Ohio State Route 96

State Route 96
Route information
Maintained by O.D.O.T.
Length:	35.87 mi[1] (57.73 km)
Existed:	1923[2][3] – present
Major junctions
West end:	SR 98 near Bucyrus
East end:	US 42 / US 250 in Ashland
Location
Counties:	Crawford, Richland, Ashland
Highway system
Ohio Highways Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← SR 95 SR 97 →

State Route 96 (SR 96) is an east–west state highway in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. The southern terminus of SR 96 is at a T-intersection with SR 98 nearly 2 ¹⁄₂ miles (4.0 km) northeast of Bucyrus. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with US 42 and US 250 in the eastern portion of Ashland.

Route description

SR 96 passes through the counties of Crawford, Richland and Ashland. There are no stretches of the highway that are included within the National Highway System, a system of highways identified as being most pertinent for the economy, mobility and defense of the nation.^[4]

History

1923 marked the year in which SR 96 was established. Originally, the highway consisted of the majority of what its easternmost stretch today, running between downtown Shelby and downtown Ashland.^[2][3] A westward extension of SR 96 happened in 1939. This extension followed the existing SR 96 west out of Shelby, along with what is now Crawford County Road 45 (Stetzer Road) west-southwesterly to a new western terminus in the eastern end of Bucyrus at Old Lincoln Highway, which at the time designated as US 30N.^[5][6]

In 1971, coinciding with the completion of the US 30N (now mainline US 30) freeway bypass of Bucyrus, SR 96 was re-routed onto its present alignment through eastern Crawford County to its current western terminus at SR 98 northeast of Bucyrus. Jurisdiction of the former alignment into Bucyrus was turned back to Crawford County, which designated it as County Road 45.^[7][8] Then, by 1992, SR 96 was extended slightly on the eastern end. With the re-routing of US 250 onto a northern bypass of Ashland that tied with the US 42 eastern bypass of the city, SR 96 was extended into the eastern end of Ashland along the former routing of US 250 to a new eastern terminus where US 250 re-joined its former alignment at the US 42 interchange.^[9][10]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Crawford	Liberty Township	0.00	0.00	SR 98 – Bucyrus, Plymouth
	Liberty–Sandusky township line	3.66	5.89	SR 602 – North Robinson, New Washington
	Vernon Township	8.39	13.50	SR 598 south – Galion	Western end of SR 598 concurrency
		8.52	13.71	SR 598 north	Eastern end of SR 598 concurrency
Richland	Sharon Township	12.56	20.21	SR 39 west – Tiro	Western end of SR 39 concurrency
	Shelby	14.85	23.90	SR 61 (Gamble Street)
		15.13	24.35	SR 39 east (Mansfield Avenue) / South Broadway Avenue	Eastern end of SR 39 concurrency
	Franklin Township	23.41	37.67	SR 13 south – Mansfield	Western end of SR 13 concurrency
		24.13	38.83	SR 13 north – Norwalk	Eastern end of SR 13 concurrency
	Weller Township	27.91	44.92	SR 603 – Mifflin, Shiloh
		28.32	45.58	SR 545 – Mansfield, Savannah
Ashland	Ashland	34.29	55.18	SR 60 north / SR 511 north (South Cottage Street) / West 2nd Street	Western end of SR 60 / SR 511 concurrency
		34.48	55.49	SR 60 south / SR 511 south (Center Street)	Eastern end of SR 60 / SR 511 concurrency
		35.87	57.73	US 42 / US 250 to I‑71 – Norwalk, Medina, Mansfield, Wooster	Interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. Ohio Department of Transportation. "Technical Services Straight Line Diagrams". Retrieved 2010-11-25.
2. Map of Ohio State Highways (MrSID) (Map). Cartography by ODHPW. Ohio Department of Highways and Public Works. April 1922. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
3. Map of Ohio Showing State Routes (MrSID) (Map). Cartography by ODHPW. Ohio Department of Highways and Public Works. July 1923. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
4. National Highway System: Ohio (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. December 2003. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
5. Official Ohio Highway Map (MrSID) (Map). Cartography by ODOH. Ohio Department of Highways. 1938. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
6. Ohio Highway Map (MrSID) (Map). Cartography by ODOH. Ohio Department of Highways. 1939. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
7. Official Ohio Highway Map (MrSID) (Map). Cartography by ODOH. Ohio Department of Highways. 1969. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
8. Ohio Highway Map (MrSID) (Map). Cartography by ODOH. Ohio Department of Highways. 1971. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
9. Official Ohio Highway Map (MrSID) (Map). Cartography by ODOT. Ohio Department of Transportation. 1989. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
10. Official Ohio Highway Map (MrSID) (Map). Cartography by ODOT. Ohio Department of Transportation. 1992. Retrieved 2011-01-16.