Interstate 271

Interstate 271 (I-271) is an auxiliary interstate highway in the suburbs of Cleveland and Akron in the U.S. state of Ohio. The highway is officially designated the Outerbelt East Freeway, but is rarely referred to by that name by locals, instead simply referring to it as "two-seventy-one."

Interstate 271
Outerbelt East Freeway
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-71
Maintained by ODOT
Length40.22 mi[1] (64.73 km)
Existed1964–present
Major junctions
South end I-71 in Medina Township
  I-77 / SR 21 in Richfield
I-480 / SR 14 in Oakwood
I-480 / US 422 in Bedford Heights
North end I-90 in Willoughby Hills
Location
CountiesMedina, Summit, Cuyahoga, Lake
Highway system
← SR 270→ SR 271

Route description
Aerial view of I-271, exit 12, its crossing of the Ohio Turnpike, and the now-defunct Richfield Coliseum in 1975

I-271 begins at an interchange with I-71 in Medina Township to I-90 in Willoughby Hills, with an interchange with I-480 (and traveling concurrently with it for a short stretch). The width varies from point to point, but is mostly four to six lanes wide south of I-480 and eight to twelve lanes wide north of I-480; there it is divided into express and local lanes.

The local-express lanes begin at the southern interchange of U.S. Route 422 (US 422) and continue northward slightly beyond the end of I-271. The northbound express lanes allow access to all exits (excluding Chagrin Boulevard, Harvard Road, and State Route 175 (SR 175), a southbound-only exit). The southbound express lanes bypass all exits except for one combined exit for Chagrin Boulevard (west US 422), Harvard Road, Richmond Road (SR 175) and US 422 (east) interchange. The lanes then become the mainline of I-480N which in turn becomes I-480 westbound.

I-271 does not have a direct interchange with I-80/Ohio Turnpike – one of only a few examples of Interstate Highways that cross but do not intersect. The I-271/I-480 section is the only instance of a concurrency of two three-digit Interstate Highways. This is because I-80 was concurrent with I-271 until 1971, when I-80 was routed back on to the turnpike and replaced by I-480.

History
I-271/I-480 north of the Broadway/Forbes interchange in 2002

I-290 was to have followed the northern end of I-271. I-271 itself was to have followed I-480 and I-480N westward to I-71.[2]

I-271's express lanes were added between 1993 and 1995, with related projects continuing through 1998.[3][4]

For many years, the interchange with SR 8 was only partially complete. The northbound exit and southbound entrance ramps connected with both directions of SR 8, but southbound I-271 could only access SR 8 southbound (though later both directions were accessible[5]), and only northbound State Route 8 could access I-271 northbound. To compensate for the missing movements, a half-diamond was built at SR 82. The I-271/SR 8 interchange underwent reconstruction in 2008–2009 that turned it into a complete interchange allowing all movements.[6][7][8]

Similarly, travelers going to and from the north on I-271 had to take surface streets to get to and from the west on I-480 in Cuyahoga County. This link is now covered by unsigned I-480N.

I-271 Rebuilding and Widening program

The need for the I-271 widening project between Miles Road and the Summit County line was identified in March 2002. I-271 will be widened from two to three lanes north and southbound between Miles Road and Columbus Road and from three to five lanes north and southbound between Columbus Road and the I-271/I-480 split near the Summit County line. Construction will last two years and includes replacement of the existing pavement, noise walls, lighting and signing. A similar project to widen I-271 from two to three lanes will be constructed in Summit County between the Cuyahoga County line and SR 8 and will improve access to the Ohio Turnpike. That project is scheduled to begin in 2014 and be complete in 2016.[9]

Exit list
CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
MedinaMedina Township0.000.001 I-71 south – ColumbusNo access to I-71 north or from I-71 south; exit 220 on I-71
3.29–
3.69		5.29–
5.94		3 SR 94 (Ridge Road) to I-71 north – Wadsworth, North Royalton, Cleveland
SummitRichfield7.46–
7.88		12.01–
12.68		Rest Area
9.3815.109 Brecksville Road to SR 176 / I-77 southNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
Richfield Township9.90–
10.36		15.93–
16.67		10 I-77 to I-80 / Ohio Turnpike – Cleveland, AkronSame-directional movements only
12.38–
12.57		19.92–
20.23		12 SR 303 (Streetsboro Road) – Richfield, Peninsula
Macedonia18.13–
18.64		29.18–
30.00		18 SR 8 to SR 82 – Macedonia, Northfield, Boston Heights, AkronSigned as exit 18A (south) and exit 18B (north) southbound; no southbound signage for SR 82
19.4431.2919 SR 82 (East Aurora Road) – Macedonia, TwinsburgNorthbound exit is via exit 18
CuyahogaOakwood22.06–
22.21		35.50–
35.74		21 I-480 east / SR 14 east – YoungstownSouthern terminus of I-480 / SR 14 concurrency; southbound exit and northbound entrance
Bedford22.91–
23.73		36.87–
38.19		23 SR 14 west (Broadway Avenue) / Forbes RoadNorthern terminus of SR 14 concurrency
Bedford Heights25.35–
25.40		40.80–
40.88		26A I-480 west – ClevelandNorthern terminus of I-480 concurrency; northbound exit and southbound entrance
26.07–
26.26		41.96–
42.26		26BRockside Road – Bedford HeightsSigned as exit 26 southbound
26.80–
27.94		43.13–
44.97		27A US 422 east – WarrenSouthern terminus of US 422 concurrency; exit 13B on US 422
27.38–
27.94		44.06–
44.97		27BMiles Road – Bedford Heights, North RandallNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
I-480 west – ToledoSouthbound exit and northbound entrance; access via unsigned I-480N
27.644.4— I-271 north (Express Lanes) to I-90 – Erie Pa.Northbound exit and southbound entrance; south end of Express Lanes
28.25–
28.38		45.46–
45.67		28A SR 175 (Richmond Road) / Emery RoadSouthbound exit and northbound entrance; other movements via exit 27B
Orange28.61–
29.23		46.04–
47.04		28BHarvard Road – Highland Hills, Orange
Beachwood29.62–
30.22		47.67–
48.63		29 US 422 west / SR 87 (Chagrin Boulevard)Northern terminus of US 422 concurrency
31.250.2— I-271 north (Express Lanes) to I-90Northbound exit and southbound entrance
31.851.2— I-271 south (Express Lanes) to I-480Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Lyndhurst32.42–
33.26		52.17–
53.53		32Cedar Road / Brainard Road
Mayfield Heights33.253.4— I-271 south (Express Lanes) to I-480Southbound exit and northbound entrance
34.55–
35.45		55.60–
57.05		34 US 322 (Mayfield Road) – Gates Mills, Mayfield Heights
Highland Heights36.06–
36.52		58.03–
58.77		36Wilson Mills Road
Highland Heights–Mayfield line37.660.5— I-90 east – Erie, PANorthbound exit and southbound entrance; exit 190 on I-90
37.860.8— I-271 south (Express Lanes) to I-480Southbound exit and northbound entrance
LakeWilloughby Hills36.59–
40.22		58.89–
64.73		40 I-90 to SR 91 – Cleveland, Erie, PAExit 188 on I-90
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References
  1. "DESTAPE". Ohio Department of Transportation. August 30, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  2. Ohio Department of Highways. "1957-1958 Biennial Report excerpt". Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  3. Thoma, Pauline (December 11, 1992). "Figgie Road Work to Begin". The Plain Dealer. p. 15C.
  4. Segall, Grant (November 4, 1998). "Orange Barrels Finally on the Way Out". The Plain Dealer. p. 1B.
  5. "Northern Summit County". Roadfan.com.
  6. State Route 8 Phase I Project Overview. State Route 8 Connection. Ohio Department of Transportation District 4.
  7. Armon, Rick (2009-07-30). "New Route 8 Ramp Eases Congestion". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  8. "I-271 Southbound Ramp to SR-8 southbound is now OPEN". State Route 8 Connection, Ohio Department of Transportation District 4, 2009-09-04.
  9. "Commuters on I-271 Get Congestion Relief with Widening Project". Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved 5 October 2014.

KML is from Wikidata
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.