CLEVELAND — On Wednesday, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) held a ceremonial ribbon cutting for the Opportunity Corridor, the long-awaited road project linking I-490 to University Circle in Cleveland.
The Opportunity Corridor is a three-mile boulevard that will run from East 55th Street at Interstate 490, to East 105th Street in University Circle. That area had become known as the "Forgotten Triangle" due to the lack of economic activity. Planners hope that this new stretch of road with a price tag of just over $200 million leads to new development, new jobs and a new identity for the nearly 1,000 acres on Cleveland's southeast side.
ODOT District 12 Deputy Director John Picuri announced that the full stretch of the Opportunity Corridor is planned to open by the end of next week.
Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson and Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish were among the state and local dignitaries who attended the 2 p.m. ribbon cutting.
“The Opportunity Corridor gives us the opportunity to spur investments, jobs and real estate developments in neighborhoods where they otherwise wouldn't have happened,” said Jackson. “I want to thank Former Governor (John) Kasich, Governor DeWine, ODOT and all our state and local partners for their dedication to this project and helping ensure that Cleveland contractors and local residents can participate in and benefit from its success.”
You can watch the event again in the player below.
Those involved in the project also believe that the corridor will ease some traffic woes getting to University Circle, which as home to University Hospitals and Cleveland Clinic, is significant. The hope is that it will become easier for patients and emergency vehicles to get to hospitals more quickly and safely.
While Cleveland Clinic says this is a plus, they also told our Will Ujek that they are very excited about the potential of new economic development.
"We have looked at it from the standpoint of traffic count that will drive new business and attract new business," Vickie Johnson, senior director of community development at the Cleveland Clinic, said. "Absolutely, it's a transportation project and it's an economic development project."
ODOT plans to continue adding landscaping, lighting, and other ancillary things along the route with a projected completion date of June 2022.
"It's really going to be very satisfying for our agency, as well as the city of Cleveland, to know how much this project is going to benefit the residents of Cleveland," says ODOT spokesperson Amanda McFarland. "It's going to feel really great."
The project is being managed by the Ohio Department of Transportation, the City of Cleveland, Greater Cleveland Partnership, and the Opportunity Corridor Partnership Office.
3News' Will Ujek contributed to this story
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