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Interstate 270 (I-270) is an
auxiliary interstate highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a supplemental subset of the freeways within the Interstate Highway System of the United States. Auxiliary routes are generally classified as spur routes, which con ...
that forms a beltway loop freeway in the Columbus metropolitan area in the US state of
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, commonly known locally as The Outerbelt or the
Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...
Freeway. The zero-milepost is at the junction with
I-71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64 in Kentucky, I-64 and ...
east of Grove City. I-270, along with I-670, provides access to
John Glenn Columbus International Airport John Glenn Columbus International Airport is an international airport located east of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as Port Columbus International Airport, it is managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which also ove ...
. The entire length of I-270 is . It is one of four Interstate loops not to run concurrently with another Interstate freeway, the others being I-295 in Florida, I-485 in North Carolina, and I-610 in Texas.


Route description

I-270 provides access to several suburbs and towns surrounding Columbus, including Grove City, Westerville,
Worthington Worthington may refer to: People * Worthington (surname) * Worthington family, a British noble family Businesses * Worthington Brewery, also known as Worthington's * Worthington Corporation, founded as a pump manufacturer in 1845, later a dive ...
, Hilliard, and
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. Although it started as a rural bypass of Columbus, many parts of it, primarily the northern section, have become more traveled and more congested over the years, making it less popular as a bypass and more widely regarded as a "suburb connector". I-270 starts at
I-71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64 in Kentucky, I-64 and ...
on the southern side, marked as exit 55, and forms a
combination interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...
. It then makes its way clockwise around the city with three lanes, intersecting U.S. Route 62 (US 62), Georgesville Road, and US 40 before its next major interchange, with
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 a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...
. Here, it becomes a four-lane freeway as it passes through Hilliard and Dublin. The northwestern "corner" of I-270 has an interchange with US 33/ State Route 161 (SR 161). It then makes a sharp right as it heads toward Worthington. In Worthington are the notoriously congested interchanges of three major roadways, SR 315, US 23, and I-71. This is the location of the North Side Mega-Fix, which fixed the heavy weaving section between US 23 and SR 315; however, the project also worsened weaving between US 23 and I-71, leading to frequent mile-long () backups. After passing through Worthington, I-270 passes through Westerville, intersecting Cleveland Avenue and SR 3. After going through Westerville, the freeway intersects SR 161, and the freeway is divided into
local–express lanes The local–express lane system is an arrangement of carriageways within a major highway where long distance traffic can use lanes with fewer interchanges compared to local traffic which use 'local' or 'collector' lanes that have access to all ...
, with three local and three express lanes in each direction. This is where the freeway goes through Easton, a popular shopping destination. Once the freeway has gone through Easton, the local–express lanes merge right before the interchange of I-670, creating a weaving section. This weave is currently being fixed in the Northbound direction as part of the I-670 Smartlane Project. After intersecting I-670, the freeway makes a hard turn left and then right to avoid both
John Glenn Columbus International Airport John Glenn Columbus International Airport is an international airport located east of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as Port Columbus International Airport, it is managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which also ove ...
and Gahanna. In between these two turns is a partial cloverleaf interchange with Hamilton Road, and after the turns is an interchange with SR 16. The freeway then divides from four lanes into two express lanes and three local lanes. This configuration continues up until the interchange with I-70. This interchange is planned to be entirely reconstructed to construct two flyover ramps, as well as unweave and widen I-70, as part of the Far East Freeway Study. After the I-70 interchange, the freeway becomes much more of a rural route, with only three lanes in each direction. The next interchange after I-70 is with US 33, a cloverleaf. After this, the freeway intersects Alum Creek Drive, then US 23, before the freeway meets back with I-71, forming a loop.


History


Planning

Planning for an outerbelt around Columbus began in the late 1950s. 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 School for the Deaf Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and just north of the then 10-year-old Graceland Shopping Center. Through vigorous lobbying throughout 1961, and with the help of Ohio Governor
Michael DiSalle Michael Vincent DiSalle (January 6, 1908September 16, 1981) was an American attorney and politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as mayor of Toledo from 1948 to 1950, and as the 60th governor of Ohio from 1959 to 1963. ...
, residents were able to get the outerbelt relocated to pass north of Worthington. Another contentious issue involved the routing of the eastern portion of the outerbelt between
Port Columbus International Airport John Glenn Columbus International Airport is an international airport located east of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as Port Columbus International Airport, it is managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which also ove ...
and the city of Gahanna. While the airport wanted the outerbelt pushed out toward Gahanna so as to leave land for future runway expansion, the residents of Gahanna wanted it pushed back toward Columbus. The final compromise led to an interesting kink in I-270 as it jogs around the airport.


Construction

Construction of the outerbelt began in 1962, and work was begun on various disconnected sections. The first portion to be completed connected US 23 with
I-71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64 in Kentucky, I-64 and ...
south of Columbus. The portion between US 23 and I-71 on the north side opened in August 1967. The section between
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 a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...
on the west side and I-71 on the south side opened in August 1970. In late 1970, sections opened on the east side between US 33 and I-70, and between SR 3 in Westerville and SR 161 on the east side. It was now possible to bypass Columbus using I-270 by going around the south side of the city. In June 1971, the section between Morse Road and SR 161 on the east side opened. In October 1971, another section on the east side between I-70 and East Main Street opened. It would take four more years to complete the northeast portion of the outerbelt. The last section of I-270, on the east side, between Hamilton Road and East Broad Street, was opened on August 20, 1975. The total cost of the 10-year construction project was $175 million (equivalent to $ in ), compared to the original 1961 estimate of $104 million (equivalent to $ in ).


Accidents and incidents

In December 1965, during the construction of the northern section of I-270 across the
Norfolk and Western The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisi ...
(N&W) and NYC railroad tracks between US 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. On November 4, 1968, David R. Booth, aged 29, became the first person to die on I-270 when he hit another car while merging onto US 23 from I-270. In February 1974, three trucks traveling on I-270 on the south side near US 33 were struck by gunfire during a violent Teamsters Strike. The highway was the subject of national media attention in 2003 when 24
sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
shootings were reported along the southern portion of the Interstate and other neighboring highways in the
Ohio highway sniper attacks The Ohio highway sniper attacks were a series of 24 sniper attacks along Interstate 270 and other nearby highways in the central part of the U.S. state of Ohio (mostly around Columbus) against traffic, homes, and a school building in the Hamilto ...
. On November 23, 2003, 62-year-old Gail Knisley was shot to death, making her the only fatality associated with the string of shootings. Charles A. McCoy Jr., who had been diagnosed with
paranoid schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. ...
in 1996, was accused of the shootings and stood trial in 2005. The first trial with
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
charges resulted in a
hung jury A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again. ...
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. On January 23, 2017, a
gas tanker A gas carrier, gas tanker, LPG carrier, or LPG tanker is a ship designed to transport LPG, LNG, CNG, or liquefied chemical gases in bulk. Types Fully pressurized gas carrier The seaborne transport of liquefied gases began in 1934 when a m ...
carrying of gasoline tipped over while exiting from US 33/SR 161 onto I-270 west in Dublin. A massive fire resulted from the crash, as well as multiple small grass fires caused by the gasoline dripping down the sides of the flyover ramp. Both highways were shut down in both directions for the day, and the ramp was shut down for one week as repairs were made. The only fatality was that of the truck driver.


Expansion and noise barriers

In 1978, the first
noise barrier A noise barrier (also called a soundwall, noise wall, sound berm, sound barrier, or acoustical barrier) is an exterior structure designed to protect inhabitants of sensitive land use areas from noise pollution. Noise barriers are the most effecti ...
s were constructed on the portion of I-270 passing near Gahanna. Noise barriers have been slowly added around the length of the belt as development has crowded up to the noisy road. 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 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 The Scioto River ( ) is a river in central and southern Ohio more than in length. It rises in Hardin County just north of Roundhead, Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets t ...
. Grove City began to develop in the 1990s with the addition of office/warehouse space, and the conversion of
Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base is an Ohio Air National Guard installation located near Lockbourne in southern Franklin County. The base was named for the famous early aviator and Columbus native Eddie Rickenbacker. It is the home of ...
to a civilian air freight facility.


Exit list


Hazardous materials

Columbus City Code section 2551.06(a) currently requires trucks which are transporting hazardous cargo and materials and have not started from nor are scheduled to stop inside of 270 to bypass the city using 270 and not use any roadway located inside of the outerbelt. The code's text cites the dense population of the Columbus area, and local law firms note that police frequently pull over trucks with HazMat placards to check the trucker's papers. Transporting HazMats within 270 without proper documentation are a
misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...
of the first degree. In 2015, an Ohio state trial court ruled in ''State v. Mitchell (''2015 ERB 074646) that truckers carrying both HazMats and non-HazMats may not transport the HazMats within Interstate 270 while delivering or retrieving non-HazMats, signifying that any truck carrying HazMats and non-HazMats must drop off its HazMats first before entering roadways within 270.


Notes


References

{{Transportation in Columbus, Ohio 2 Ohio 70-2 Ohio 70-2 270 Transportation in Columbus, Ohio Dublin, Ohio Transportation in Franklin County, Ohio