Interstate 496
Interstate 496 (I-496) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that passes through downtown Lansing in the US state of Michigan. Also a component of the State Trunkline Highway System, the freeway connects I-96 to the downtown area. It has been named the R.E. Olds Freeway (sometimes just Olds Freeway) for Ransom E. Olds, the founder of Oldsmobile and the REO Motor Car Company. I-496 runs east–west from I-96/I-69 near the downtown area and north–south along a section that runs concurrently with US Highway 127 (US 127). The trunkline also passes a former assembly plant used by Oldsmobile and runs along or crosses parts of the Grand and Red Cedar rivers.

Construction of I-496 started in 1963, and the freeway opened on December 18, 1970. Segments of the freeway south of downtown Lansing were built in the location of a historically black neighborhood. This neighborhood was formed based on the segregationist practices of the early 20th century. Community leaders worked for different housing opportunities for the black residents displaced by I-496 rather than fight the freeway. As the trunkline neared completion, competing proposals to name it resulted in two similar, but separate designations applied to I-496. The city originally approved one name in honor of a former mayor. The local historical society proposed that the state name it as a memorial to Olds after the demolition of the Olds Mansion. The city renamed it the Oldsmobile Expressway, the name under which it opened in December 1970. Two years later, the Michigan Legislature restored its preferred name and it has been the Olds Freeway since.
Q1894739
auxiliary Interstate Highway
LOC
Q28237
Lansing
LOC
Q623918
State Trunkline Highway System
LOC
Q94971
I-96
LOC
Q560676
Ransom E. Olds
PER
Q204327
Oldsmobile
ORG
Q1584348
REO Motor Car Company
ORG
Q2351597
I-69
LOC
Q5159092
runs concurrently
UNK
Q2351402
US Highway 127
LOC
Q1542859
Grand
LOC
Q4279948
Red Cedar
LOC
Q5303483
downtown Lansing
LOC
Q3270273
Michigan Legislature
LOC
Q2351976
Interstate 496
LOC
1963-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1963
DATE
1970-12-18T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
December 18, 1970
DATE
1970-12-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
December 1970
DATE
-496^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-496
NUMBER
-96^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-96
NUMBER
-496^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-496
NUMBER
-96^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-96
NUMBER
-69^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-69
NUMBER
+127^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
127
NUMBER
+127^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
127
NUMBER
-496^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-496
NUMBER
+20^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
20
NUMBER
-496^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-496
NUMBER
-496^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-496
NUMBER
highway system
terminus
named after
highway system
founded by
founded by