Seven people were hospitalized Thursday after a three-car crash shut down the ramp from Interstate 71 South to Interstate 480 West near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, backing up traffic for roughly six miles. The Cleveland Division of Fire confirmed the injuries, though the exact conditions of those hurt were not known at the time of publication.
The crash occurred on the ramp connecting I-71 South to I-480 West, according to WKYC, which first reported the incident as it was still developing Thursday afternoon. EMS crews transported the injured from the scene, per officials cited in that report, and the ramp reopened after crews cleared the wreckage.
The stretch where the crash happened sits within one of Cuyahoga County’s most tangled highway junctions. Traffic operations documentation from ODOT District 12 describes the I-71 and I-480 interchange near the airport as containing complex weaving lanes, rapid lane drops, and merge points connecting I-71, I-480, and State Route 237 within a two-mile span — a layout that handles heavy commuter and rental-car traffic every day.
A Corridor With a History of Trouble
Thursday’s crash wasn’t the first serious incident at this exact interchange. In December 2024, a multi-vehicle crash involving a semi-truck shut down the same I-71 South ramp at the I-480 and State Route 237 interchange for several hours, with winter weather contributing to a multi-mile backup at the time…