State Route 555 (SR 555) is a , north–south running state highway that passes through four counties in southeastern

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 555's southern terminus is at the concurrency of

US 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

, SR 7 and SR 32 (James A. Rhodes Appalachian Highway) in the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

of Little Hocking in extreme southwestern Washington County. Its northern terminus is at SR 60 in Wayne Township, just outside

Zanesville Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capit ...

. The route passes through primarily rural portions of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Morgan,

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...

, and Muskingum counties, connecting unincorporated villages along the way. Its emergence into southern Zanesville at the route's northern end takes the route into a more suburban setting before it terminates.

Route description

SR 555 begins at a stop-controlled intersection with US 50, SR 7, and SR 32, a divided highway known as the James A. Rhodes Appalachian Highway, in Belpre Township. The route heads on a winding route towards the northwest. Northwest of Cutler, the route clips a part of the

Wayne National Forest The Wayne National Forest is located in the south-eastern part of the US state of Ohio, in the Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. It is the only national forest in Ohio. Forest headquarters are located between The Plains and Nelsonville, Ohio, on ...

. After its brief routing through the Wayne National Forest, SR 555 intersects SR 550 in the community of Bartlett. Just shortly after the intersection with SR 676 at its western terminus, SR 555 enters Morgan County and continues in a northwesterly direction. In the village of Chesterhill, one of only two incorporated towns through which SR 555 passes, the route shares a concurrency with SR 377. After exiting the village, the route heads back in a northwestern direction but slowly begins to head in a more northerly direction through Morgan County. After sharing a brief concurrency with SR 78 in Ringgold, SR 555 re-enters another part of the Wayne National Forest and briefly enters Perry County. The road curves back into Morgan County where it begins a new concurrency with SR 37. The two routes head west into Perry County before SR 555 breaks off and travels north. SR 555's stay in Perry County is short as it soon re-enters Morgan County where it intersects and joins SR 669 for a overlap in the York Township community of Deavertown. Upon entering Muskingum County, the route travels north in Brush Creek Township. As SR 555 begins to approach the

Muskingum River The Muskingum River (Shawnee: ') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country o ...

, the route curves to the left at an intersection with County Road 6A and becomes known as Old River Road. At this point, state maintenance of the road ends and SR 555 becomes county-maintained as Muskingum County Road 6. Through the remainder of Brush Creek Township and parts of Springfield Township, the county-maintained highway closely parallels the river but is shielded from view by rows of trees. After making an S-curve to cross the

Moxahala Creek Moxahala Creek is a tributary of the Muskingum River, 29.2 miles (47.0 km) long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. Via the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of Moxah ...

, the route barely misses the village limits of South Zanesville but does reach a southern section of the city of Zanesville. At the city limits, CR 6 ends and SR 555 is its own route again (though within any incorporated towns, state highways are maintained by the municipality). Just after the city limits, SR 555 reaches the eastern terminus of SR 719 at a signalized intersection. SR 555 turns right to cross over the Muskingum River before it ends at an intersection with SR 60. , no part of SR 555 is included within the National Highway System. Due of its largely rural setting, SR 555 is not a heavily used travel route. According to

Ohio Department of Transportation The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT; ) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for developing and maintaining all state and U.S. roadways outside of municipalities and all Interstates except the Ohio T ...

(ODOT) traffic counts from 2012, the most heavily trafficked segment of the route is its bridge over the Muskingum River in Zanesville with an

annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a ...

count (AADT) of about 12,600 vehicles. The next highest traffic count along the route was at a station just south of the SR 719 intersection; its AADT in 2012 was only about 4,500 vehicles. The least-traveled section in 2012 was just south of SR 78 in Ringgold with an AADT of 90. Because of its winding route, scenic views, and rolling hills especially in the southern portions of the route, SR 555 also nicknamed The Triple Nickel is a popular route among

motorcyclists Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small- displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in the most populous c ...

. Each year, since 2011, Saint John's Lutheran Church in Stovertown (right on 555 just outside Zanesville) holds the "Triple Nickel Country Cruise-In" the Saturday before Father's Day in June. The event showcases all kinds of vehicles and bills itself as a one-of-a-kind Cruise-In in a country setting.http://www.facebook.com/triplenickelcruisein

History

SR 555 was first designated on a wholly

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 Unit ...

between Little Hocking and

Frazier Frazier is a Scottish surname. Notable people with the surname include: __NOTOC__ A * Adam Frazier (born 1991), American baseball player B *Brenda Frazier (1921-1982), American “celebutante” socialite during the Depression era C *Calvin ...

at SR 77 (now SR 60) in 1937. Except for a rerouting of the northern terminus from Frazier to a point along SR 60 north of Frazier, the route of SR 555 has remained unchanged since its first designation. Originally, SR 555 crossed the Muskingum River on the Five Mile Bridge connecting Brush Creek and Wayne Townships. In 1975, the

(ODOT) proposed a realignment of SR 555 along the west side of the river from Brush Creek Township to South Zanesville utilizing Muskingum County Road 6. This proposal also included the vacation of the Five Mile Bridge from the state system and the creation of a connector road between US 22 and SR 555, then called County Road 719 (now State Route 719). The new alignment of SR 555 was in place by 1980 and still runs along this route today however this newer alignment is still maintained as County Road 6.

Major intersections

References

{{Reflist 555 Transportation in Washington County, Ohio Transportation in Morgan County, Ohio Transportation in Perry County, Ohio Transportation in Muskingum County, Ohio