Interstate 90 (I-90) runs east–west across the northern tier of 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 ...

. Much of it is along the

Ohio Turnpike The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor between Chicago and Pittsburgh. The road runs east–west in the northern section of ...

, but sections outside the turnpike pass through

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and northeast into

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The entire free section of I-90 in Ohio is called the "

AMVETS American Veterans (AMVETS) is a non-partisan, volunteer-led organization formed by World War II veterans of the United States military. It advocates for its members as well as for causes that its members deem helpful to the nation at large. Th ...

Highway". Selected stretches are named for various individuals. In

Greater Cleveland The Cleveland metropolitan area, or Greater Cleveland as it is more commonly known, is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census results, the five-county ...

, portions of I-90 carry various names, such as the Innerbelt Freeway,

Cleveland Memorial Shoreway The Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, often shortened to "the Shoreway", is a limited-access freeway in Cleveland and Bratenahl, Ohio. It closely follows the shore of Lake Erie and connects the east and west sides of Cleveland via the Main Avenue Bri ...

Lakeland Freeway The Lakeland Freeway (often called "Route 2" in the section that carries solely Ohio State Route 2) is a limited-access freeway in the northeastern suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. It runs with and parallel to Interstate 90, and follows the shore o ...

, and Euclid Spur.

Route description

In the western half of Ohio, I-90 is jointly signed with the

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

. The Ohio Turnpike/I-90 connector (designated exit 8A, now exit 142) was built in

Lorain County Lorain County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 312,964. Its county seat is Elyria, Ohio, Elyria. The county was physicall ...

in Amherst Township and Elyria Township in 1975. From the exit east, I-90/ State Route 2 (SR 2) travels east along the south shore of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

through

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.- ...

Downtown Cleveland Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of Cleveland, Ohio. The economic and symbolic center of the city and the Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area, it is Cleveland's oldest district, with its Public Square laid out b ...

. SR 2 separates from I-90 at Detroit Road in Rocky River. I-90 crosses the

Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River ( , or ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...

via the George V. Voinovich Bridges, which replaced the

Innerbelt Bridge The Innerbelt Bridge was a truss arch bridge in Cleveland, Ohio carrying Interstate 90/ Innerbelt Freeway over the Cuyahoga River. History The bridge, completed in 1959, was in length and in width, built as the widest bridge in Ohio. The Inne ...

in 2013 (westbound) through 2016 (eastbound), into Downtown Cleveland and intersects

I-77 Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...

. The innerbelt continues around Downtown Cleveland to a sharp east turn, nicknamed "

Dead Man's Curve Dead Man's Curve is an American nickname for a curve in a road that has claimed lives because of numerous crashes. Examples * A curve on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles memorialized in the hit song "Dead Man's Curve" by Jan and Dean. The son ...

" for its frequent crashes. While there are plenty of large signs, flashing lights, and rumble strips alerting motorists to this turn, there have still been a large number of crashes resulting from inattentive motorists. There are plans to realign the freeway along a shallower curve within the next decade, as part of a larger project to improve the highway system in Cleveland. I-90 then follows the East Shoreway northeastward along the lakeshore toward

Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Wikt:Εὐκλείδης, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the ''Euclid's Elements, Elements'' trea ...

, again cosigned with SR 2. I-90 separates from SR 2 in Euclid and passes through Lake County and Ashtabula County as it continues to travel northeast towards the

state line in Conneaut. US Route 20 (US 20) parallels I-90 throughout Ohio, as it does in all locations from Illinois eastward; US 6 also parallels I-90 to a lesser extent throughout the state. East of

I-271 Interstate 271 (I-271) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the suburbs of Cleveland and Akron in the US state of Ohio. The highway is officially designated the Outerbelt East Freeway but is rarely referred to by that name by locals, inste ...

, SR 84 and SR 307 also closely parallel I-90. These routes are usually easily accessible from I-90's interchanges.

History

The very first portion of I-90 in Ohio was built in 1935. This portion was a part of the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, running from East 9th Street to East 55th Street. The year 1938 saw the addition of an eastward expansion to the Illuminating Company plant, which was within close proximity of Gordon Park. The interchange with East 9th Street was completed in 1940. 1941 saw an addition of the freeway, running between the former terminus at Gordon Park, to East 140th Street in Euclid. The westernmost part of I-90 in Ohio was built from 1952 to 1955, with the construction of the Ohio Turnpike. The Innerbelt Freeway was built in 1959 and was the main freeway that ran through Cleveland. I-90 opened between SR 528 in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

and SR 7 in Conneaut on December 15, 1959, and between SR 44 in Concord Township and SR 528 in Madison on June 30, 1960. A part of I-90 running from East 140th Street to the Lakeland Freeway split was built in 1962, with the construction of the Lakeland Freeway. The part connecting the Lakeland Freeway and I-271 was built in the mid-1960s. From the mid-1960s to 1978, the part of I-90 running from the Ohio Turnpike in Lorain County to the interchange with I-71 and what is now I-490 was built. The final section of that part of the road opened on November 4 of that year. The Innerbelt in Cleveland previously used a steel-gusset bridge of the same design as the

I-35W Mississippi River bridge The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (officially known as Bridge 9340) was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River one-half mile (875 m) downstream from the Saint Anthony Falls in Minneap ...

that failed in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, in 2007. Construction of a new crossing, the George V. Voinovich Bridges, began in 2011. It includes two parallel bridges, one for each direction of traffic; the westbound bridge opened in 2013, while the eastbound bridge opened in 2016 on the site of the Innerbelt Bridge.

Exit list

Related highways

Notes

References

External links