# Interstate 480 (Ohio)

Interstate 480 (I-480) is a 41.77-mile-long (67.22 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-80 in the US state of Ohio that passes through much of the Greater Cleveland area, including the southern parts of the city of Cleveland. I-480 is one of 13 auxiliary Interstate Highways in the state. The western terminus of I-480 is an interchange with I-80 and the Ohio Turnpike in North Ridgeville. Starting east through suburban Lorain County, I-480 enters Cuyahoga County, then approaches Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, which serves as the primary airport for Northeast Ohio. After traversing Brooklyn and crossing the Cuyahoga River on the Valley View Bridge, the highway continues east toward the communities of Bedford and Twinsburg toward its eastern terminus at I-80 and the Ohio Turnpike in Streetsboro. On its route, I-480 crosses I-71 and I-77 and is concurrent with I-271 for approximately four miles (6.4 km). In 1998, the governor of Ohio, George Voinovich, gave I-480 the additional name of the "Senator John Glenn Highway", in honor of the former NASA astronaut and US senator from Ohio for 24 years.
Parts of I-480 were to have been I-271 and/or I-80N.

## Route description

The freeway runs concurrently with I-271 for two miles (3.2 km). I-271 and I-480 were the only two auxiliary Interstates in the nation that ran concurrently with each other for any distance until 2022, when concurrencies between I-587 and I-795 and I-785 and I-840 in North Carolina were established with the designation of I-587 and the completion of the Greensboro Urban Loop. 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.
Due to the convergence of these high traffic roads, congestion is common during peak times. They run concurrently through Bedford Heights, Bedford, and Oakwood in Cuyahoga County. Because of that, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) started a $120-million (equivalent to $149 million in 2023) widening project in 2016, separating I-271 traffic from I-480 traffic. The project was completed in 2020.
The Valley View Bridge, which is 212 feet (65 m) high and spans 4,150 feet (1,260 m), carries I-480 across the Cuyahoga River valley. It is the busiest crossing in the state of Ohio with approximately 180,000 cars per day.

## History

I-480 was conceived as a means of giving motorists a faster way of crossing Cleveland's southern borders and suburbs. The first segment of the route was partially concurrent with I-271 and constructed simultaneously with that highway in 1965. Planning for the route was largely finished by 1968, and construction began on its first mile (1.6 km) began at the highway's interchange with I-77 in 1970.
The segment from Bedford west to Maple Heights opened in November 1976. The segment from Maple Heights west to Brooklyn Heights opened in January 1978.
Construction from west to east began as political controversies and engineering work were resolved on the highway's middle section. I-480 between I-80 and I-71 was completed in 1983.
The two miles (3.2 km) of the route north and northeast of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport proved the most difficult to plan due to existing high levels of traffic on Brookpark Road and the expansion requirements of the airport.
The final $115-million (equivalent to $296 million in 2023), 2.5-mile (4.0 km) segment linking the east and west ends of I-480 was finished in August 1987.

## Exit list

| County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
| Lorain | North Ridgeville | 0.00 | 0.00 | — | I-80 Toll / Ohio Turnpike west – Toledo | Exit 151 on I-80 / Turnpike |
| Lorain | North Ridgeville | 0.90 | 1.45 | Ohio Turnpike Toll Plaza | Ohio Turnpike Toll Plaza | Ohio Turnpike Toll Plaza |
| Lorain | North Ridgeville | 1.16 | 1.87 | 1 | SR 10 west to US 20 – Oberlin, Norwalk | Western end of SR 10 concurrency; westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| Lorain | North Ridgeville | 2.03 | 3.27 | 2 | SR 10 east (Lorain Road) to I-80 / Ohio Turnpike east | Eastern end of SR 10 concurrency |
| Cuyahoga | North Olmsted | 3.67 | 5.91 | 3 | Stearns Road | |
| Cuyahoga | North Olmsted | 6.15 | 9.90 | 6 | SR 252 (Great Northern Boulevard) – North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls | Signed as exits 6A (south) and 6B (north) westbound |
| Cuyahoga | North Olmsted | 7.57 | 12.18 | 7 | Clague Road – Westlake, Fairview Park | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 9.44 | 15.19 | 9 | SR 17 (Brookpark Road) / Grayton Road – Hopkins Airport | Eastbound ramps to SR 17; westbound to Grayton Road |
| Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 10.17 | 16.37 | 11 | I-71 (via Berea Freeway) – Cleveland, Columbus | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; exit 238 on I-71 |
| Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 10.17 | 16.37 | 10 | SR 237 south (Berea Freeway) – Hopkins Airport, Berea | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 10.71 | 17.24 | 11 | I-71 south – Columbus | No eastbound exit; exit 238 on I-71 |
| Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 11.60 | 18.67 | 12A | West 150th Street — Brook Park | Westbound exit only |
| Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 12.71 | 20.45 | 12B | West 130th Street / West 150th Street — Brook Park | 150th Street not signed westbound; signed as exit 12 eastbound |
| Cuyahoga | Brooklyn | 13.79 | 22.19 | 13 | Tiedeman Road — Brooklyn | |
| Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 15.21 | 24.48 | 15 | To US 42 / Ridge Road – Parma | |
| Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 16.49 | 26.54 | 16 | SR 94 (State Road) to SR 176 south | |
| Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 17.76 | 28.58 | 17A | SR 176 north – Cleveland | Signed as exit 17 eastbound; exit 16 on SR 176 |
| Cuyahoga | Brooklyn Heights | 18.03 | 29.02 | 17B | SR 17 (Brookpark Road) to SR 176 south – Brooklyn Heights | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| Cuyahoga | Independence | 20.05 | 32.27 | 20 | I-77 / Rockside Road – Akron, Cleveland | Exit 156 on I-77; signed as exits 20A (south) & 20B (north) |
| Cuyahoga | Cuyahoga River | 20.59– 21.39 | 33.14– 34.42 | Valley View Bridge | Valley View Bridge | Valley View Bridge |
| Cuyahoga | Garfield Heights | 21.72 | 34.95 | 21 | Transportation Boulevard / East 98th Street | |
| Cuyahoga | Garfield Heights | 22.92 | 36.89 | 22 | SR 17 (Granger Road) | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; no entrance from SR 17 east |
| Cuyahoga | Garfield Heights | 23.85 | 38.38 | 23 | SR 14 (Broadway Avenue) – Garfield Heights | |
| Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 24.58 | 39.56 | 24 | Lee Road – Maple Heights | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| Cuyahoga | Warrensville Heights | 26.03 | 41.89 | 25A-B | Warrensville Road — Bedford, Warrensville Heights | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; signed as exits 25A (south) and 25B (north) |
| Cuyahoga | Warrensville Heights–Bedford Heights line | 26.03– 26.55 | 41.89– 42.73 | 25C | SR 8 / SR 43 (Northfield Road) | Eastbound access via frontage roads originating from exit 25A |
| Cuyahoga | Warrensville Heights–Bedford Heights line | 26.31 | 42.34 | 26 | To I-271 north / US 422 – Erie PA, Warren | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance via I-480N |
| Cuyahoga | Bedford Heights | 27.94 | 44.97 | 26A | Rockside Road | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| Cuyahoga | Bedford Heights | 28.02 | 45.09 | 26B | I-271 north – Erie PA | Western end of I-271 concurrency; eastbound exit via exit 26 |
| Cuyahoga | Bedford | | | – | I-271 south – Columbus | Eastern end of I-271 concurrency; exit 21A on I-271; eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
| Cuyahoga | Oakwood | | | 23B | SR 14 west (Broadway Avenue) / Forbes Road | Western end of SR 14 concurrency; signed as exit 23 westbound |
| Cuyahoga | Oakwood | | | 22 | I-271 south – Columbus | Eastbound exit; westbound entrance is exit 21 on I-271 north |
| Summit | Twinsburg | 36.30 | 58.42 | 36 | SR 82 – Aurora, Macedonia, Twinsburg | |
| Summit | Twinsburg | 36.99 | 59.53 | 37 | SR 91 – Twinsburg, Hudson, Solon | |
| Portage | Streetsboro | 41.63 | 67.00 | 41 | Frost Road | |
| Portage | Streetsboro | 42.45 | 68.32 | 42 | SR 14 east – Ravenna | Eastern end of SR 14 concurrency |
| Portage | Streetsboro | 42.45 | 68.32 | – | I-80 / Ohio Turnpike – Youngstown, Toledo | Exit 187 on I-80 / Turnpike |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access Tolled |||||||

## Interstate 480N

Interstate 480N (I-480N) is officially designated as the spur freeway connecting I-480 to I-271 and US Route 422 (US 422) by ODOT. The highway lacks conventional confirming markers; the only shields for the route are on milemarkers. Other guide signs only refer to the routes at I-480N's termini.

### Major intersections

The entire route is in Cuyahoga County.
| Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
| Maple Heights | 0.00 | 0.00 | – | I-480 west – Cleveland, Toledo | Exit 26 on I-480 |
| North Randall | 0.53– 0.78 | 0.85– 1.26 | 1 | Miles Road – North Randall, Bedford Heights | |
| Warrensville Heights | 1.29 | 2.08 | — | I-271 north (Express Lanes) to I-90 – Erie, PA | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
| Warrensville Heights | 1.63 | 2.62 | – | I-271 south to I-480 east – Columbus | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; exit 27A on I-271; exit 13A on US 422 |
| Warrensville Heights | 1.63 | 2.62 | — | I-271 north / US 422 west (Local Lanes) / Harvard Road / Chagrin Boulevard | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; exit 27B on I-271 |
| Warrensville Heights | 1.99 | 3.20 | – | US 422 east – Warren | Exit 13B on US 422 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access ||||||