The Innerbelt Curve on I-90 in Cleveland, Ohio, as far as the Ohio Department of Transportation is concerned, might be a victim of history and a nickname.
Tribune News Service
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Sure, accidents happen. But, it would seem by the name, that none occur as often in Cleveland than on Dead Man’s Curve, the 90-degree turn on Interstate 90 in front of Burke Lakefront Airport, or result in as many deaths. Or do they?
Dead Man’s Curve, or the Innerbelt Curve as far as the Ohio Department of Transportation is concerned, might be a victim of history and a nickname.
Which in itself is fair. More than two dozen people died at the Innerbelt Curve in the first 30 years after it was completed in 1962.
The Plain Dealer referred to the Cleveland Innerbelt being called Dead Man’s Curve as early as 1977, 15 years after the Innerbelt was completed. By then, the story says the Innerbelt curve has “long been known as ‘Dead Man’s Curve’ because of the treacherous bend in the road and the numerous jack-knifings of trucks there.”
This is despite the fact that by then, the curve had already been rebuilt in 1969 to change the degree of its bank, according to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Signs, flashing lights, and rumble strips have been added over time to alert drivers who ignore the 35 mph limit.
But even safety measures are sometimes ill-received, with one letter-to-the-editor writer to cleveland.com asking “So whose idea was it to put parking lot speed bumps on Interstate 90 at dead man’s curve?”
Yet, there has been just one fatality near the curve since 2018, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol safety records, even though more than 100,000 vehicles traverse the sharp turn every day. However, the records are not complete.
That’s not to say the Dead Man’s Curve is void of accidents. There are still 50 to 100 crashes a year, a review of Ohio High Patrol records over the last several years shows.
A typical incident is a semitrailer flipping on the turn and spilling fuel or tar on the highway, which occurred in 2022, 2021, 2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, and 2010.
Cars and other vehicles are also not exempt. A carjacker crashed a car in 2021, a car and motorcycle crashed in 2018, a car crashed in the middle of a police pursuit in 2015 and a tractor-trailer and several cars caused a crash in 2012, to offer just a sampling.
Dead Man’s Curve is a common name for any stretch of road with a dangerous turn resulting in increased accidents, and even in Ohio, it is not strictly reserved for the turn on I-90.
In 1903 and 1904, The Plain Dealer reported on killings at “Dead Man’s Curve” in Painesville. In 1914, discussions of removing a “Dead Man’s Curve” in Lorain were reported on after one man was killed and 10 people were injured after a car crashed into a concrete wall.
In 1919, two men were hurt in an accident at a “Dead Man’s Curve” in Youngstown at Market Street and Indianola Avenue. In 1921, The Plain Dealer reported on a “Dead Man’s Curve” on the Akron-Canton highway between the Brittain and Springfield areas being eliminated. And five more people were hurt in an auto crash on “Dead Man’s Curve” in Bay Village in 1936.
The Ohio Department of Transportation has often spoken about redoing the Innerbelt Curve as part of the Innerbelt Modernization Plan. However, the next phases of the plan are not expected to begin until 2025.
