Opportunity Corridor

Opportunity Corridor
Route information
Status Under construction
Existed 2008 – present
Major junctions
West end I-490 / East 55th Street in Cleveland
East end US 322 in Cleveland
Location
Counties Cuyahoga
Highway system

The Opportunity Corridor is a 35-mile-per-hour (56 km/h) boulevard in Cleveland, Ohio, under construction as of 2018, that is planned to connect Interstate 77 and Interstate 490 to the University Circle neighborhood. The project's design calls for a multi-modal road that will support public transit, bicyclists, and pedestrians.[1]

History

In the 1960s, Cuyahoga County had planned to build a freeway called the Clark Freeway in Cleveland and its environs, part of a network of planned freeways. The entirety of Interstate 490, along a portion of what later became Interstate 90, was built as a result of this project. However, the road was initially proposed to extend to the Outerbelt East Freeway (Interstate 271). The route was ultimately truncated to East 55th Street as a result of freeway revolts.

Later plans for a highway along this general routing included a plan to build a freeway northeastward from East 55th Street to the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway (Interstate 90 and State Route 2), but this plan was rejected in 2002.[2] The route was again proposed by Ken Blackwell in during the his failed bid for governor in 2006.[3]

Active project

The current project as of 2016, part of the Innerbelt reconstruction project, involves building a boulevard to connect I-490 to the University Circle neighborhood. This iteration was conceived in 2008;[4] its Record of Decision was issued in May 2014.[5][6] Construction began in March 2015 along the portion east of East 93rd Street; construction along the remainder is to begin in 2018.[7][8] The target date for the completion of the road is 2021.[9]

The Ohio Department of Transportation has proposed that the road receive an extension of the Ohio State Route 10 designation.[10][11]

Opposition

The Opportunity Corridor has a number of opponents, including a grassroots group, Clevelanders for Transportation Equity.[12] Many of the objections are rooted in the upheaval of the local community, which is predominantly lower income and African-American.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "The Project". Opportunity Corridor Partnership Office. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ Exner, Rich (February 15, 2002). "East Side Highway Options Hit Wall: State, Federal Officials Urge Scrapping Plan". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland.
  3. ↑ Wendling, Ted (August 18, 2006). "Foe Blasts Blackwell's 'Summit' with Contractors". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland.
  4. ↑ Nichols, Jim (June 27, 2008). "Cleveland's Opportunity Corridor Project Gets Back on Track". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
  5. ↑ HNTB (May 1, 2014). The Cleveland Opportunity Corridor Project: Final Environmental Impact Statement / Record of Decision (PDF). Federal Highway Administration/Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  6. ↑ Grant, Alison (May 29, 2014). "Opportunity Corridor Gets Federal Signoff, Clearing Way for 3.5-Mile Boulevard". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  7. ↑ Grant, Alison (December 18, 2014). "Inner Belt, Opportunity Corridor Move Along, Road Repair Plan Nixed". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  8. ↑ Grant, Alison (March 13, 2015). "Opportunity Corridor Crews Begin Work on Monday Along a Section of East 105th Street". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ Litt, Steven (February 14, 2018). "Opportunity Corridor is Back on Track for 2021 Completion after Delay Caused by Taxpayer Lawsuit". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  10. ↑ City of Cleveland (October 1, 2013). "Opportunity Corridor Public Hearing" (PDF). City of Cleveland. p. 19. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  11. ↑ Ohio Department of Transportation (March 2015). "District 12: 2015 Construction Program" (PDF). Ohio Department of Transportation. p. 21. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  12. ↑ Clevelanders for Transportation Equity. "Clevelanders for Transportation Equity". Clevelanders for Transportation Equity. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  13. ↑ Breckenridge, Tom (July 18, 2011). "Opportunity Corridor's Latest Alignment Would Uproot More than 90 Families, a Dozen Businesses". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved July 19, 2011.

Further reading

  • Breckenridge, Tom (September 18, 2010). "Homes, businesses in Cleveland neighborhoods would be leveled to make way for Opportunity Corridor". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  • Ohio Department of Transportation. "Opportunity Corridor". Retrieved March 25, 2016.
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