Ohio State Route 161

State Route 161 marker
State Route 161
Map
Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length57.804 mi[1] (93.027 km)
Existed1924[2]–present
Tourist
routes
Big Darby Plains Scenic Byway[3]
Major junctions
West end SR 29 in Mutual
Major intersections
East end SR 37 near Alexandria
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOhio
CountiesChampaign, Union, Madison, Franklin, Licking
Highway system
  • Ohio State Highway System
SR 160 SR 162

State Route 161 (SR 161) is an east–west state highway in central Ohio. Its western terminus is in Mutual at State Route 29 and its eastern terminus is near Alexandria at State Route 37. It is 57.46 miles (92.47 km) long. State Route 161 passes through the northern parts of Columbus, Ohio's state capital, and a variety of towns including Plain City, Dublin, and New Albany.

The route was established in 1924 to connect Plain City and Dublin. It was later expanded to cover Mutual and Granville. Parts of SR 161 in Dublin and New Albany were upgraded to a freeway in 1969 and 1997.

Route description

SR 161 and SR 745 in Dublin

SR 161 starts off in Mutual as Milford Road, at a T-intersection at SR 29.[4] The road turns northeast and later meets SR 559 and Bullard Rutan Road in a 5-point intersection.[5] Two miles (3.2 km) later, a concurrency begins with SR 4.[4] One mile (1.6 km) later, the concurrency ends with SR 4 continuing to move north. About five miles (8.0 km) later, SR 38 starts a very short concurrency at Chuckery.[6] After Chuckery, SR 38 splits off. There are no more major intersections until SR 161 reaches Plain City, where it meets U.S. Route 42 (US 42).[6] SR 161 goes through Madison and a small section of Franklin County without major intersections.[7][8] In Union County, it meets US 33 and Post Road in an interchange. SR 161 goes on the freeway and starts a concurrency.[6][9] The concurrency goes back into Franklin County and into Dublin.[8] In Dublin, the freeway has interchanges with Avery–Muirfield Drive and Interstate 270 (I-270). The freeway becomes an at-grade highway as it meets Post Road again.[8]

The road goes into Dublin downtown and has intersections with SR 745 and SR 257. At SR 257, US 33 splits off and the concurrency ends. After that, there are no more major intersections until SR 161 reaches Worthington, as it meets SR 315 in a diamond interchange, and US 23 at an at-grade intersection.[8][9] After the intersection at US 23, SR 161 enters Columbus.[9] There is an intersection with SR 710 and an interchange with I-71.[8] Three miles (4.8 km) later, in Minerva Park, SR 161 becomes a limited access freeway. The first exit is SR 3, a partial cloverleaf interchange with service roads. One mile (1.6 km) later, SR 161 re-enters Columbus and meets I-270 again in a modified cloverleaf interchange.[8][10] There is a SPUI-parclo hybrid interchange at Sunbury Road, and an incomplete interchange for Little Turtle Way, a half of a diamond interchange. The next two interchanges, Hamilton Road and New Albany Road, uses diamond interchanges.[8][9] SR 161 enters New Albany, and has two interchanges with US 62,[9] in Franklin County, and Beech Road, in Licking County.[8][11] Then it exits New Albany and enters St. Albans Township. In the township, SR 161 has two diamond interchanges with SR 310 and SR 37. SR 161 ends at SR 37.[11] SR 161 is part of the Big Darby Plains scenic byway. The parts of the route that are included in the byway are from Homer Road to Rosedale Road and from Kramer Road to US 33.[3]

History

State Route 161's western interchange with Interstate 270 near Dublin

SR 161 was designated in 1924, as a connection from Plain City to Dublin. Its east end was a junction with SR 21, five miles (8.0 km) west of Dublin.[2] It was later expanded to include an unnumbered section between Mutual and Plain City, and Dublin and Granville.[12] In 1938, a concurrency from five miles (8.0 km) west of Dublin to the city itself was changed from SR 31 to US 33.[13] Much later, in 1969, the five-mile (8.0 km) section in Dublin was upgraded to a freeway.[14] Seven years later, the section between I-71 and Sunbury Road was upgraded to a divided highway.[15] In 1997, a bypass was created around New Albany, from I-270 to a point two miles (3.2 km) east of it. SR 161's route was changed to use the bypass, no longer intersecting New Albany's downtown area. The project was completed in 2000.[16] On June 14, 2004, Ohio Department of Transportation began the Northeast Expressway Transformation, replacing 17 bridges, 18 ramps, and 5 miles (8.0 km) of highway.[17] The project finished in 2008.[18] The freeway in New Albany was extended to SR 37, SR 161's eastern terminus.[19] New interchanges and solutions were designed for the interchanges with I-270 and Avery-Muirfield Drive in Dublin,[20] studies started for the interchanges in 2011[21] and phase one of the project started in 2014.[22]

Junction list

CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
ChampaignMutual0.0000.000 SR 29Western terminus
Goshen Township5.4038.695 SR 559
7.10511.434
SR 4 south
Western end of SR 4 concurrency
UnionUnion Township8.53113.729
SR 4 north
Eastern end of SR 4 concurrency
14.02122.565
SR 38 south
Western end of SR 38 concurrency
Darby Township14.21122.870
SR 38 north
Eastern end of SR 38 concurrency
Plain City20.45132.913 US 42 (Jefferson Avenue)
Madison
No major junctions
Franklin
No major junctions
UnionDublin26.02441.882Western end of limited-access highway
25.864–
26.024
41.624–
41.882
US 33 (Columbus–Marysville Road) / CR 24 (Post Road)Western end of US 33 concurrency; exit 106 on US 33
Franklin27.334–
27.534
43.990–
44.312
107CR 3 (Avery–Muirfield Drive)Avery Road southbound, Muirfield Drive northbound
28.344–
28.874
45.615–
46.468
108 I-270 (Jack Nicklaus Freeway)I-270 Exit 17A-B; US 33 / SR 161 is freeway west of here
28.87446.468Eastern end of limited-access freeway
29.73447.852
SR 745 north (High Street)
Southern terminus of SR 745; center of "Olde Dublin"
29.924–
30.024
48.158–
48.319


US 33 south (Riverside Drive) / SR 257 north
Eastern end of US 33 concurrency, southern terminus of SR 257
Worthington33.974–
34.084
54.676–
54.853
SR 315 (Moody Jackson Parkway)Diamond interchange
35.02456.366 US 23 (North High Street)At-grade intersection
Columbus36.36458.522 SR 710 (Busch Boulevard)Western terminus of SR 710
36.514–
36.734
58.764–
59.118
I-71Exit 117 on I-71
Blendon Township39.924–
40.074
64.251–
64.493
39
CR 7004 / CR 7005 to SR 3 (Westerville Road)
Access via folded diamond interchange and service roads.
Western end of limited-access freeway
Blendon TownshipColumbus line40.694–
42.374
65.491–
68.194
40 I-270 (Jack Nicklaus Freeway)Signed as exits 40A (south) & 40B (north) eastbound; exit 30 on I-270
41.404–
41.924
66.633–
67.470
41CR 8 (Sunbury Road)SPUI and half-cloverleaf combined interchange
Columbus41.884–
42.104
67.406–
67.760
42CR 7004 (Little Turtle Way)Old SR 161 follows Dublin–Granville Road east of this interchange; No entrance from SR 161 westbound and no re-entrance to eastbound
43.624–
44.094
70.206–
70.962
43CR 103F (Hamilton Road)
45.394–
45.914
73.055–
73.891
45CR 613 (New Albany Road)
New Albany46.824–
47.194
75.356–
75.951
46 US 62 (Johnstown Road)
Licking49.254–
49.984
79.267–
80.441
TR 88 (Beech Road)
Jersey Township51.24482.46951CR 41 (Mink Street)
JerseySt. Albans
township line
53.844–
54.624
86.654–
87.909
SR 310 (Hazelton–Etna Road) – Pataskala, Johnstown
St. Albans Township57.204–
57.804
92.061–
93.027
SR 37 (Johnstown–Alexandria Road) – JohnstownEastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

State Route 161J

State Route 161J
LocationLicking County, Ohio
Length5.80 mi[23] (9.33 km)
Existed2008–by 2013

An unsigned state route named SR 161J previously existed[23] in Licking County. It consisted of the former section of SR 161 before it was rerouted onto the nearby freeway. Beginning at a dead end near the SR 161–Beech Road interchange, it traveled east along Worthington Road and ended at Watkins Road (TR 42). It intersected SR 310, but never met SR 161. The route suffix "J" meant that the road was "awaiting abandonment".[24] The route was ultimately abandoned by the state in 2013.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Staff. "Technical Service DESTAPE". Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  2. ^ a b 1924 Map of Ohio (MrSID). Cartography by ODOH. Ohio Department of Highways. August 1924. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Staff. "Big Darby Plains". Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Staff. "Ohio State Route 161: Champaign County" (PDF). Straight Line Diagrams. Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  5. ^ "40.101136, -83.543141" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c Staff. "Ohio State Route 161: Union County" (PDF). Straight Line Diagrams. Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  7. ^ Staff. "Ohio State Route 161: Madison County" (PDF). Straight Line Diagrams. Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Staff. "Ohio State Route 161: Franklin County" (PDF). Straight Line Diagrams. Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  9. ^ a b c d e Official Transportation Map (Map). Cartography by Office of Technical Services, GIS Mapping Section. Ohio Department of Transportation. July 2011. Columbus inset. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  10. ^ "161/270 Modified diamond interchange" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Staff. "Ohio State Route 161: Licking County" (PDF). Straight Line Diagrams. Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  12. ^ 1931 Map of Ohio (MrSID). Cartography by ODOH. Ohio Department of Highways. 1931. § E-10 to I-10. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  13. ^ 1938 Map of Ohio (MrSID). Cartography by ODOH. Ohio Department of Highways. 1938. § G-10. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  14. ^ 1969 Map of Ohio (MrSID). Cartography by ODOH. Ohio Department of Highways. 1969. § G-10. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  15. ^ 1976 Map of Ohio (MrSID). Cartography by ODOT. Ohio Department of Transportation. 1976. § H-10. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  16. ^ 2001 Map of Ohio (MrSID). Cartography by ODOT. Ohio Department of Transportation. 2001. § I-8. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  17. ^ Staff. "NExT Official Project Site". Ohio Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on June 17, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  18. ^ ODOT District 6 Communications Office (July 14, 2008). "Major Work Now Complete on Largest Central Ohio Construction Project" (Press release). Retrieved June 6, 2013.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Staff. "Licking County State Route 37/161". Ohio Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on August 21, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  20. ^ Staff. "I-270/US 33 Interchange Solution". City of Dublin. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  21. ^ Noblit, Jennifer (March 2, 2011). "Dublin to start studies with ODOT". Dublin Villager. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  22. ^ Rouan, Rick (May 16, 2013). "I-270/Rt. 33 plan seeks crash relief". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  23. ^ a b Staff. "Ohio State Route 161J" (PDF). Straight Line Diagrams. Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
  24. ^ Staff. "Straight Line Diagram legend" (PDF). Ohio Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  25. ^ "DESTAPE file for Licking County - July 16, 2013" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
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