U.S. Route 224

U.S. Route 224
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 24
Length:	288.21 mi[1][2][3] (463.83 km)
Major junctions
West end:	US 24 / SR 5 / SR 9 at Huntington, IN
	I-69 at Markle, IN US 30 / US 127 at Van Wert, OH I‑75 at Findlay, OH I‑71 / I‑76 near Westfield Center, OH I‑76 at Akron, OH I‑77 at Akron, OH I‑680 at Boardman, OH I-376 / US 422 at New Castle, PA
East end:	US 422 Bus. / PA 18 at New Castle, PA
Location
States:	Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania
Counties:	IN: Huntington, Wells, Adams OH: Van Wert, Putnam, Hancock, Seneca, Huron, Ashland, Medina, Summit, Portage, Mahoning PA: Lawrence
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced ← SR 218 IN SR 225 → ← US 223 OH SR 225 → ← PA 223 PA PA 224 →

U.S. Route 224 (US 224) is a spur of U.S. Route 24. It currently runs for 289 miles (465 km) from New Castle, Pennsylvania at U.S. Route 422 Business and Pennsylvania Route 18 to Huntington, Indiana at U.S. Route 24. It passes through the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. It goes through the cities of Canfield, Ohio, Akron, Ohio, and Findlay, Ohio.

In Northeast Ohio, US 224 is located a short distance north of the Western Reserve's southern boundary.

Route description

Indiana

US 224 at its intersection with State Road 5 south

From the western terminus US 224 heads southeast concurrent with State Road 5 (SR 5). US 224 and SR 5 heads through downtown Huntington as one-way streets, with eastbound on Cherry Street and State Street and westbound on Warren Street. From downtown US 224 and SR 5 head southeast then outside of downtown SR 5 heads due south and US 224 heads east. US 224 passes through Markle where US 224 has an interchange with Interstate 69 (I-69) and intersections with both State Road 116 (SR 116) and State Road 3 (SR 3). US 224 heads east towards Decatur passing through intersections with State Road 301 (SR 301) and State Road 1 (SR 1). In Decatur US 224 has a short concurrency with U.S. Route 27 (US 27) and U.S. Route 33 (US 33). US 224 heads east from Decatur towards Ohio passing through a short concurrency with State Road 101 (SR 101).^[4]

The only section of U.S. Route 224 in Indiana that is included in the National Highway System (NHS) is the part concurrent with US 27 and US 33.^[5] The NHS is a network of highways that are identified as being most important for the economy, mobility and defense of the nation.^[6] The highway is maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) like all other U.S. Highways in the state. The department tracks the traffic volumes along all state highways as a part of its maintenance responsibilities using a metric called average annual daily traffic (AADT). This measurement is a calculation of the traffic level along a segment of roadway for any average day of the year. In 2010, INDOT figured that lowest traffic levels were 2,420 vehicles and 670 commercial vehicles used the highway daily near the Ohio state line. The peak traffic volumes were 21,680 vehicles and 1,690 commercial vehicles AADT along the section of US 224 that is concurrent with US 27 and US 33.^[7]

Ohio

West of its concurrency with US 42 near Lodi, Ohio, US 224 is a rural arterial highway, mostly two lanes, across western Ohio. It runs roughly parallel to the former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad from its westerly US 42 junction to Tiffin, Ohio, a city around which it sweeps to the south with intersections at various state highways that radiate out from downtown. US 224 passes through a commercial strip on the south side of Willard, Ohio, and goes through downtown Findlay and Ottawa, Ohio, but it otherwise specializes in small towns along its course across northwest Ohio. It crosses US 250 east of Greenwich, Ohio; Ohio Route 4 (a major north-south route) at Attica, Ohio; US 23 south of Fostoria, Ohio, and I-75 in Findlay, and has brief concurrences with US 127 and US 30 near Van Wert, Ohio. It crosses the Ashland Railway just east of Willard, the Norfolk Southern railroad at Attica, CSX Transportation near US 23, in Findlay, and in Ottawa, and the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern west of Van Wert.

East of Lodi, OH, US 224 meets the western terminus of Interstate 76, with which it forms a concurrency. Less than a mile later, both routes intersect with Interstate 71. US 224 continues along with Interstate 76 to Akron. Here, interstate 76 exits and heads north. Continuing on US 224, the route runs concurrent with Interstate 277, a short auxiliary highway running though southern Akron. Interstate 277 quickly ends, leaving US 224 to continue into a heavily wooded area. The highway then intersects with Ohio State Routes 43, 44, 169, 225, 14, 45, and 46. Shortly after crossing over Ohio State Route 11, US 224 enters the township of Boardman, OH. This stretch of US 224, through Canfield, Boardman, and Poland, OH is known for its chronic congestion. As US 224 leaves the village of Poland, OH, it curves towards the southeast and continues through rural terrain as it heads towards Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania

The eastern terminus of US 224 in New Castle, Pennsylvania.

US 224 crosses into Mahoning Township in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and becomes West State Street, a two-lane undivided road. The road heads through wooded areas with some homes and commercial establishments, heading to the east-southeast. The route curves to the northeast in Peanut and passes over a Norfolk Southern railroad line, coming to an intersection with PA 551. Here, PA 551 turns northeast to form a concurrency with US 224. The road heads through wooded areas and crosses the Mahoning River and two CSX railroad lines. PA 551 splits from US 224 by heading north on North Edinburg Road, with US 224 continuing into wooded areas with some farm fields. The road turns to the southeast and enters Union Township. The route continues through wooded areas with some farmland and homes, passing to the south of New Castle Municipal Airport and heading through the community of Parkstown. US 224 heads into businesses areas, gaining a second lane westbound before widening into a six-lane divided highway as it comes to an interchange with I-376/US 422.^[8][9]

Past this interchange, the road becomes a three-lane road with a center left-turn lane and passes through a mix of residences and businesses, running through the community of Oakwood. The route heads into New Castle and passes through wooded areas of development, gaining a second westbound lane and coming to an intersection with US 422 Business. At this point, US 422 Business turns east to join US 224 on four-lane divided West Falls Street, passing more development and crossing over a New Castle Industrial Railroad line and the Shenango River. The road heads to the east and continues through commercial areas. US 224 ends at an intersection with PA 18, at which point US 422 Business turns south to join that route.^[8][9]

History

When US 224 was commissioned in Indiana in 1934, it replace State Road 16 (SR 16), from Huntington to the Ohio state line.

Although U.S. 224 is only in Pennsylvania for 10 miles, the eastern terminus has changed several times since being issued in 1933, ending at various points in New Castle, Pennsylvania or in adjacent Union Township west of the city.^[10] The eastern terminus has been moved five times (1936, 1947, 1974, 1977, 2008), the most notable of which was in the 1970s when the New Castle Bypass opened in 1974 and saw an extension of U.S. 224 through the city itself and into Shenango Township at the eastern terminus of the bypass, essentially taking over U.S. 422's old alignment after 422 moved to the bypass.

The route was truncated back at the current interchange with 422 and Interstate 376 in 1977 while the old alignment through New Castle was replaced by Business 422. This would be the case until March 20, 2008, when 224 was officially extended two miles (3 km) to PA 18 inside the New Castle city limits with the placement of new signs. PennDOT had gotten approval from the AASHTO for the extension in September 2007.^[11]

The extension of U.S. 224 marked the second extension of a major highway into downtown New Castle in a little more than a year, as Pennsylvania Route 65 was extended a mile from its previous terminus with Business 422 to the PA 108/PA 168 concurrency in February 2007.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1][2][3]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Huntington	Huntington	0.00	0.00		US 24 / SR 5 north / SR 9 – Wabash, Fort Wayne	Western terminus of US 224; western end of SR 5 concurrency
		3.25	5.23		SR 5 south – Warren, Upland	Eastern end of SR 5 concurrency
	Markle	10.00	16.09		I-69 – Indianapolis, Fort Wayne	Exit 82 on I-69
		10.23	16.46		SR 116 east – Bluffton	Western terminus of SR 116
		11.00	17.70		SR 3 south – Muncie	Northern terminus of SR 3
Wells	Kingsland	20.03	32.24		SR 1 – Bluffton, Fort Wayne
	Lancaster Township – Jefferson Township	23.97	38.58		SR 301 south	Northern terminus of SR 301
Adams	Decatur	32.05	51.58		US 27 north / US 33 north – Fort Wayne	Northern end of US 27/US 33 concurrency
		32.27	51.93		US 27 south / US 33 south – Portland	Southern end of US 27/US 33 concurrency
	Union Township	36.51	58.76		SR 101 north	Western end of SR 101 concurrency
		37.52	60.38		SR 101 south	Eastern end of SR 101 concurrency
		39.63 0.00	63.78 0.00	Indiana–Ohio state line
Van Wert	Harrison Township	1.47	2.37		SR 49 south – Willshire	Western end of SR 49 concurrency
		5.10	8.21		SR 49 north – Convoy	Eastern end of SR  concurrency
	Pleasant Township	10.70– 10.98	17.22– 17.67		US 30 west – Fort Wayne	Western end of US 30 concurrency
	Van Wert	14.50	23.34		US 30 east – Upper Sandusky US 127 south – Celina	Eastern end of US 30 concurrency; southern end of US 127 concurrency
		15.85	25.51		US 127 north – Paulding	Northern end of US 127 concurrency
	​	21.68	34.89		SR 637 north	Southern terminus of SR 637
Putnam	Monterey Township	27.73	44.63		SR 66 north – Defiance	Western end of SR 66 concurrency
	Ottoville	28.72	46.22		SR 66 south – Delphos SR 189	Eastern end of SR 66 concurrency; western terminus of SR 189
		28.83	46.40		SR 189 east	Western terminus of SR 189
	Jackson Township	31.67	50.97		SR 634
		32.92	52.98		SR 190 south	Northern terminus of SR 190
	Kalida	37.16	59.80		SR 114 west	Eastern terminus of SR 114
		37.29	60.01		SR 115 north – Continental	Western end of SR 115 concurrency
		37.49	60.33		SR 115 south – Lima	Eastern end of SR 115 concurrency
	Glandorf	45.08	72.55		SR 694 west	Eastern terminus of SR 694
	Ottawa	46.29	74.50		SR 15 north / SR 65 / SR 109 north	Western end of SR 15 concurrency; southern terminus of SR 109
Hancock	Blanchard Township	60.58	97.49		SR 235
		62.60	100.74		SR 186 north	Southern terminus of SR 186
	Findlay	67.09	107.97		I‑75 / SR 15 south – Toledo, Lima, Upper Sandusky	Eastern end of SR 15 concurrency
		69.01	111.06		SR 12 west / SR 37 south	Western end of SR 12 concurrency; northern terminus of SR 37
		70.19	112.96		SR 12 east – Fostoria	Eastern end of SR 12 concurrency
Seneca	Loudon Township	82.41	132.63		US 23 / SR 199 – Upper Sandusky, Toledo
		85.00	136.79		SR 587
	Tiffin	91.99	148.04		SR 18 – Fostoria, Bellevue
		93.33	150.20		SR 53 – Upper Sandusky, Fremont
		94.87	152.68		SR 231
		96.10	154.66		SR 100 – Bucyrus
	Scipio Township	101.19	162.85		SR 67 – Upper Sandusky
		103.30	166.25		SR 19 – Bucyrus, Fremont
	Attica	110.23	177.40		SR 4 – Bucyrus, Marion, Sandusky
Huron	Willard	118.63	190.92		SR 103
		119.51	192.33		SR 99 north	Southern terminus of SR 99
		121.84	196.08		SR 61 / SR 598
	Greenwich Township	132.09	212.58		SR 13
Ashland	Ruggles Township	135.63	218.28		US 250
		136.94	220.38		SR 60
	Nova	141.53	227.77		SR 511
	Sullivan	145.86	234.74		SR 58
Medina	Homerville	150.87	242.80		SR 301
	Lodi	154.77	249.08		US 42 west / SR 421 east	Southern end of US 42 concurrency; western terminus of SR 421
		157.41	253.33		SR 83
		158.89	255.71		US 42 east / SR 421 west	Northern end of US 42 concurrency; eastern end of SR 421
	Westfield Center	164.26	264.35	1	I‑76 west to I‑71 – Columbus, Cleveland	Western end of I–76 concurrency; western terminus of I–76. I-71 exits 209A-B.
		166.12	267.34	2	SR 3
	Wadsworth	174.52	280.86	7	SR 57
		173.56	279.32	9	SR 94
		175.56	282.54	11	SR 261
Summit	Norton	177.12	285.05	13	SR 21
		178.45	287.19	14	Cleveland Massillon Road
	Akron	179.99	289.67	16	Barber Road
		181.33	291.82	17A	State Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only
		181.63	292.31	17	SR 619 south / East Avenue/Kenmore Boulevard
		182.14	293.13	18 1	I‑76 east I‑277	Eastern end of I–76 concurrency; western terminus of I–277; western end of I–277 concurrency
		183.29– 183.48	294.98– 295.28	2	SR 93
		184.61	297.10	3	Main Street
		185.88	299.14	4	I‑77 / I‑277	Eastern end of I–277 concurrency; and signed as exits 4A (south) & 4B (north); eastern terminus of I–277. I-77 exits 122A-B.
		186.88	300.75		Kelly Avenue
		187.35	301.51		Akron Fulton International Airport	Eastbound exit and entrance only
		188.03	302.60		SR 241
	Springfield Township	190.08	305.90		SR 91	Southern terminus of SR 91
Summit – Portage	Springfield Township – Suffield Township	191.90	308.83		SR 532 north	Southern terminus of SR 532
Portage	Suffield Township	194.32	312.73		SR 43
	Randolph Township	199.61	321.24		SR 44
	Atwater	204.89	329.74		SR 183 north	Northern end of SR 183 concurrency
		205.42	330.59		SR 183	Eastern end of SR 193 concurrency
	​	208.00	334.74		SR 225 south	Western end of SR 225 concurrency
	Deerfield	210.49	338.75		SR 14 / SR 225 north	Eastern end of SR 225 concurrency
Mahoning	Berlin Center	215.98	347.59		SR 534
	Ellsworth	220.70	355.18		SR 45
	Canfield	224.72	361.65		SR 446 south	Northern terminus of SR 446
		225.76	363.33		US 62 / SR 46
		226.88	365.13		SR 11
	Boardman	228.38	367.54		SR 625 north	Southern terminus of SR 625
		230.91	371.61		SR 7
		232.77	374.61		I‑680
	Poland	233.43	375.67		SR 170
		233.54	375.85		SR 616
		238.43 0.00	383.72 0.00	Ohio–Pennsylvania state line
Lawrence	Mahoning Township	4.33	6.97		PA 551 south (Jackson Street)	West end of PA 551 concurrency
		4.95	7.97		PA 551 north (North Edinburg Road)	East end of PA 551 concurrency
	Union Township	7.86	12.65		I-376 / US 422 (Benjamin Franklin Highway) – Sharon, Butler	I-376/US 422 exit 13
	New Castle	8.91	14.34		US 422 Bus. west (Sampson Street)	West end of US 422 Bus. concurrency
		10.15	16.33		US 422 Bus. east / PA 18 (North Jefferson Street)	East end of US 422 Bus. concurrency
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

See also

• Indiana portal
• Ohio portal
• Pennsylvania portal
• U.S. Roads portal

References

1. Staff (2004). "Reference Post Book" (PDF). Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Transportation. U-224. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
2. "Straight Line Diagrams". Retrieved 2012-11-19.
3. "Penndot - Pennsylvania Stateroads". Retrieved 2012-11-20.
4. Google (2011-04-25). "overview map of US 224 in Indiana" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
5. Federal Highway Administration (December 2003). National Highway System: Indiana (PDF) (Map). Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
6. Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike; Adderly, Kevin (September 26, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
7. Staff (2010). "Indiana Traffic Counts". Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
8. Google (December 30, 2011). "overview of U.S. Route 224 in Pennsylvania" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
9. Lawrence County, Pennsylvania Highway Map (PDF) (Map). PennDOT. 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
10. "Pennsylvania Highways: US 224".
11. http://www.transportation.org/sites/route/docs/Signed%20AASHTO%20Application%20for%20US%20224.pdf

External links

Route map: Bing / Google