Highways

With the production of the Ford Model T in the early 20th century, automobiles became accessible to many Americans. The National Road became U.S. 40 in 1926, which brought improvements to the route through the inclusion of truck stops, motels, diners and the laying of brick pavement and asphalt on the roads. Highways in Columbus developed rapidly with the implementation of the Interstate Highway Act in 1956. Ohio built over 1,500 miles of roads, including I-70 and I-71, as a result of the Interstate Highway Act.

The rise of highways directly contributed to the development of suburban life. With travel more accessible, middleclass White Americans moved away from urban areas to suburban neighborhoods. The development of the interstate highway system had the opposite effect for historically Black neighborhoods in Columbus. Within Ohio and across the country, highways would often be built through these communities, which negatively impacted the population by limiting their access to economic and social resources. In Columbus, the Flytown neighborhood was destroyed when the I-670 interstate cut through the neighborhood. Other neighborhoods, such as King-Lincoln Bronzeville, Linden and Milo-Grogan, were divided.

Homeowners Loan Corporation Columbus, Ohio Map 1936

“Redlining” was a discriminatory practice of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board that denied home loans to residents living in Black and immigrant neighborhoods. Once the area was declared “Type D,” or unsuitable for mortgage support, the resulting decline often made it a prime target for highway construction. Its negative effects can still be felt today.

Courtesy of The Ohio State University

Franklin County Highway Map

This 1955 map shows routes across Franklin County in the 1950s. Missing are the major highways we rely on today: I-70, I-71, I-270 and SR-315.

Welcome to Gahanna

Although Gahanna was founded in 1849, it experienced a large influx of middle-class Americans after the construction of I-70, I-270 and I-670 made it easy for people to work downtown and live in the suburbs.

Courtesy of the Gahanna Historical Society

4 Interstate 270 and Ohio route 315-full.jpg

Interstate I-270 and Ohio Route 315

Planning for highway I-270, “the Outerbelt,” began in 1962 and was completed in 1975. The Outerbelt provided a less-congested route for traffic and opened thousands of acres of farmland to development.

Children Playing in Flytown

Once a strong community that held a mixture of Irish immigrants and Black people. Flytown would eventually be destroyed entirely with the construction of I-670 in the 1950s.

Courtesy of Ohio History Connection