On 8/15/2019 at 8:43 PM, KJP said:

 

 

But how many more accidents and deaths before it happens?

 

https://www.wkyc.com/article/traffic/traffic-alert-i-90-eastbound-closed-superior-avenue-overturned-truck-at-dead-mans-curve/95-84209b4e-1b5b-4910-ab78-c78bb455a784

 

There was a presentation from ODOT / CSS Landscape Architecture regarding the next phase of the Innerbelt project at the May 21, 2021 planning commission meeting (it's informational only). It was about the upcoming CCG3A phase (which has committed funding via TRAC). The maintenance agreement for improvements above the trench/on local streets has not yet been fully worked out with the city. This means that some of the project would be determined by Cleveland's, or other local entities, ability to fund it. Here is a project timeline for the $160 million project:

 

 

 

A primary aspect of this phase will be the elongated E22nd Street bridge. It will also be a wider bridge with the addition of a center turning lane and wider sidewalks (while keeping the existing bike lanes). The bridge could be similar to the Spring Street bridge over I-71 on the Columbus innerbelt. It may also include a partial capping at Cedar which could include park space. 

 

The interchange at the E14th/E18th and Carnegie intersection is also in this phase of the innerbelt project. 

 

The designs on the retaining walls, and landscaping within the ODOT right of way, were also briefly discussed. 

 

That last rendering look like something from a suburban Columbus freeway...like around Dublin. That's supposed to be Carnegie and 22nd?

Edited May 22, 20214 yr by metrocity

15 hours ago, metrocity said:

That last rendering look like something from a suburban Columbus freeway...like around Dublin. That's supposed to be Carnegie and 22nd?

 

It looks like a race course. For when the Cleveland Gran Prix returns. 

And the Carnegie offramp is gone! With the Opportunity Corridor and Chester both available to get people to UC and the Clinic, this is a great removal of a dangerous "everyone merge over in a hundred yards" offramp 

I agree - this will greatly consolidate the interchanges down and remove needless ramps. I'm not sure what the issue was about whether or not this looks like a suburban freeway - it's just a rendering. The highway at a minimum will include 12' lanes and fully compliant left and right shoulders with appropriate clear zones. That's with any modern freeway. The landscape looks a little overzealous - it will only look as good as the money that is thrown at it. I've seen far too many urban landscaping plans become homeless encampments within a few years.

 

ODOT Inner Belt plan gets city pushback

By Ken Prendergast / March 19, 2022

 

Yesterday, Cleveland’s City Planning Commission unanimously tabled a request by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) for consent to construct improvements to the Central Interchange, where Interstate 77 ends and connects with Interstate 90 in downtown Cleveland. The reason given was to have a “deeper conversation” with City Council which ultimately must vote on the consent request about how the project can right the wrongs of the past including using highways to divide minority neighborhoods from downtown.

 

MORE

https://neo-trans.blog/2022/03/19/odot-inner-belt-plan-gets-city-pushback/

3 hours ago, KJP said:

 

ODOT Inner Belt plan gets city pushback

By Ken Prendergast / March 19, 2022

 

Yesterday, Cleveland’s City Planning Commission unanimously tabled a request by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) for consent to construct improvements to the Central Interchange, where Interstate 77 ends and connects with Interstate 90 in downtown Cleveland. The reason given was to have a “deeper conversation” with City Council which ultimately must vote on the consent request about how the project can right the wrongs of the past including using highways to divide minority neighborhoods from downtown.

 

MORE

https://neo-trans.blog/2022/03/19/odot-inner-belt-plan-gets-city-pushback/

Good stuff. So glad that it seems like Kuri, Slife, et. al, are not going to just rubber stamp this. 
 

And, sorry to see it not up for discussion anymore it seems, but if Columbus and Cincy can have caps, why not Cleveland?

Edited March 20, 20223 yr by brtshrcegr

15 hours ago, brtshrcegr said:

Good stuff. So glad that it seems like Kuri, Slife, et. al, are not going to just rubber stamp this. 
 

And, sorry to see it not up for discussion anymore it seems, but if Columbus and Cincy can have caps, why not Cleveland?

Agree wholeheartedly -- why is "speed" and "throughput" so important for this project?  And I know, everyone wants an exit/onramp where it's most convenient for them, but all this complex spaghetti carries a high construction and maintenance cost.  Real improvements would consider a lot more factors than speed and throughput and ODOT needs to recognize that.  Kudos for the city to at least slow this project down -- now, can they force ODOT to go back to the drawing board?

 

KJP mentioned that ODOT was open to building a cap, with a condition:

Quote

The new East 22nd bridge, after removing the Cedar highway overpass, would have a wider sidewalk with landscaping along it. On either side of East 22nd, between I-90 and Carnegie, a Gateway Park would be provided. And, if another agency funds its ongoing maintenance, ODOT would build a deck over the eastbound lanes of I-90 on top of which would be a public plaza.

 

6 minutes ago, Foraker said:

Agree wholeheartedly -- why is "speed" and "throughput" so important for this project?  And I know, everyone wants an exit/onramp where it's most convenient for them, but all this complex spaghetti carries a high construction and maintenance cost.  Real improvements would consider a lot more factors than speed and throughput and ODOT needs to recognize that.  Kudos for the city to at least slow this project down -- now, can they force ODOT to go back to the drawing board?

Why?  Because the innerbelt is an interstate highway and needs to conform to interstate highway standards. It is unfortunate that several highway sections in Cleveland were never built. They would have provided a downtown bypass which most large cities have.   As a result,  i-90, I-71 and I-77 all converge on to the innerbelt, not an ideal situation.  

Could this money be used to fix dead man's curve?  

1 hour ago, LibertyBlvd said:

Why?  Because the innerbelt is an interstate highway and needs to conform to interstate highway standards. It is unfortunate that several highway sections in Cleveland were never built. They would have provided a downtown bypass which most large cities have.   As a result,  i-90, I-71 and I-77 all converge on to the innerbelt, not an ideal situation.  

Actually, in many ways it is good that many of those highway sections were not built.  The remnants of some of those are still visible today.  The elaborate ramps for I-71 near Ridge Road were part of the Parma Freeway.  The Broadway ramp of I-480 was for the Bedford Freeway (much of which would have been west of E.105th Street).  I-490 was going to be part of the Clark Freeway through Shaker Lakes.  There were lesser-known un-built freeways included the Lee Freeway (would have ended in the area of the Broadway I-480 ramps).  The Central Freeway would have crossed the Bedford Freeway, ending at the Lee Freeway.  The Heights Freeway would have roughly paralleled Superior, then Monticello and Wilson Mills.  The only "benefit" of the Central and Heights Freeways would have been to shift traffic from I-90 and the Shoreway, but it still would have dumped traffic further down the Innerbelt.  The Bedford Freeway would have plowed through part of what became the expanded Cleveland Clinic Campus.  Tens of thousands of homes would have been demolished and countless neighborhoods and communities would have been carved up or isolated.  If many or all were built, the Innerbelt would have served as a bigger convergence of freeways at too big of a social cost.

7 hours ago, LibertyBlvd said:

Why?  Because the innerbelt is an interstate highway and needs to conform to interstate highway standards. It is unfortunate that several highway sections in Cleveland were never built. They would have provided a downtown bypass which most large cities have.   As a result,  i-90, I-71 and I-77 all converge on to the innerbelt, not an ideal situation.  

Of course the innerbelt is part of the interstate highway system -- but it's within the urban core, and as such "speed and throughput" while certainly factors that should be considered, should not be the only factors. 

 

I would say that with all the exits and I-77 interchange in the downtown area there is a reason to slow the traffic down -- for safety and to keep traffic moving.  As the city planning commissioners said,  historical discrimination also justifies more consideration of a cap at E22 and improving pedestrian and surface street connectivity through and across the innerbelt and I-77.

Was there ever any study of capping both the Eastbound and Westbound lanes of I-90? Basically connecting from Carnegie to Cedar? Something is better than nothing, but it seems like this cap and plaza would be more than twice as useful if it covered the whole freeway and could serve as connecting tissue. 

On 3/20/2022 at 2:16 PM, TR said:

Could this money be used to fix dead man's curve?  

 

It's not enough. Easing Dead Man's Curve is projected at a half-billion dollars.

Does anyone have a scoop on where the I-90 innerbelt relocation/Deadman's curve redo stands at this point?

25 minutes ago, LlamaLawyer said:

Does anyone have a scoop on where the I-90 innerbelt relocation/Deadman's curve redo stands at this point?

 

It's unfunded. It carries a $500+ million cost.

On 3/20/2022 at 3:53 PM, LifeLongClevelander said:

Actually, in many ways it is good that many of those highway sections were not built.  The remnants of some of those are still visible today.  The elaborate ramps for I-71 near Ridge Road were part of the Parma Freeway.  The Broadway ramp of I-480 was for the Bedford Freeway (much of which would have been west of E.105th Street).  I-490 was going to be part of the Clark Freeway through Shaker Lakes.  There were lesser-known un-built freeways included the Lee Freeway (would have ended in the area of the Broadway I-480 ramps).  The Central Freeway would have crossed the Bedford Freeway, ending at the Lee Freeway.  The Heights Freeway would have roughly paralleled Superior, then Monticello and Wilson Mills.  The only "benefit" of the Central and Heights Freeways would have been to shift traffic from I-90 and the Shoreway, but it still would have dumped traffic further down the Innerbelt.  The Bedford Freeway would have plowed through part of what became the expanded Cleveland Clinic Campus.  Tens of thousands of homes would have been demolished and countless neighborhoods and communities would have been carved up or isolated.  If many or all were built, the Innerbelt would have served as a bigger convergence of freeways at too big of a social cost.

 

 

 

On 4/29/2022 at 12:03 PM, GISguy said:

 

 

 

Thanks for coming up with the map.  It drives home the point of what devastation that it would have caused the entire county.  The key piece of information that the map also shows is the "mastermind" behind this plan and the person that was behind what was ultimately responsible for destroying mass transit in this area:  County Engineer Albert Porter.

I remember from my NOACA time that the SCOTS study had even more freeway development in it.  Back in the 1960's, there were fears of a "population explosion."  That didn't happen.  If anything, we got a little of the reverse.  The map posted above will obviously look extremely out of touch, given the population shifts that occurred after its creation.

On 4/29/2022 at 11:24 AM, LlamaLawyer said:

Does anyone have a scoop on where the I-90 innerbelt relocation/Deadman's curve redo stands at this point?

The ODOT TRAC project list shows how the remainder of the Innerbelt project is divided up.

Public comment for ODOT's 'I-90 Major Rehab' project is open. Link below:

 

Quote

About this Project

This project will replace the existing pavement along I-90 from the Hilliard Rd. exit ramp bridge to the I-71/I-490 interchange in Rocky River, Lakewood, and Cleveland. Work will include bridge maintenance work, replacing median barrier and drainage, upgrading lighting, and lowering the pavement under several structures for vertical clearance.

 

https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/projects/projects/76779

Next phase of Innerbelt modernization plan scheduled to begin in 2025.

 

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/next-phase-of-innerbelt-freeway-modernization-plan-still-tentatively-scheduled-to-begin-in-2025

Hey mods, any chance we can rename this thread to "Cleveland: Innerbelt News" to match Columbus thread naming convention? Thx!

 

 

Since Innerbelt stuff is coming up in other threads again, I figured I'd dump a little refresher/update for anyone who's interested and get this thread more front of mind. More pertinent info in the second half of this post. For anyone not in the know, here's a little breakdown on the entire scope of the plan:

 

Cleveland Innerbelt Project is a 7-phase construction project that began in 2011 with the reconstruction of the I-90 Innerbelt Bridge.

Here are all of the "Contract Groups (CG)"-the ones in green are complete, yellow are about to begin construction, orange are currently in planning/funding/consulting stage:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CG1 - Westbound Bridge

• Construct a new westbound I-90 bridge and associated improvements.

CG2 - Eastbound Bridge

• Demolish the 1959 Innerbelt Bridge and construct a new eastbound I-90 bridge and associated improvements.

CG3 - Central Interchange

• A - Improve I-90 east and westbound in the Central Interchange area between East 9th St and Carnegie Avenue and replace the East 22nd St and Carnegie Avenue bridges over I-90.
• B - Reconstruction of I-77 approach to the Central Interchange (I-90).  Includes mainline bridge and pavement replacements. 

CG4 - Innerbelt Curve

• A - Relocate the Easterly Interceptor Sewer for the relocation of the Innerbelt Curve.
• B - Build a new overhead CSX Railroad bridge at a new location to accommodate the realignment of the Innerbelt Curve. This structure will replace the existing structure.
• C - Build a new overhead Norfolk Southern Railroad bridge at a new location to accommodate the realignment of the Innerbelt Curve. This structure will replace the existing structure.
• D - Reconstruction of four (4) overhead bridge structures near the Innerbelt Curve: Superior Avenue, St. Clair Avenue, Hamilton Avenue, and Lakeside Avenue. Work will include replacing existing structures with longer spans to accommodate future widening. Work includes the East 30th St extension.
• E - Relocation of the Innerbelt Curve.
• F - Replace the non-inventoried CSX Railroad Bridge over East 55th St located just south of IR-90 in order to accommodate the widening of East 55th Street, including bike lanes. This project will remain dormant until PID 77413 (CG4E) is identified for funding.

CG5 - Innerbelt Trench

• A - Reconstruction of four (4) overhead arterial roadway bridges along the Innerbelt from Prospect Ave to Payne Ave in Cleveland: Prospect, Euclid, Chester, Payne. Work will include replacing the existing structures with longer spans to accommodate future roadway work.
• B - Reconstruction of the Eastbound Innerbelt from East 22nd St to Superior Ave.
• C - Reconstruction of the Westbound Innerbelt from East 22nd St to Superior Ave.

CG6 - I-77 Bridge Over I-490

• A - Widen the I-77 bridge over I-490 and improve I-77 south of I-490.
• B - Reconstruct Broadway Ave over I-77; and move the Broadway entrance ramp (to I-77 south) to Pershing Ave via a new frontage road on the west side of I-77.

CG7 - I-71 Improvements

• A - Improve I-71 south between I-490 and the SR-176 south exit.  The project will include a deceleration lane for southbound traffic exiting to SR-176 south.  The project will also improve the I-90 east/I-490 west entrance ramp to SR-176 south.
• B - Improve I-71 between approximately West 25th St and I-490 including roadway pavement and replacement of I-71 bridge decks. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Here is a map showing the entire Innerbelt in detail, every demolition and construction as part of the full plan (while it is dated 2015, it is still accurate):

https://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/ClevelandUrbanCoreProjects/Innerbelt/Documents/2015-12-03

 

ODOT's ELLIS Project Identification (PID) page is a great way to see progress on specific job numbers. For example, the job number for CG3A (beginning soon) is 83282. Put in the district number (Cuyahoga = 12), PID number, and then click on the "Milestones" to see where any project is in the planning/construction phase:

https://ellisproj.dot.state.oh.us/

 

Since the Central Interchange CG3A is beginning soon, you can see where they are in the pre-construction phase at the moment and the various deadlines for items (yes/no = complete/incomplete):

Stage 3 (final) plans were submitted August 3rd, 2024. Right-of-way acquisition will occur in June this year, bidding/sale of the project end of this year, and construction will begin a year from now next April.

 

The cool thing you can see too is PIDs for projects that must occur before other work happens. For example, 121893 is the project to demolish the old Juvenile Court building and you can follow the link to see the timeline for that project too:

Old Juvi Court demolition will be bid/sold this month (April) and demolition will begin June 15 of this year, wrapping up this October. Total cost of demolition is $175k. This timeline then permits the Central Interchange project to kick off in 2026.

 

Hope this is helpful!

Edited April 1Apr 1 by Geowizical

ty. once a year, I go on the odot site and try to make sense of if