RANKED: Best To Worst Cleveland Highways
THE BEST - 90
With gorgeous scenic diversity including our very own Lake Erie, it’s hard to not imagine 90 on the top of this list. Sure, you’ll want to avoid 90 westbound at Dead Man’s Curve otherwise you become the dead man! But while some highways seem nothing more than pavement, 90 truly becomes a destination location! What better highway gives you a taste of Cleveland, especially when it loops up and around the city?
GREAT - 71
I’ve never had any major problems on 71, it’s truly a solid piece of work. Driving from Cleveland to Columbus on 71 is the equivalent to babysitting a fern bush. The only downside is that 71 isn’t as scenic as 90, but you’ll pass Grandpa’s Cheese Barn so that makes up for the scenery.
GOOD - 77
Shoutout to Melissa who reminded me that Interstate 77 was missing from this list! My initial reaction was that I enjoyed 77, but then I remembered that sections of 77 through Akron are like 50mph! If I wanted my highways slow I'd just use surface streets!
OKAY - 80
Can I be frank? I don’t even remember the last time I’ve used 80. 80 is like the guy who tags along just because they’re the younger brother of the cool guy. However, upon discovering that this highway runs from New York City to San Francisco, I have to give 80 some more street credit.
OKAY - 490
Ah, 490…the highway that could have cut through the east side but got vetoed. I really have nothing bad or good to say about this highway, which is why it finds itself in the middle of the list. If only 490 could make getting from Downtown Cleveland to the Heights easier….but alas, we’re stuck taking surface roads with sometimes the worst surface.
BAD - 271
271 can be a good time, but that 271-480 merge during traffic times can really be the opposite of the bee’s knees (so maybe the bee’s forearms). Also, the south half of 271 seems to ALWAYS be under construction. What’s ODOT doing, looking for the holy grail or the lost arc under the highway? Also: the Mayfield exit one-lane only of three…who designed that annoying ramp, probably someone like Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho!
THE WORST - 480
When I think of the *worst* times I’ve been in the car, 480 is always involved. I’ve purposely moved meetings to before 4 or after 6:30 so I can avoid 480. 480 has it all: slow traffic, construction, weird ramps. And just like 271, I can not remember a time where there wasn't construction on 480. It’s almost as if the highway can not exist without orange barrels, construction equipment, and ‘slow down to 40mph’ signs. The traffic is so bad that sometimes I wished I never got my license and instead was one of those 'bikes everywhere' types. It's like all the bad drivers in Ohio exclusively use 480, the amount of 'almost accidents' I've had on 480 is enough to increase my increase premium by 50%. One highlight: a couple of sections of 480 make me feel like I’m playing Mario Kart. So when it’s midnight and there’s no traffic, that’s a fun time.
