I want to thank you, Don Martin -- you've finally solved a huge frickin mystery neither me or @Samanthacould figure out -- the designer of the 90s "spaceship sets", so named because KNXV's Express set from when they began their news op in 1994 was dubbed the "spaceship" in the local press. Neither of us had been able to get any conclusive leads until you posted the name. I've attached pics of some of the spaceship sets Express did in the 90s (they also did at least one Canadian set, for Edmonton's CITV; other spaceshippy sets not seen here include KWGN. WIAT and WDAF).
No, the Cleveland Television News sets definitely did have the highway bars. I'm wondering where WUAB's Express set was in the building; analyzing WOIO/WUAB footage of the time, I can't figure out if it was just off the newsroom where it couldn't be seen from the newsroom cameras, or if it was in a completely separate studio.