State Route 48 (SR 48) is a north–south 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 ...

that runs from SR 132 near Goshen to SR 66 near

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, passing through

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

Commemorative designations

On February 15, 2005, Governor

Bob Taft Robert Alphonso Taft III (born January 8, 1942) is an American politician and attorney, who served as the 67th governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007 as a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Taft political dynasty, Taft served first in ...

signed Senate Bill 156, which designated SR 48 as the U.S.A.F. Pararescue Memorial Parkway. The route runs near the hometowns of four pararescuemen who were killed in action: William H. Pitsenbarger of Piqua, Sgt. Jim Locker of Sidney, Master Sgt. William McDaniel II of Greenville, and Airman 1st Class James Pleiman of

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. Memorial markers are installed as far south as Goshen Township in Clermont County. In 2010, SR 48 within the Loveland city limits was additionally designated as the Captain Seth Mitchell Memorial Highway. Mitchell, a

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

and Loveland resident, served in the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

and died in a helicopter crash in

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...

on October 26, 2009. In 2016, SR 48 between Mason–Morrow–Millgrove Road (Warren County Road 38) and

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 ...

in the village of

South Lebanon Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa Districts, the southernmost distric ...

was additionally designated as the SFC Bobby Lee Estle Memorial Highway. Estle, a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

sergeant first class who was born and raised in Ohio, was a 1991 graduate of Lebanon High School in which he was in the

Junior ROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...

, and attended the Warren County Career Center. He served in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the War in Afghanistan and was killed in action in 2012 at the age of 38, ten days before he was due to return home. Throughout his 18-year career in the Army, Estle served two

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

s in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan. In 2020, SR 48 (Far Hills Avenue) between Stroop Road and Dorothy Lane in

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of ...

was additionally designated as the CWO3 James E. Groves III Memorial Highway. Groves, a U.S. Army chief warrant officer three and instructor pilot, was a

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native who moved to Kettering as a child and graduated from that city's Fairmont High School in 1994. Serving in the War in Afghanistan, he was killed at the age of 37 on March 16, 2013, when the helicopter he was piloting crashed due to suspected mechanical failure near

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

; another soldier aboard survived the crash. Enlisting in the Army after high school commencement, Groves had served two tours in Iraq and was near the end of his second tour in Afghanistan. Approaching his 19th anniversary in the Army, Groves had planned to retire after a 20-year career.

History

In the early 20th century, SR 48 was assigned to completely unrelated routes within the state. From 1923 to 1927, it was the designation given to Barnesville– Hendrysburg, Barnesville– Woodsfield, and Woodsfield– Sistersville roads in eastern Ohio, now designated SR 800. Present-day SR 48 was previously signed as SR 50, and before that as

– Covington and Dayton–

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

roads. (See 1923 Ohio state highway renumbering and 1927 Ohio state highway renumbering).

Future

In 2021, the

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) awarded the city of Dayton $4.74 million to place SR 48 (North Main Street) on a "

road diet A road diet, also called a lane reduction, road rechannelization, or road conversion is a technique in transportation planning whereby the number of travel lanes and/or effective width of the road is reduced in order to achieve systemic improveme ...

". Dayton, ODOT District 7 and the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission had hired the engineering firm Burgess & Niple to study the roadway from Great Miami Boulevard in Dayton north to Shiloh Springs Road in Harrison Township, Montgomery County. That section of the street, with some of the most dangerous intersections in the region, from 2015 to 2017, had 900 crashes, 356 of those with injuries and seven with fatalities. The study area was shortened on the north end to Shoup Mill Road in Harrison Township, a distance of ; this stretch between 2017 and 2019 had 760 crashes, 34 involving pedestrians, and a daily traffic count of 18,400 vehicles. The proposed road diet involves converting the roadway from two lanes in each direction to one lane in each direction, with a

center turn lane A reversible lane (British English: tidal flow) is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, by having overhead traffic lights and li ...

Curb A curb (North American English), or kerb (Commonwealth English except Canada; see spelling differences), is the edge where a raised sidewalk or road median/central reservation meets a street or other roadway. History Although curbs have ...

s are to be extended, allowing for the addition of on-street parking. Also there is to be new lighting and for pedestrians, new signals and

refuge island A refuge island, also known as a pedestrian refuge or pedestrian island, is a small section of pavement or sidewalk, surrounded by asphalt or other road materials, where pedestrians can stop before finishing crossing a road. It is typically u ...

s with improved sidewalks and

crosswalk A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road ...

s. In addition the plan calls for softening a sharp curve at one of the intersections along the street. Design and review is expected to last through 2022, with

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

acquisition in 2023, and construction to begin in summer 2024.

Major intersections

In popular culture

In ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along wit ...

'' episode #111, " First Stop", the Ricardos and the Mertzes travel this route, although they were headed to

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 ...

SR 48-T

State Route 48 Temporary (SR 48-T, also called Future SR 48 and Bypass 48) is a partial bypass of

running from the SR 48 / SR 123 interchange to an intersection of

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 ...

and Miller Road. The four-lane divided roadway is a northern continuation of a divided highway segment of SR 48. The route was created by 1971 when a high-speed bypass of Lebanon was created. SR 48-T is not signed as such; the northbound direction is signed as "To US 42 north" and the southbound direction is signed as "To SR 48 south."

References

External links

Highways of the State of Ohio: Ohio State Route 48, Montgomery County
Bill Burmaster {{Authority control 048 Transportation in Clermont County, Ohio Transportation in Warren County, Ohio Transportation in Montgomery County, Ohio Transportation in Dayton, Ohio Transportation in Miami County, Ohio Transportation in Shelby County, Ohio