U.S. Route 224 (US 224) is a spur of US 24 that runs through the states of Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It currently runs for from US 24 in Huntington, Indiana, east to US 422 Business (US 422 Bus.) and Pennsylvania Route 18 (PA 18) in New Castle, Pennsylvania. 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

From the western terminus at US 24, US 224 heads southeast concurrent with State Road 5 (SR 5). US 224 and SR 5 heads through downtown Huntington as

one-way One-way or one way may refer to: *One-way traffic, a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction *One-way travel, a trip that does not return to its origin Music *One Way (American ban ...

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 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at ...

(I-69) and

intersections In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their ...

with both SR 116 and SR 3. US 224 heads east towards Decatur passing through intersections with SR 301 and SR 1. In Decatur US 224 has a short concurrency with US 27 and US 33. US 224 heads east from Decatur towards Ohio passing through a short concurrency with SR 101. The only section of U.S. Route 224 in Indiana that is included in the National Highway System is the part concurrent with US 27 and US 33. Traffic reports from the Indiana Department of Transportation in 2010 showed that the lowest traffic levels were the 2,420 vehicles and 670 commercial vehicles using the highway daily near the Ohio state line; the highest traffic levels were the 21,680 vehicles and 1,690 commercial vehicles traveling along the section of US 224 that is concurrent with US 27 and US 33.

Ohio

West of its concurrency with US 42 near Lodi, US 224 is a rural arterial highway, mostly two lanes, across western Ohio. It runs roughly parallel to the former

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

from its westerly US 42 junction to Tiffin, 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, and goes through downtown Findlay and

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, but it otherwise specializes in small towns along its course across northwest Ohio. It crosses US 250 east of Greenwich; State Route 4 (SR 4), a major north–south route, at Attica; US 23 south of Fostoria, and I-75 in Findlay, and has brief concurrences with US 127 and US 30 near Van Wert. It crosses the

Ashland Railway The Ashland Railway is a Class III railroad shortline railroad operating within North Central Ohio and based in Mansfield, Ohio. Since its inception in 1986, Ashland Railway has grown to provide service 24 hours a day 7 days a week along 55 mi ...

just east of Willard, the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

at Attica,

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

near US 23, in Findlay, and in Ottawa, and the Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad west of Van Wert. East of Lodi, US 224 meets the western terminus of

I-76 Interstate 76 may refer to: Interstate Highways in the United States * Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska) * Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey), running through Pennsylvania Video gaming * ''Interstate '76 ''Interstate '76'' is a vehicular c ...

, with which it forms a concurrency. It is in this area, US 224 enters the Connecticut Western Reserve. Less than a mile later, both routes intersect with I-71. US 224 continues along with I-76 to Akron. Here, I-76 exits and heads north. Continuing on US 224, the route runs concurrently with I-277, a short auxiliary highway running through southern Akron. I-277 quickly ends, leaving US 224 to continue into a heavily wooded area. The highway then intersects with SR 43, SR 44, SR 169, SR 225, SR 24, SR 45 and SR 46. Shortly after crossing over SR 11, US 224 enters Boardman Township in Mahoning County. This stretch of US 224, through Canfield, Boardman and Poland, is known for its chronic congestion. The original routing of US 224 through the village of Poland turned southeast on Main Street (formerly SR 90, now SR 170) to Riverside Drive, then north on Riverside Drive to the current alignment. In 1954 a bridge was built across Yellow Creek and a new road was constructed from Main Street to Riverside Drive, including an intersection with Water Street ( SR 616). As US 224 leaves the village of Poland it continues through rural terrain as it heads towards Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania

US 224 crosses into Mahoning Township in Lawrence County 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 Norfolk Southern's Youngstown Line, coming to an intersection with PA 551. Here, PA 551 turns northeast to form a

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with US 224. The road heads through wooded areas and crosses the Mahoning River and

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

's New Castle Subdivision railroad line. 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 New Castle Municipal Airport is a small municipal airport located in Union Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania serving Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Union Township is an outskirt of New Castle, Pe ...

and heading through the community of Parkstown. US 224 heads into commercial areas, gaining a second lane westbound before widening into a six-lane divided highway as it comes to an interchange with

I-376 Interstate 376 (I-376) is a major auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System in the US state of Pennsylvania, located within the Allegheny Plateau. It runs from I-80 near Sharon south and east to a junction with the Pennsylvania Tur ...

/ US 422. 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 the city of 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 New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

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.

History

US 224 was assigned to a portion of the Benjamin Franklin Highway, an auto trail running from Omaha, Nebraska to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; its number assignment was an alternative to a westward rerouting of US 422 which runs along the Benjamin Franklin Highway farther east. When US 224 was commissioned in Indiana in 1934, it replaced State Road 16 (SR 16), from Huntington to the Ohio state line. Although US 224 is only in Pennsylvania for 10 miles, the eastern terminus has changed several times since 1933, ending at various points in New Castle, Pennsylvania or in adjacent Union Township west of the city. 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 the state extended US 224 through the city and into Shenango Township at the eastern terminus of the bypass, taking over US 422's old alignment after that highway was moved to the bypass. The route was truncated back at the current interchange with US 422 and

in 1977 while the old alignment through New Castle was replaced by Business US 422. This would be the case until March 20, 2008, when US 224 was officially extended to PA 18 inside the New Castle city limits with the placement of new signs. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) requested approval from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for the extension in August 2007. and received it the following month. The extension of US 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

in February 2007.

Future

Due to a higher-than-average number of crash-related injuries and fatalities along a stretch of US 224 in Medina County, Ohio, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) recommended converting three intersections, Vandemark, Westfield and Leroy roads, to restricted crossing U-turns. The highest-priority intersection, with Westfield Road in Westfield Township, was awarded $578,000 in ODOT funding and began construction in May 2019 and finished by the end of summer 2019. There is a $2.4 million project north of the city of Van Wert to replace the current intersection of US 224, US 127 and Marsh Road (County Road 13) with a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

. The project began in January 2022 and is expected to be complete in October.

Major intersections

Notes

References

External links