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 hi ...

running from near

Elkhart, Indiana Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana, east of Chicago, Illinois, and north of Indianapolis, Indiana. Elkhart has the larger population of the two principal cities of th ...

, to Richmond, Virginia. Within the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

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

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

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 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, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

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 G ...

, then entering

Auglaize County Auglaize County () is a county in Northwestern Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,442. Its county seat is Wapakoneta. Auglaize County comprises the Wapakoneta Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also includ ...

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

Wapakoneta Wapakoneta may refer to: ;Places *Wapakoneta, Ohio *The Lima- Van Wert-Wapakoneta, Ohio Combined Statistical Area ;Ships *, United States Navy ships ;Other *The Treaty of Wapakoneta *The Wapakoneta City School District The Wapakoneta City Schoo ...

, 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 a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

, 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 northern terminus is at Interstate 75 in Findlay, Ohio, though ...

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 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. 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 just north of Roundhead, Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets t ...

. 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 Upper Arlington, often known by its initials U.A., is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, on the northwest side of the Columbus metropolitan area. The Old Arlington neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ...

, 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 area ...

. 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 a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...

. 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 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 Ohio, primarily in Hocking County, that features cliffs, gorges, rock shelters, and waterfalls. The relatively extreme topography in this area is due to the Blackhand Sand ...

region near Sugar Grove as an expressway. East of Logan, 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 ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, 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 Ohio River 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 73,000 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