U.S. Route 33 (US 33) is a

United States Numbered Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

running from near

Elkhart, Indiana Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The population was 53,923 at the 2020 census. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana. It is the most populous city in the Elkhart–Goshen metropolitan area, which in tu ...

, to

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. Within the state of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, it is a predominantly southeast–northwest highway running from west of Willshire before crossing over into

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

via the

Ravenswood Bridge The William S. Ritchie Jr. Bridge, more commonly known as the Ravenswood Bridge, is a two-lane cantilever bridge in the United States, connecting Ravenswood, West Virginia and rural Meigs County, Ohio, across the Ohio River. It has a total l ...

over the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. The route runs through largely rural territory throughout most of the state's west-central, central, and southeastern regions, although it also passes through large portions of downtown

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

Route description

US 33 enters Ohio from Indiana, to the west, near Willshire in Van Wert County as a two-lane highway, continuing southeast through Mercer County, crossing

US 127 U.S. Route 127 (US 127) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at US 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 (I-75) near ...

, then entering

Auglaize County Auglaize County () is a county in Northwestern Ohio, United States of America . As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,442. Its county seat and largest city is Wapakoneta. Auglaize County comprises the Wapakoneta Micropolitan Statisti ...

, joining limited-access Ohio Route 29 (SR 29) briefly near St. Marys, continuing east as a four-lane parkway, then a

controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

near Wapakoneta, where it intersects Interstate 75 (I-75). East of I-75, the road once again becomes two-lane as it continues to Lakeview and Russells Point south of Indian Lake. At the terminus of SR 117 near

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

, US 33 becomes a limited-access, multi-lane highway before reaching

US 68 U.S. Route 68 (US 68) is a United States highway that runs for from northwest Ohio to Western Kentucky. The highway's western terminus is at US 62 in Reidland, Kentucky. Its present eastern terminus is at Interstate 75 in Findlay, Ohio, thou ...

at Bellefontaine where it resumes as a controlled-access freeway, passing Campbell Hill, the highest point in Ohio, and continuing around Marysville. Entering Franklin County, the road runs concurrently with SR 161, then intersects

I-270 I-270 may refer to: * Interstate 270 (disambiguation), one of several highways * Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270, a cancelled Soviet interceptor aircraft {{disambiguation ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. After I-270, the route loses its controlled-access status and passes through the Dublin Historic District and crosses the

Scioto River The Scioto River ( ) is a river in central and southern Ohio more than in length. It rises in Hardin County, Ohio, Hardin County just north of Roundhead, Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olent ...

. The overlap with SR 161 then ends, and US 33 heads south on Riverside Drive towards downtown

, following the Scioto River along the western border of Upper Arlington, where it passes Griggs Reservoir, one of the main sources of water for Columbus. The road changes names two times in this area, first to Dublin Road at the intersection with Trabue Road, and then to Spring/Long Streets at SR 315. The route continues south on 3rd/4th Streets and then east on Livingston Avenue, heading towards the Columbus neighborhood of

Driving Park Driving Park is an urban residential area on the Near East Side of Columbus, Ohio just south of Interstate 70. Mainly a middle-class, predominantly African American neighborhood, Driving Park and its surrounding neighborhoods consist of an ar ...

. In

Bexley Bexley is an area of south-eastern Greater London, England and part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is sometimes known as Bexley Village or Old Bexley to differentiate the area from the wider borough. It is located east-southeast of Ch ...

, US 33 veers southeast onto College Avenue, then intersects

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

. After Petzinger Road, the route becomes a controlled-access highway, subsequently intersecting SR 104, I-270 (for the second time), and SR 317 (Hamilton Road). Following the Ebright Road near Blacklick Estates, the highway continues to the southeast as a non-limited-access expressway. Beginning at Carroll, US 33 bypasses

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

as a limited-access freeway completed in 2005. Continuing southeast, the highway enters Ohio's scenic

Hocking Hills The Hocking Hills is a deeply dissected area of the Allegheny Plateau in Appalachian Ohio, primarily in Hocking County, that features cliffs, gorges, rock shelters, and waterfalls. The relatively extreme topography in this area is due to the ...

region near Sugar Grove as an expressway. East of

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gove ...

, the highway again becomes limited-access for approximately . As the route approaches Nelsonville, traffic continues on the limited access four-lane bypass that opened October 1, 2013. Further southeast towards

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, the expressway design resumes, followed by a brief limited-access section around Athens, where it joins the concurrent US 50/ SR 32 for about . South of Athens, US 33 continues as a limited-access highway, bypassing Pomeroy, intersecting SR 124 and SR 7, and continuing to the

in Meigs County, crossing the Ohio on the two-lane cantilever

, and entering

in Ravenswood. In total, US 33 traverses across the Buckeye State.

History

The Ravenswood Bridge was built in 1981 and originally carried the designation SR 824 until 2003, when US 33 was rerouted on a new bypass out of Pomeroy and connecting to the bridge, supplanting SR 824 in the process. In 2013, an expressway bypass was completed around Nelsonville. This was done to reduce traffic congestion in the area, as the original routing through Nelsonville was only two lanes wide. , the route had an average of 19,846 vehicles per day.

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{state detail page browse, type=US, route=33, state=Ohio, statebefore=Indiana, stateafter=West Virginia 33 Transportation in Van Wert County, Ohio Transportation in Mercer County, Ohio Transportation in Auglaize County, Ohio Transportation in Logan County, Ohio Transportation in Union County, Ohio Transportation in Franklin County, Ohio Transportation in Fairfield County, Ohio Transportation in Hocking County, Ohio Transportation in Athens County, Ohio Transportation in Meigs County, Ohio

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links