Cleveland Memorial Shoreway

It closely follows the shore of Lake Erie and connects the east and west sides of Cleveland via the Main Avenue Bridge over the Cuyahoga River.

Within two years the roadway was extended to the Illuminating Company plant adjacent to Gordon Park, and it was opened for traffic in 1938, although planning delays prevented WPA from laying a second strip of pavement and building grade separations from side streets.

After the completion of the Main Avenue Bridge in 1940, the highway was extended westward to Edgewater Park (since 2013 part of the Cleveland Metroparks Lakefront Reservation).

A West Shore Drive from Edgewater Park to Rocky River was planned, but further construction was interrupted by World War II.

The Shoreway west of the Main Avenue Bridge was rebuilt in order to increase ease of access to Lake Erie.

The Main Avenue Viaduct carries the Shoreway over the Cuyahoga River
Cleveland Memorial Shoreway in 2022
Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and the Lakeland Freeway : At left is the USGS topographic map showing the eastern terminus of the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway in 1953. At right is the same map area in 1963 showing the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway merging with the newly constructed Lakeland Freeway.