Getting to Cleveland: By car

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Four two-digit interstate highways serve Cleveland:

• Interstate 71 runs primarily west before heading due south into the suburbs, and most directly connects downtown to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (via Ohio 237), the lower west suburbs (via I-480), the southwest suburbs, and eventually the state capital of Columbus. The curved section of I-71 that runs between W 25th Street and I-90/490 is referred to as the Metro Curve, due to its proximity to MetroHealth Medical Center.
• Interstate 77, shown on maps as the Willow Freeway is Cleveland's oldest freeway, and heads due south from the Innerbelt along the east side of the Cuyahoga Valley and most directly connects downtown to the south suburbs, southeast suburbs (via I-480), Ohio Turnpike (I-80), and the city of Akron. The stack interchange at I-480 is sometimes referred to as The Cloverleaf, although the actual cloverleaf is located at the junction of Brecksville Road and Granger Road, which is just west of the later extension of the Willow Freeway.
• Interstate 80/Ohio Turnpike is a toll road that connects the Greater Cleveland with Toledo to the west, and Youngstown and Pittsburgh to the east. Access to the city and its suburbs is from I-90, I-480 Eastbound, I-71, I-77, Ohio 8, and I-480 Westbound.
• Interstate 90 connects the two sides (the terms "East Side" and "West Side" have deep root in defining this region) of Cleveland, and is the northern terminus for both I-71 and I-77. I-90 separates from the Ohio Turnpike just west of Elyria and joins with Ohio 2 until Ohio 2 separates at Detroit Road in the west side suburb of Rocky River. I-90 then proceeds to I-71, I-490, and the Jennings Freeway (Ohio 176) in the Tremont neighborhood, and over the Innerbelt Bridge into downtown; from this confluence of freeways, I-90 is known as The Innerbelt, until it again merges with Ohio 2 at Dead Man's Curve and becomes the East Shoreway. I-90 once and for all splits from Ohio 2 near the Cuyahoga-Lake County line at the Euclid Spur, which connects to the northern terminus of I-271 and then parallels the lakeshore to Erie, PA.

Several other freeways also serve the city:

• Interstate 271 runs primarily north and south through the city's east suburbs, forming The Outerbelt East, which connects to I-90 at the end of the Euclid Spur in Lake County and I-71 just north of Medina. I-480 briefly follows I-271, and Ohio 8 connects I-271 to Akron in the south.
• Interstate 480 runs east-west along the southern edge of the City of Cleveland, forming The Outerbelt South. It is a loop route into the city that both begins and ends at the Ohio Turnpike (I-80). I-480 is also the primary route to access Hopkins Airport from the east suburbs.
• Interstate 490 connects I-71, I-90, and the Jennings Freeway (Ohio 176) on the near west side to I-77 on the near east side just south far enough to bypass much of downtown traffic.
• The West Shoreway, which is also Ohio 2, follows the lakeshore across downtown west from I-90 past the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Edgewater Park to just short of the west side suburb of Lakewood.
• The Jennings Freeway (part of Ohio 176) connects I-90/490 to I-480 on the west side of the Cuyahoga Valley. It serves as an effective alternate route to I-71 and I-77 from I-480 to downtown.
• The Berea Freeway (part of Ohio 237) connects I-71 and I-480 to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the southwest suburb of Berea.
• Ohio 2 connects far east lakeshore suburbs in Lake County to I-90 and I-271 (via the Euclid Spur).
• Ohio 10/US 20 connects Oberlin in southern Lorain County to I-480 at its western terminus at the Ohio Turnpike.
• US 422 becomes a freeway at I-271/I-480 and connects to the far southeast suburbs and Warren farther to the east.