State Route 158 (SR 158) is a two-lane north–south

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

located in the central portion of the

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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 ...

. State Route 158's southern terminus is in downtown Lancaster at its junction with

U.S. Route 22 U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a west–east route and is one of the original United States highways of 1926, running from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jersey, at U.S. Route 1/9 in the Newark Airport Interchange ...

, State Route 37 and State Route 188. Its northern terminus is at a T-intersection

US 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...

in Kirkersville. The route intersects

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

in Kirkersville, and actually follows an old alignment of Interstate 70 bypassing the town. That segment was abandoned when the Interstate was extended towards

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 ...

in the late 1960s.

Route description

State Route 158's routing takes it through northern

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio * Fairfield County, South Carolina Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of t ...

and southern

Licking County Licking County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. At the 2020 census, the population was 178,519. Its county seat is Newark. The county was formed on January 30, 1808, from portions of Fairfield County. It is ...

. No section of State Route 158 is included as a portion of the National Highway System, a network of highways deemed most important for the nation's economy, mobility and defense.

History

State Route 158 was established in 1923. Its original routing utilized the majority of its current routing between Lancaster and Kirkersville. The only exception is that in Kirkersville, State Route 158 continued due north along what is now County Road 40 up to U.S. Route 40. With the completion of

from Kirkersville eastward in 1959, State Route 158's northern terminus was relocated to its junction with Interstate 70. Meanwhile, for the time being, Interstate 70 followed what is now the northernmost stretch of State Route 158 to hook in with U.S. Route 40 in the western end of Kirkersville, as it would be a number of years before the Interstate would be completed along its present alignment west of State Route 158. Jurisdiction of the former stretch of the state highway north of Interstate 70 was turned over to

, which renamed the roadway as County Road 40. Then, in 1969, Interstate 70 was completed along its present alignment heading west from State Route 158, and the former alignment of Interstate 70 that hooked in with U.S. Route 40 was abandoned as a freeway. Consequently, State Route 158 was restored to the north of Interstate 70, with it being the new designation for the former path of Interstate 70. This, in turn, brought the highway to its current northern terminus at U.S. Route 40 in the western end of Kirkersville.

Major intersections

References

{{Reflist

158 Year 158 ( CLVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tertullus and Sacerdos (or, less frequently, year 911 '' Ab urbe ...

Transportation in Fairfield County, Ohio Transportation in Licking County, Ohio