Interstate 270 Ohio

Overview

Interstate 270 forms a complete beltway encircling Columbus, Ohio. The circumferential highway serves an array of suburban cities, including Dublin, Grove City, Hilliard and Gahanna and John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH). I-270 provides a bypass for regional traffic along I-70 to Dayton and Wheeling, West Virginia and points north along Interstate 71.

Mileage by State

Ohio

54.92 mi

Data Sources

June 18, 2025 Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Straight Line Diagrams. https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/programs/technical-services/tech-services-card-catalog/sld

History

Columbus, OH - 1972 — By 1972, only the stretch between Morse Road and U.S. 40 remained unopened along the Columbus Beltway. The portion between U.S. 62 near Gahanna and U.S. 40 west of Reynoldsburg was the last built in 1976.

Designated in 1962, sections of Interstate 270 opened in the following stages:¹

U.S. 23 (Exit 52) to Interstate 71 (Exit 55) - 1966
U.S. 23 (Exit 22) to SR 3 (Exit 29) - 1968
Cemetery Road (Exit 13) to U.S. 33 (Exit 17) - 1969
Georgesville Road (Exit 5) to U.S. 40 (Exit 7) - 1970
U.S. 33 (Exit 46) to U.S. 23 (Exit 52) - 1970
Interstate 71 (Exit 55) to Georgesville Road (Exit 5) - 1971
U.S. 33 (Exit 17) to U.S. 23 (Exit 23) - 1971
SR 3 (Exit 29) to SR 161 (Exit 30) - 1971
Interstate 70 (Exit 43) to U.S. 33 (Exit 46) - 1971
SR 161 (Exit 30) to Morse Road (Exit 32) - 1972
U.S. 40 (Exit 41) to Interstate 70 (Exit 43) - 1972
Morse Road (Exit 32) to U.S. 62 (Exit 35) - 1974
SR 16 (Exit 39) to U.S. 40 (Exit 41) - 1974
U.S. 62 (Exit 35) to U.S. 40 (Exit 41) - 1976

The I-270 Columbus North Central Outerbelt Study conducted in 2004 addressed capacity issues on the beltway between Sawmill Road (Exit 20) and Cleveland Avenue (Exit 27) on the north side of Columbus. The study outlined several options for improving the busy stretch of freeway, including interchange improvements at SR 315, U.S. 23 and Interstate 71.²

Work completed at the exchange between I-71 and I-270 replaced a loop ramp from the Beltway east to I-71 north with a new directional ramp and relocated the ramp to southbound. Just to the west along I-270 at U.S. 23, two loop ramps at the former full cloverleaf interchange were removed. Subsequent construction reconfigured the ramps with SR 315, added a single point urban interchange (SPUI) with Sawmill Road and converted the full cloverleaf at Cleveland Avenue into a six-ramp parclo.

East End ‐ Columbus, OH

North at

Interstate 270 heads northeast from the freeway along U.S. 33 to a directional cloverleaf interchange (Exit 43) with I-70. 10/01/10

West at

Interstate 70 westbound one mile outside of the Columbus Beltway at Exit 110 for Brice Road. Photo by Jeff Kitsko (07/10/99).

West End ‐ Columbus, OH

South at

Two miles north of the I-70 at Exit 10 for Roberts Road on Interstate 270 south. 10/01/10

East at

Interstate 270 south provides a bypass for I-70 east toward Zanesville and Cambridge. The Colmbus beltway reconnects with I-70 near Reynoldsburg. Photo by Chris and Amber Lokken (06/23/08).

References

Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). Retrieved from https://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/I-270/Pages/Background.aspx
Simpson, J. Route 270. The Unofficial Ohio State Highways Web Site. Retrieved from http://pages.prodigy.net/john.simpson/highways/270.html

Updated June 8, 2018