Interstate 471 (I-471) is a

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

, linking

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 ...

in Downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, to I-275 in

Highland Heights, Kentucky Highland Heights is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 6,923 at the 2010 U.S. census. Highland Heights is home to Northern Kentucky University and General Cable, a Fortune 500 company wh ...

. South of I-275, the expressway continues south to U.S. Route 27 (US 27) as unsigned Kentucky Route 471 (KY 471).

Route description

The southern terminus of I-471 is at an interchange with I–275 and US 27. I-471 heads northwest, then turns northeast, having an interchange with US 27 in Southgate. After US 27, I-471 turns back northwest, heading toward

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

. On the way to Cincinnati, I-471 passes through the east side of Newport. On the east side of Newport, I-471 has an interchange with KY 8. I-471 crosses the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

using the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, a Cincinnati landmark. After the Ohio River crossing, I-471 has an interchange with US 50. After the interchange with US 50, I-471 has an interchange with I-71 northeast of Downtown Cincinnati. The northern terminus of I-471 is at the interchange with I-71.

History

I-471 was first envisioned in 1961 as an east–west connector between I-71/

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...

, with I-71 in Cincinnati, Ohio, crossing the Ohio River at a spot close to the current location. In effect, this connection would have provided for an alternative to I-71, creating an inner loop system that would span both Ohio and Kentucky. Since this freeway would have hugged the southern riverfront, I-471 would have prevented access to the Ohio River from Kentucky. By 1967, the freeway was planned for a new alignment, much like the one seen today, connecting Cincinnati, Ohio, with Newport, Kentucky. On December 10, 1967, plans called for a north–south, freeway that would connect I-71 with I-275 near the interchange with US 27. I-471 would have three lanes in each direction (which has since been reworked into four lanes in each direction due to a construction project). The bridge between Newport and Cincinnati was constructed between November 1971 and September 1976 and named after Covington native

Daniel Carter Beard Daniel Carter "Uncle Dan" Beard (June 21, 1850 – June 11, 1941) was an American illustrator, author, youth leader, Georgist and social reformer who founded the Sons of Daniel Boone in 1905, which Beard later merged with the Boy Scouts of Amer ...

, the founder of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded in ...

. It developed the nickname of the "

Big Mac The Big Mac is a hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced in the Greater Pittsburgh area in 1967 and across the United States in 1968. It is one of the company's flagship products and sign ...

Bridge" because its massive yellow arches over the river resemble the golden arches of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

restaurants. The Daniel Carter Beard Bridge was fully dedicated in 1981. Subsequent construction extended the freeway south from the bridge in phases, with the last segment of I-471 opening in 1980 at its junction with US 27 south of I-275. In 1981, the cost to construct the freeway and bridge was calculated to be $85 million (equivalent to $ in ).

Exit list

References

External links

I-471 on Cincinnati-Transit.net

KentuckyRoads.com: I-471
{{DEFAULTSORT:71-4 Auxiliary Interstate Highways Interstate Highways in Ohio Interstate Highways in Kentucky Roads in Cincinnati 4 Transportation in Campbell County, Kentucky Transportation in Hamilton County, Ohio