Planning for Ohio River Boulevard started in the 1920s. In 1928, construction began on the boulevard that would run from Manchester to the Borough of Emsworth. The highway would be wide and have many bridges over local roads. It would end at a traffic circle on the North Shore of the Ohio River at the McKees Rocks Bridge. The route that was built to relieve traffic and accidents on California Avenue was dedicated in August 1931 at a final cost of $12 million.