Interstate 270 (abbreviated I-270) is the beltway loop freeway in the Columbus metropolitan area, commonly known locally as "The Outerbelt". The "western" (and "eastern") terminus of I-270, at least in terms of the zero-milepost, is at the junction with Interstate 71 east of Grove City, Ohio. I-270, along with Interstate 670, provides access to Port Columbus International Airport. The entire length of I-270 is 54.97 miles (88.47km).

Route description

Major cities Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs
Obetz Groveport Grove City Hilliard Dublin Worthington Westerville Gahanna Whitehall Blacklick Estates Reynoldsburg

History

Planning for an outerbelt around Columbus began in the late 1950s. The outerbelt was completed in stages, with the south section finished first and the east portion last.

Planning

By the early 1960s detailed planning for the route had begun, and several controversies arose. The first involved the location of the northern segment, which was originally planned to pass south of Worthington, passing through the Ohio Deaf School and just north of the then ten year old Graceland Shopping Center. Through vigorous lobbying throughout 1961, and with the help of Ohio Governor Michael DiSalle, residents were able to get the outerbelt relocated to pass north of Worthington.

Another contentious issue involved the routing of the eastern portion of the outerbelt between Port Columbus International Airport and the city of Gahanna. While the airport wanted the outerbelt pushed out towards Gahanna so as to leave land for future runway expansion, the residents of Gahanna wanted it pushed back towards Columbus. The final compromise led to an interesting kink in I-270 as it jogs around the airport.

Construction

Construction of the outerbelt began in 1962, and work was begun on various disconnected sections. The first portion to be completed connected U.S. 23 with I-71 south of Columbus. The portion between U.S. 23 and Interstate 71 on the north side opened in August, 1967.

The section between Interstate 70 on the West Side and Interstate 71 on the South Side opened in August, 1970. In late 1970, sections opened on the East Side between U.S. 33 and Interstate 70, and between State Rt. 3 in Westerville and State Rt. 161 on the East Side. It was now possible to bypass Columbus using I-270 by going around the south side of the city.

In June, 1971 the section between Morse Road and State Rt. 161 on the East side opened. In October, 1971, another section on the East Side between Interstate 70 and East Main Street opened. It would take four more years to complete the northeast portion of the outerbelt.

The last section of I-270, on the East Side, between Hamilton Road and East Broad Street, was opened on August 20, 1975. The total cost of the ten year construction project was 175 million dollars, compared to the original 1961 estimate of 104 million dollars.

Accidents, Incidents and Snipers

• In December, 1965 during the construction of the northern section of I-270 across the N&W and NYC railroad tracks between Rt. 23 and I-71, the New York Central's Ohio State Limited was wrecked after it hit a piece of earthmoving machinery, resulting in the operator's death and the injury of several passengers and crew. The train was dumped into the cornfield resulting in a major operation to clean it up.
• On November 4, 1968, David R. Booth, age 29, became the first person to die on I-270 when he hit another car while merging onto State Rt. 23 from I-270.
• In February, 1974, three trucks traveling on I-270 on the south side near State Rt. 33 were struck by gunfire during a violent Teamsters Strike.
• Ohio highway sniper attacks: The highway was again the subject of national media attention in 2003 when 24 sniper shootings were reported along the southern portion of the interstate and other neighboring highways. Sixty-two-year-old Gail Knisley was shot to death on November 25, 2003, making her the only fatality associated with the string of shootings. Charles A. McCoy, Jr., who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1996, was accused of the shootings and stood trial in 2005. The first trial with death penalty charges resulted in a hung jury on May 9, 2005, most likely due to McCoy's severe mental illness. Rather than face a retrial, McCoy accepted a plea arrangement where he avoided the death sentence. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison on August 9, 2005.

Expansion and noise barriers

In 1978 the first noise barriers were constructed on the portion of I-270 passing near Gahanna. Noise barriers have been slowly added around the length of the 55 mile long belt as development has crowded up to the noisy road.

Massive development followed the construction of I-270, especially around the north and northwest sides. The northern suburbs of Westerville, Worthington and Dublin, and Hilliard to the west benefited the most. As in other sizeable cities across America, the effect of this outerbelt driven development was to hasten the decline of the Columbus core. The south portion of the I-270 was much slower to develop due to the location of sewage treatment and landfill facilities, as well as quarries and the flood prone Scioto River. Grove City began to develop in the 1990s with the addition of office/warehouse space, and the conversion of Rickenbacker Air Force Base to a civilian air freight facility.

Exit list

Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Grove City	0.0/55.0	55
Urbancrest	2.1	2
Columbus	5.0	5	Georgesville Rd	WB changes to NB and SB changes to EB
	7.0	7A		NB combined as Exit 7
		7B
	8.7	8		some signage says Indianapolis instead of Dayton
	10.5	10	Roberts Rd
Hilliard	12.6	13A	Fishinger Rd - Upper Arlington	SB combined as Exit 13
		13B	Cemetery Rd - Hilliard - Franklin County Fairgrounds
	13.8	14	Davidson Rd	proposed
Columbus	15.6	15	Tuttle Crossing Blvd	The Mall at Tuttle Crossing
Dublin	17.3	17A		to "Olde Dublin"; NB changes to EB and WB changes to SB
		17B		to most of residential Dublin
Columbus	19.8	20	Sawmill Rd - Columbus Zoo, Zoombezi Bay, Muirfield (WB)	first SPUI in Ohio
Worthington	22.8	22		severe weaving issues; interchanges will be braided in project beginning 2009
	23.8	23
Columbus	25.8	26		EB formerly split into 26A and 26B
	27.4	28		eastern terminus of SR 710
Westerville	28.7	29		EB changes to SB and NB changes to WB. Route 3 known as State Street north of I-270 and Westerville Road south of I-270
Columbus	30.5	30		formerly exits 30A-B; shares CD roads with exit 33
	32.2	32	Morse Rd	no connection to exits 30 or 33
	32.9	33	Easton Way - Easton	shares CD roads with exit 30; provides access to Morse Road via Stelzer Road
Gahanna	35.4	35A	- Airport	NB exits combined as exit 35; Johnstown Rd exit is NB-exit-only, no entrance
		35B
		35	Johnstown Rd
	37.8	37
Columbus	39.5	39A		Taylor Station Rd exit is NB-exit-only via Old Morrison Rd and Westbourne Ave
		39B
	41.3	41A		exits 41A-43B share CD roads
		41B
	42.8	43A
		43B
	46.1	46A
		46B
Obetz	49.0	49	Alum Creek Dr - Obetz - Rickenbacker Int'l Airport	SB becomes WB and EB becomes NB
Columbus	52.7	52A		EB combined as exit 52
		52B

See also

• Ohio highway sniper attacks

References