Cleveland Memorial Shoreway – Cleveland OH

Description

The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:
“MEMORIAL SHOREWAY (officially called Cleveland Memorial Shoreway), was the first east-west freeway in Greater Cleveland. Originally a strip of road along the lakefront from E. 9th to E. 55th, the 4-mile stretch of road was envisioned as part of a larger system of roads. Using work relief funds and labor from the WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION (WPA), buildings were razed, the lakefront extended by landfill, and the strip was paved. Ten thousand WPA workers completed enough of the preliminary road work for access to the GREAT LAKES EXPOSITION in 1936; within 2 years the road reached the Illuminating Co. facilities. The project, requiring $6.5 million in labor and $1.7 in materials, was the largest WPA job in the nation. Although planning delays prevented the WPA from laying a second strip of pavement and building grade separations from side streets, the roadway was opened to traffic in 1938.”

The Shoreway includes stretches of State Route 2 and was the first completed section of what is now I-90.