Interstate 480 (Nebraska–Iowa)

Interstate 480
Gerald R. Ford Expressway
I-480 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-80
Maintained by NDOT and Iowa DOT
Length	5.40 mi[2] (8.69 km) Nebraska: 4.52 mi (7.27 km)[3] Iowa: 0.877 mi (1.411 km)[4]
Existed	November 21, 1966[1]–present
Major junctions
South end	I-80 / US 75 in Omaha, Neb.
Major intersections	US 75 in Omaha US 6 in Omaha
East end	I-29 / US 6 in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Location
States	Nebraska Iowa
Counties	NE Douglas IA Pottawattamie
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future
← US 385 NE → I-680 ← Iowa 415 IA → I-680

Interstate 480 (I-480) is a 5.4-mile-long (8.7 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway that connects I-80 in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, with I-29 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The portion of I-480 in Nebraska has been named the Gerald R. Ford Expressway, named in honor of the former President, who was a native of Omaha. For most of its length, I-480 is overlapped by a U.S. Highway; for two miles (3.2 km) with U.S. Highway 75 (US 75) and for one mile (1.6 km) with US 6. I-480 includes the Grenville Dodge Memorial Bridge over the Missouri River.

Route description[]

An aerial view of Downtown Omaha with I-480 skirting the northern edge

Interstate 480 begins at an interchange with I-80 to the east and west and with US 75, known as the Kennedy Freeway, to the south. Going north, I-480 passes the Hanscom Park neighborhood to the west and the Vinton Street Commercial Historic District to the east. At exit 1A, I-480 intersects Martha Street, which before January 1, 2003, was the eastern end of Nebraska Highway 38.^[5] North of Martha Street, I-480 passes the Gerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens. At the Leavenworth Street exit, the highway divides the Leavenworth neighborhood from the Old Market neighborhood. Shortly after the Leavenworth Street exit is the Harney Street exit, which provides access to US 6 from eastbound I-480. before the North Freeway interchange, I-480 passes beneath Dodge and Douglas Streets, which are the westbound and eastbound lanes of US 6, respectively.

Just to the southwest of the Creighton University campus is the North Freeway interchange, where US 75 leaves eastbound I-480 and joins westbound. The North Freeway was originally planned to be an Interstate Highway, "I-580", connecting northern Omaha to downtown, but this project was canceled with the interchange in midst of construction. A number of so-called ghost ramps can be found, but these are being eliminated during the reconstruction of this interchange. Here, I-480 turns to the east towards Council Bluffs, Iowa. I-480 passes between the NoDo and Downtown Omaha neighborhoods. Farther east, it dips to the southeast near CenturyLink Center Omaha, part of the "NoDo" neighborhood. Immediately before crossing the Missouri River, US 6 joins I-480 to cross into Iowa. This bridge over the Missouri River was constructed in 1965–66 to replace the old Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge which had been the first highway bridge across the river in this area.

Upon entering Council Bluffs, I-480 meets up with I-29 just three-quarters mile (1.2 km) from the Missouri River.^[4] On the other side of this interchange, I-480 ends where US 6 traffic encounters signal-controlled intersections.

History[]

The I-480 bridge over the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa and Downtown Omaha, Nebraska.

In the late 1950s the construction of what was then referred to as Route 3 was highly controversial. It conveniently crossed through the western and northern edges of Downtown Omaha, two areas city leaders had considered "blighted" since the 1930s. The heavily Catholic, ethnic European neighborhoods the route went through rallied against the demolition of their homes, and the city's parks advocates provided resistance as well. Eventually the Interstate planners won out, and the city's historic Jefferson Square was demolished, as well as dozens of homes along the route.^[6]

In 1999, a bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives that would have extended I-480 south along US 75 in southern Omaha and in Bellevue, Nebraska, then east through Plattsmouth to connect with I-29 near Glenwood, Iowa, which would have increased the length of I-480 to 19 miles (31 km). However, this bill was tabled in the committee.

In 2004, the Nebraska Department of Roads (now the Nebraska Department of Transportation) began a project to reconstruct the I-480 / US 75 interchange. Work took place in three phases spread out over the course of six years. The final phase of the $52-million project was funded with $13 million ($59.5 million and $14.9 million in 2019^[7], respectively) in American Recovery & Reinvestment Act stimulus money.^[8] The project was completed in May 2011 just in time for the College World Series.^[9]

Exit list[]

State	County	Location	mi[3][4]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Nebraska	Douglas	Omaha	0.00– 0.78	0.00– 1.26		US 75 south (Kennedy Freeway) – Offutt AFB	Continuation beyond southern end; southern end of US 75 overlap
					452C	I-80 – Lincoln, Des Moines	Exit 452C is for I-80 westbound; exit number based on I-80 mileage; I-80 exit 452
			1.17	1.88	1A	Martha Street	Former N-38
			2.09	3.36	1B	Leavenworth Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
			2.39	3.85	2A	Harney Street, Dodge Street (US 6 west)	No southbound exit
			2.72	4.38	2B	30th Street, Dodge Street (US 6 west)	No northbound exit
			2.63– 2.84	4.23– 4.57	2C	US 75 north (North Freeway) – Creighton University, Event Center–Ballpark, Eppley Airfield	Northern end of US 75 overlap; former I-580
			3.50	5.63	2D	20th Street, Capitol Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only; westbound entrance from 17th & Chicago Streets
			3.79	6.10	3	14th Street – Event Center–Ballpark, Old Market District, Creighton University	Westbound entrance from 13th Street; signed as exit 3A eastbound; former US 73
			4.42	7.11	4	US 6 west (Dodge Street) – Event Center–Ballpark, Eppley Airfield	Western end of US 6 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance only; former US 75 south
Missouri River			4.52 0.000	7.27 0.000	Grenville Dodge Memorial Bridge; Nebraska–Iowa state line
Iowa	Pottawattamie	Council Bluffs	0.138	0.222	0	Riverfront	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only
			0.178– 0.726	0.286– 1.168	—	I-29 south / US 6 east to I-80 – Sioux City, Kansas City I-29 north – Council Bluffs	Eastern end of US 6 overlap
			0.877	1.411		West Broadway	Continuation past east end; former US 6
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References[]

External links[]

Route map:

Media related to Interstate 480 (Nebraska) at Wikimedia Commons