State Route 542 (SR 542) is a

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 ...

in western Carroll County, within the eastern side 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 ...

. The route runs long and connects SR 212 near Sherrodsville to

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

at SR 183 by way of Dellroy and

Atwood Lake Atwood Lake is a reservoir located in Tuscarawas and Carroll counties in east central Ohio. The lake is formed by Atwood Dam across Indian Fork, a tributary of Conotton Creek. The lake is named for the community of Atwood which was purchase ...

Route description

SR 542 begins at an intersection with SR 212 in Monroe Township. The route heads north-northeast on a slight incline. Near the apex of this incline, the route winds around some hills and gets within the view of Atwood Lake. As the road curves to the east, entrances to numerous villages on the lake shoreline line the highway. SR 542 enters the village limits of Dellroy on Main Street and reaches a signalized intersection with Smith Avenue. At this intersection, SR 39 heads to the south on Smith Avenue and east on Main Street; SR 542 heads to the west on Main and to the north on Smith. To the north of the intersection, the route passes through a small business district, residential homes, and a small park before curving northwest and crossing Atwood Lake on a causeway. After the causeway, SR 542 turns due west and crosses more small tributaries of the lake and passes near more small villages surrounding the lake. Before crossing the last bridge over the lake, the route turns north into hilly terrain. Shortly after entering the village of Magnolia on Main Street, the route ends at an intersection of Main Street and Carrollton Street. SR 183 heads west on Carrollton Street and continues north on Main Street from this point. The intersection is located about south of the Carroll– Stark county line.

History

SR 542 was first designated on an alignment between Dellroy and Magnolia in 1937. The route at its designation was a

gravel road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. They are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and the Unite ...

but was fully paved by 1955. This alignment would remain until 1967 when SR 542 was extended south of Dellroy to SR 212. In 2014, a straightening project was initiated about south of Magnolia on a sharp curve with a descent in elevation. The realignment project was completed on November 17, 2014. A segment of the old road, officially designated SR 542-J remains to serve existing access points.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{commons category 542 Transportation in Carroll County, Ohio