services the area. This freeway sits far south and west of the city, but connects with I-480, I-71, and I-77 that feed into the city.
Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
All Things Cleveland, here.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Cleveland’s Innerbelt Bridge: In Trouble?
Last December, I wrote here about Cleveland’s many bridges (“Cleveland:City of Bridges”). One of the bridges mentioned was the I-90 Innerbelt Bridge, and at the time, there was much concern over the deterioration of the span.
Months later, things haven’t improved. The West 14th Street ramp in Tremont was closed several months ago due to concerns about the bridge structure in that area. This week, commuters were surprised with multiple lane closures and more ramp closures on the I-90 Innerbelt Bridge as the bridge is undergoing extensive inspections. You can read about the current state of the bridge in the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s article, “How serious are the Inner Belt Bridge's problems? Span's future in question”.
While the traffic problems that the inspection is causing is an aggravation, the inspection is a necessity to make sure the bridge is safe - or to determine that it's not. As this bridge is a main artery for those coming into, and passing through the city of Cleveland, it will create major problems if the safety of the bridge forces its closure.
Here’s a short video of the Innerbelt Bridge, taken from the Tremont area of Cleveland, in June of 2007, which gives a good idea of the size, and length of the span.
Also, if you’d rather see the bridge from bridge level, check out this video that shows the drive through the Innerbelt and over the bridge, but the video is sped up so the drive lasts less than a minute. Maybe that’s the best way to go over it right now… very fast!
Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, here.<
Months later, things haven’t improved. The West 14th Street ramp in Tremont was closed several months ago due to concerns about the bridge structure in that area. This week, commuters were surprised with multiple lane closures and more ramp closures on the I-90 Innerbelt Bridge as the bridge is undergoing extensive inspections. You can read about the current state of the bridge in the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s article, “How serious are the Inner Belt Bridge's problems? Span's future in question”.
While the traffic problems that the inspection is causing is an aggravation, the inspection is a necessity to make sure the bridge is safe - or to determine that it's not. As this bridge is a main artery for those coming into, and passing through the city of Cleveland, it will create major problems if the safety of the bridge forces its closure.
Here’s a short video of the Innerbelt Bridge, taken from the Tremont area of Cleveland, in June of 2007, which gives a good idea of the size, and length of the span.
Also, if you’d rather see the bridge from bridge level, check out this video that shows the drive through the Innerbelt and over the bridge, but the video is sped up so the drive lasts less than a minute. Maybe that’s the best way to go over it right now… very fast!
Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, here.<
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)