State Route 3 (SR 3) is a major north–south (physically northeast-southwest) highway in

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 ...

which leads from

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

by way of Columbus. It is the second longest state route in Ohio. Because of this, the road is also known as the 3-C Highway, a designation which predates the Ohio state highway system. It is the only state route to enter all three of Ohio's largest cities, though it has largely been bypassed by

Interstate 71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64 in Kentucky, I-64 and ...

(I-71). The route's southern terminus is in downtown Cincinnati at the U.S. Route 27 (US 27)/

US 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows ...

US 127 U.S. Route 127 (US 127) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at US 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 (I-75) near G ...

concurrency, which is also the western terminus of US 22. SR 3 and US 22 share the same path for nearly , parting ways in the city of Washington Court House, where SR 3 is joined with

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canada ...

. This concurrency runs nearly to Columbus. From there, SR 3 continues solo to Sunbury, where it joins

US 36 U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west United States highway that travels approximately from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an intersection i ...

for just over until it reaches

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

. SR 3 ends in Cleveland at

Public Square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

, with the last several miles concurrent with

US 42 U.S. Route 42 (US 42) is an east–west United States highway that runs southwest–northeast for from Louisville, Kentucky to Cleveland, Ohio. The route has several names including Pearl Road from Cleveland to Medina in Northeast Ohio, Readi ...

from

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

. It is one of nine other routes to enter downtown Cleveland at Public Square.

History

*1923 – Original route established;Explanation of the Ohio State Highway System
(The Unofficial Ohio State Highways Web Site) by John Simpson originally followed its current alignment (more or less) from

to north of Loudonville, the SR 226 alignment from north of Loudonville to south of Wooster, its old alignment from south of Wooster to

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

, and

's alignment from Medina to

.Route 3
(The Unofficial Ohio State Highways Web Site) by John Simpson *1927 – north of Loudonville to south of Wooster rerouted to current alignment, along former SR 250; original alignment certified as SR 250; Medina-to-Parma routing changed to current alignment, and former alignment here certified as US 42. *1932 – Alignment from Cincinnati to Washington Court House dually certified with US 22; alignment from Washington Court House to Columbus dually certified with

. *1938 – Medina-Parma alignment changed to the pre-1926 routing and dually certified with US 42; previous alignment signed SR 200 until 1939. *1939 – Medina-Parma alignment switched back to current alignment.

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 ...

br>Official map for 1939
/ref> *1961 – SR 3 routed to new freeway alignment from

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

to Columbus. *1962 – Harrisburg-Columbus alignment dually certified as

I-71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64 in Kentucky, I-64 and ...

. *1967 – Reverted to US 62 alignment from Harrisburg to Columbus.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=title,inline

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...