Interstate 275 (I-275) is an highway in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky that forms a complete beltway around the Cincinnati metropolitan area and includes a part in a state (Indiana) not entered by the parent route. It had been the only auxiliary Interstate that enters three states, but that changed in July 2018 when I-295 in Delaware and New Jersey was extended into Pennsylvania. It is the longest beltway with an Interstate highway designation in the United States, enclosing an area of over . It is also the third longest beltway overall in the United States; only the Sam Houston Tollway and the Grand Parkway, both encircling Greater Houston, are longer. For a short distance in northwest Hamilton County, it runs concurrently with I-74 and US Route 52 (US 52). It also runs concurrently with US 52 very briefly in southern Hamilton County.

I-275 is also known as the Cincinnati Bypass and officially known as the Donald H. Rolf Circle Freeway in Ohio, after a state senator, but locals rarely use these names, instead simply referring to it as "275" or "the loop". In 2011, Kentucky named its segment the Ronald Reagan Highway, not to be confused with Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway across the river in Cincinnati. The section in Clermont County is also designated as the Staff Sergeant Matt Maupin Veterans Memorial Highway.

Route description I-71/I-75 to Indiana

I-275 heads west toward Indiana, passing by Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, with Kentucky Route 212 (KY 212) used as the service road to and from the airport. Then, near Hebron, west of the airport, I-275 has an interchange with KY 237, before passing over the Ohio River into Indiana.

Indiana I-275 runs for approximately 3.3 miles (5.3km) through Dearborn County, making Indiana the shortest of the three state segments. The Indiana Department of Transportation lists one interchange on the route, with US 50 at Greendale. From there, I-275 continues northeast and enters Ohio.

Ohio

I-275 heads northeast toward Springdale, and I-275 runs concurrently with I-74 and US 52. When the concurrency ends, I-275 has an intersection with State Route 126 (SR 126, Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway). Then, I-275 has interchanges with US 27 and US 127. I-275 turns east, having an interchange with SR 4, SR 747, I-75, and US 42. I-275 turns southeast, having an interchange with I-71 and US 22/SR 3. I-275 passes over the Little Miami River, entering Clermont County, where it is officially named in honor of Keith Matthew Maupin, a local soldier killed during the Iraq War. I-275 turns due south toward Milford and connects with SR 28, SR 450, SR 32, and SR 125. I-275 turns due west toward Kentucky, passing through a short concurrency with US 52, before crossing over the Ohio River into Kentucky.

Ohio to I-71/I-75 From Ohio, I-275 heads southwest toward Highland Heights. I-275 has an interchange with I-471 near Highland Heights. I-275 turns due west toward Crestview Hills, passing through an interchange with KY 9, KY 16, and KY 17. In Crestview Hills, I-275 has an interchange with US 25/US 42/US 127. I-275 turns northwest toward I-71/I-75.

History Planning for a freeway beltway around Cincinnati began in the early 1950s. Separate highway proposals in Ohio and Kentucky were eventually combined into the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Area Bypass, later known as the Circle Freeway. In March 1962, the highway departments of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana announced plans for approximately 80-mile (130km), $153-million freeway around Cincinnati. The propsal incorporated a 21.3mile (34.3 km) section of the Circle Freeway already under construction in northern Hamilton County and additional mileage previously approved by the federal Bureau of Public Roads.

Construction proceeded in stages over the following two decades. A six-mile (9.7km) section of the Circle Freeway in the Springdale area opened in September 1962. On the western side of the beltway, the planned route was adjusted to incorporate an Ohio River crossing between Kentucky and Indiana. Construction of the Carroll Lee Cropper Bridge began in 1968, while Indiana began construction of its connection section of I-275 in 1973; the bridge was dedicated in December 1977. The combs-Hehl Bridge between Kentucky and Ohio opened on December 19, 1979, forming the final link on the beltway. In 1982, Ohio officially designated its portion of the I-275 as the Donald H. Rolf Circle Freeway.

I-74/I-275 bridge crash On May 20, 2008, a tractor-trailer hauling a locomotive separated while traveling on the ramp from westbound I-74 to southbound I-275. After the trailer detached, it crashed into supports for the bridge on I-74 eastbound going over the ramps between I-275 and I-74 westbound. As a result, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) shut down eastbound I-74 for several weeks. Both ramps between I-74 west and I-275 were closed as well because of fears the bridge would collapse, but two crossovers were built so that traffic could use one lane of westbound I-74 to travel east around the damaged bridge.

Exit list

References

External links

I-275 on Cincinnati-Transit.net