Ohio State Route 161

State Route 161
Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length:	57.46 mi[1] (92.47 km)
Existed:	1924 – present
Major junctions
West end:	SR 29 in Mutual
East end:	SR 37 near Alexandria
Location
Counties:	Champaign, Union, Madison, Franklin, Licking
Highway system
Ohio highways Interstates • U.S. Routes • State Routes ← SR 160 SR 162 →

Along State Route 161 just east of its intersection with Interstate 71.

State Route 161 is an east–west state highway in the state of Ohio. Its western terminus is in Mutual at State Route 29 and its eastern terminus is near Alexandria at State Route 37.

On its path through Department of Transportation regional development districts 5, 6, and 7, State Route 161 passes through Columbus, Ohio's Capital, and a variety of towns including Plain City, Dublin (the home of Wendy's International headquarters), and New Albany (the home of Tween Brands and Abercrombie & Fitch).

History

A view of the old cloverleaf between Route 161 and Interstate 270

1924 – Original route established;^[2] Originally ran from Plain City to a junction with State Route 21 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Dublin to serve as a more direct connection between Plain City and Dublin.^[3]

• 1931 - Expanded west to include a previously unnumbered section from Mutual to Plain City, and east from 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Dublin to Granville, significantly increasing the length of the route and expanded the number of counties served from 3 to 5.^[3]
• 1931 - A large grade separation project allowed 161 to pass underneath the New York Central, Pennsylvania Railroad and Columbus, Delaware and Marion tracks in Worthington (Photos)
• 1938 - Dual designation of cosigned section from 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Dublin to Dublin changed from State Route 31 to U.S. Route 33.^[3]
• 1969 - Five-mile section from Dublin west upgraded to freeway.^[3]
• 1976 - Section from Interstate 71 to Gould Park upgraded to divided highway.^[3]
• 1997-2000 - Bypass around New Albany constructed as freeway from Interstate 270 to a point 2 miles (3.2 km) east of New Albany.^[3]
• 2004-2007 - NExT Project begins, modernizing the road from just east of SR-3 to Little Turtle Way. Completion set for end of 2007.^[4]
• 2007-2011 - Freeway completed from 2 miles (3.2 km) east of New Albany to State Route 37

Junction list

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Champaign	Mutual	0.0	SR 29
	Goshen Township	5.4	SR 559
		7.1	SR 4
Union	Irwin	8.5	SR 4
	Chuckery	14.0	SR 38
		14.2	SR 38
	Plain City	20.5	US 42
Madison		21.0	US 42
Union	Dublin	26.0	US 33	SR 161 enters (EB) / exits from (WB) US 33 freeway; old US 33 / SR 161 on Post Rd east of this interchange
Franklin		27.5	Avery-Muirfield Dr	Actually Avery Rd (south) and Muirfield Dr (north)
		28.7	I-270	I-270 Exit 17A-B; US 33 / SR 161 is freeway west of here
		29.4	Post Road	Former routing of SR 161
		29.8	SR 745	SR 745's southern terminus; center of "Olde Dublin"
		30.0	US 33 SR 257	SR 257's southern terminus
	Worthington	34.0	SR 315
		35.0	US 23
	Columbus	36.3	SR 710	SR 710's western terminus
		36.6	I-71	I-71 Exit 117
	Minerva Park	39.8	SR 3	Access via folded diamond / service roads.
	Columbus	40.9	I-270	I-270 Exit 30; SR 161 is freeway east of here
		41.5	Sunbury Rd	Spui and half cloverleaf combined
		42.5	Little Turtle Way	old SR 161 follows Dublin-Granville Rd east of this interchange
		43.8	Hamilton Rd
		45.5	New Albany Rd
	New Albany	46.9	US 62
Licking			Beech Rd
	St. Albans Township	54.2	SR 310
		57.5	SR 37
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• 1931 grade separation project in Worthington, OH

References

1. ^ Ohio Department of Transportation. "Technical Services Straight Line Diagrams". http://www.odotonline.org/techservapps/SLD/default.htm. Retrieved April 30, 2010. 
2. ^ Explanation of the Ohio State Highway System (The Unofficial Ohio State Highways Web Site) by John Simpson
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Route 161 (The Unofficial Ohio State Highways Web Site) by John Simpson
4. ^ Northeast EXpressway Transformation Official Project Site