Interstate 480
Gerald R. Ford Expressway
I-480 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route ofI-80
Maintained byNDOT andIowa DOT
Length	4.9 mi[1] (7.9 km) Nebraska: 4.15 mi (6.68 km) Iowa: 0.75 mi (1.21 km)
Existed	November 21, 1966[2]–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-80 /US 75 inOmaha, NE
Major intersections	US 75 in Omaha, NE US 6 in Omaha, NE
East end	I-29 /US 6 inCouncil Bluffs, IA
Location
Country	United States
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 4.9-mile-long (7.9 km)auxiliary Interstate Highway that connectsI-80 inDowntown Omaha,Nebraska, withI-29 inCouncil Bluffs,Iowa. The portion of I-480 in Nebraska has been named theGerald R. Ford Expressway, named in honor of theformer president, who was a native of Omaha. For most of its length, I-480 isoverlapped by aUS Highway: for two miles (3.2 km) withUS Highway 75 (US 75) and for one mile (1.6 km) withUS 6. I-480 includes the Grenville Dodge Memorial Bridge over theMissouri River.

I-480 begins at aninterchange withI-80 to the east and west and withUS 75, known as the Kennedy Freeway, to the south. Going north, I-480 passes theHanscom Park neighborhood to the west and theVinton Street Commercial Historic District to the east. At exit 1A, I-480 intersects Martha Street, which before January 1, 2003, was the eastern end ofNebraska Highway 38 (N-38).^[3] North of Martha Street, I-480 passes theGerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens. At the Leavenworth Street exit, the highway divides the Leavenworth neighborhood from theOld Market neighborhood. Shortly after the Leavenworth Street exit is the Harney Street exit, which provides access toUS 6 from eastbound I-480. before theNorth 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 theCreighton 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-calledghost ramps can be found, but these are being eliminated during the reconstruction of this interchange. Here, I-480 turns to the east towardCouncil Bluffs, Iowa. I-480 passes between theNoDo andDowntown Omaha neighborhoods. Farther east, it dips to the southeast nearCHI Health Center Omaha, part of the NoDo neighborhood. Immediately before crossing theMissouri River,US 6 joins I-480 to cross into Iowa. This bridge over the Missouri River was constructed in 1965–1966 to replace the oldAk-Sar-Ben Bridge which had been the first highway bridge across the river in this area.

Upon entering Council Bluffs, I-480 meets up withI-29 just 0.75 miles (1.21 km) from the Missouri River.^[4] On the other side of this interchange, I-480 ends where US 6 traffic encounters signal-controlled intersections.

The I-480 bridge over the Missouri River betweenCouncil Bluffs,Iowa, andDowntown 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 ofDowntown 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 historicJefferson Square was demolished, as well as dozens of homes along the route.^[5]

In 1999, a bill was introduced in theUS House of Representatives that would have extended I-480 south alongUS 75 in southern Omaha and inBellevue, Nebraska, then east throughPlattsmouth to connect withI-29 nearGlenwood, 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, theNebraska Department of Roads (now theNebraska Department of Transportation [NDOT]) 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 ($71.3 million and $17.8 million in 2024,^[6] respectively) inAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 stimulus money.^[7] The project was completed in May 2011 just in time for theCollege World Series.^[8]

In March 2021, the Iowa DOT began a project to improve the I-29/I-480/West Broadway System Interchange at I-480's eastern terminus. The project was done to improve traffic flow, safety, and the functional design at that interchange as well as at the adjacent I-29 interchanges at 41st Street, 35th Street, Avenue G and 9th Avenue. The project is projected to be completed by the end of 2024.^[9]

State	County	Location	mi[10][4]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Nebraska	Douglas	Omaha	0.00	0.00	452C	US 75 south (Kennedy Freeway) /I-80 –Offutt AFB,Lincoln,Des Moines	Counterclockwise terminus; southern end of US 75 overlap; exit 452C is for I-80 westbound; exit number based on I-80 mileage; I-80 exit 452; continues south as US 75 (Kennedy Freeway)
			0.89	1.43	1A	Martha Street	FormerN-38
			1.81	2.91	1B	Leavenworth Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
			1.89	3.04	2A	Harney Street /Dodge Street (US 6 west)	No southbound exit
			2.25	3.62	2B	30th Street /Dodge Street (US 6 west)	No northbound exit
			2.54	4.09	2C	US 75 north (North Freeway) –Creighton University,Event Center–Ballpark,Eppley Airfield	Northern end of US 75 overlap; formerI-580
			3.20	5.15	2D	20th Street –Auditorium / Capitol Avenue	Eastbound exit only
						17th Street / Chicago Street	Westbound entrance only
			3.52	5.66	3	14th Street –Event Center–Ballpark,Old Market District,Creighton University	No westbound entrance
						13th Street	Westbound entrance only
			4.00	6.44	4	US 6 west (Dodge Street) –Event Center–Ballpark,Eppley Airfield	One-way street; western end of US 6 overlap; westbound exit only; formerUS 75 south
						US 6 (Douglas Street)	One-way street; western end of US 6 overlap; eastbound entrance only; formerUS 75
Missouri River			4.23 0.000	6.81 0.000	Grenville Dodge Memorial Bridge
Iowa	Pottawattamie	Council Bluffs	0.274	0.441	0	W. Broadway – Riverfront	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; former US 6 east
			0.721	1.160	—	I-29 north –Sioux City	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; I-29 exit 53
					—	9th Avenue / Harrah's Boulevard	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
						I-29 south /US 6 east –Kansas City	Clockwise terminus; eastern end of US 6 overlap; I-29 exit 53B
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Media related toInterstate 480 (Nebraska–Iowa) at Wikimedia Commons

• Expressways in the Omaha area
• Transportation in Omaha, Nebraska
• Council Bluffs, Iowa
• Auxiliary Interstate Highways
• Interstate Highways in Iowa
• Interstate Highways in Nebraska
• Interstate 80
• U.S. Route 6
• Transportation in Douglas County, Nebraska
• Transportation in Pottawattamie County, Iowa

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