Interstate Highways

By the 1980s, after decades of steady highway construction, the expense of construction was again becoming an issue. A 1980 Cleveland Plain Dealer article reported that, “State highway and bridge projects estimated at $3.17 billion are being cancelled or postponed indefinitely…”[1] New projects along with maintenance expenses on existing highways taxed the already tight highway budget. Most importantly, federal fund freezes and the reduction of federal aid for highways put the burden of interstate highways squarely on the shoulders of the state and local municipalities.[2] A situation that became quite cumbersome when the Ohio Department of Transportation insisted that the city of Cleveland pay five percent of the cost for the construction of I-480. Until Cleveland paid their portion, construction on I-480 would be permanently delayed. A 1982 article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer stated that “the city sued . . . contending the regulation was discriminatory because only cities with populations over 100,000 were required to pay part of highways costs.”[3] The city won their case but demonstrates the population loss Cleveland suffered as a result of interstate highways.