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 2016, that is planned to connect Interstate 77 and Interstate 490 to the University Circle neighborhood. The Opportunity Corridor will supplement and enhance the progress underway in these neighborhoods led by their residents and leaders who have worked tirelessly to build on the numerous neighborhood assets and reinforce the sense of pride in their community. The project will reconnect the neighborhoods through investment in a multi-modal transportation network that supports transit, bicycle, and pedestrian-friendly design and development.[1]

History

In the 1960s, Cuyahoga County had planned to build a freeway called the Clark Freeway in Cleveland and environs, part of a network of planned freeways, along a portion of what became Interstate 90, all of what became Interstate 490, and eastward to the Outerbelt East Freeway (Interstate 271). The highway ultimately was not built east of East 55th Street due to freeway revolts. For more details, see Interstate 490 (Ohio)#History.

Later plans for a highway along this general routing included a plan to build a freeway northeastward to Interstate 90/Ohio State Route 2/Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, rejected in 2002,[2] and a highway proposed by Ken Blackwell in his failed bid during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign.[3]

Active project

The current project as of 2016, part of the Innerbelt project, involves building a boulevard to University Circle, named the "Opportunity Corridor". 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 2017.[7][8] The target date for the completion of the road is 2020.[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 (June 22, 2016). "Milwaukee Projects Highlight What's Missing in Opportunity Corridor Planning". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved June 27, 2016. Because the project is nearly fully funded by Ohio through bonds backed by turnpike tolls, with strong support from Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the Opportunity Corridor boulevard will be finished by 2020, whether the city is prepared or not.
  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

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