Interstate 280 (I-280) 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 ...

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 connects

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end ...

in northeast Toledo with

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 ...

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 ...

(part of the Ohio Turnpike) southeast of the city in northeastern Wood County. Built between 1955 and 1959, the route was originally part of the Detroit–Toledo Expressway. Although first designated in 1959, the highway originally contained several at-grade intersections and other features which left it substandard to the

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

until 1990. Further construction in 2007 built a new crossing of the

Maumee River The Maumee River (pronounced ) (; ) is a river running in the Midwestern United States from northeastern Indiana into northwestern Ohio and Lake Erie. It is formed at the confluence of the St. Joseph River (Maumee River), St. Joseph and St. Mar ...

, replacing an outdated

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

. The highway serves as an easterly bypass of the Toledo metropolitan area, passing through the communities of Northwood and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. It is one of two auxiliary Interstate Highways serving Toledo, the other being I-475.

Route description

The southern end of I-280 is an interchange in Wood County with exit 71 along the Ohio Turnpike, which carries

and

at this point. South of this interchange, the I-280 freeway transitions to State Route 420 (SR 420), a divided highway without access control, that also provides access to a truck stop and other businesses. Continuing north, I-280 runs through farmland and through an interchange with Bahnsen Road, which also provides access to other motorist- and trucking-related businesses and access to Latcha and Hanley roads. North of the SR 795 interchange, the freeway turns to the northwest. At the Walbridge Road interchange in Walbridge, I-280 turns back due north. On either side of the Interstate, the surroundings transition from farms to residential subdivisions. I-280 crosses a major

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

railroad line also used by the '' Floridian'' and ''

Lake Shore Limited The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an Amtrak Long Distance, overnight passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the Northeastern United States, with sections to New York City and Boston. The central segment of the route runs along the s ...

'' passenger train routes operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

. North of this crossing, the freeway passes into Lucas County. I-280 turns northwesterly again in the city of

. This area is suburban residential neighborhoods as the freeway approaches the

. The Interstate crosses the river on the Veterans' Glass City Skyway, an ,

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

. On the opposite bank of the river, I-280 turns northward and passes through an interchange with SR 25. There is one final interchange with I-75 where I-280 terminates.

History

The highway that would eventually carry I-280, the Detroit–Toledo Expressway, opened as a relocated SR 120 between US Route 20 (US 20) and SR 51 by 1955. The highway was extended to Summit Street in Toledo by 1957 and, by 1959, was extended into Michigan. By this time, the I-280 designation had been added, but the portion carrying I-280 was not fully converted to

Interstate standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway t ...

until 1990. Initially, the freeway had several at-grade intersections with crossroads: Hanley and Latcha roads near Millbury; Ayers, Lemoyne, and Walbridge roads near Walbridge; and Curtice Road in Northwood. The Walbridge intersection was later upgraded to a

traffic signal Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...

, one of the few on the Interstate Highway System at the time, while the intersection underwent study for conversion to an interchange. Hanley and Latcha roads were truncated to dead-end just before the freeway, but access to both roads was retained by construction of a new interchange and service drives in the early 1970s; the Ayers and Lemoyne crossings were also upgraded to overpasses at this point. The removal of direct access to Hanley and Latcha was originally disputed by business owners who owned motels and gas stations along those roads. The crossing at Curtice Road was upgraded to an interchange concurrently with the upgrade of the nearby interchange with Woodville Road. Originally, I-280 was carried across the

by the Robert Craig Memorial Bridge, a

that frequently caused backups along the route. In addition, a ramp leading from northbound Summit Street to southbound I-280 merged directly onto the bridge with no acceleration room, so it was removed in the mid-1990s. On June 24, 2007, the Veterans' Glass City Skyway opened, replacing the drawbridge. After the Glass City Skyway opened, the Craig Bridge was reconstructed, and it now carries SR 65. Its construction also led to the reconstruction of the Front Street exit and removal of the Summit Street interchange entirely; access from I-280 to Summit Street is now provided by the Front Street exit and the Craig Bridge.

Exit list

References

External links

Interstate 280 at Ohio Highway Ends
{{3di, 80 80-2 Ohio 80-2 2 Ohio Transportation in Wood County, Ohio Transportation in Lucas County, Ohio