State Route 315, known locally as the Olentangy Freeway, running almost parallel to Olentangy River Road for most of its length,[3] is a north–south highway in central Ohio, in the Columbus metropolitan area. It may be seen abbreviated as SR 315, OH-315, or simply 315. Its southern terminus is at the south junction of I-70 and I-71 in Columbus, and its northern terminus is at US 23 near Delaware. It is a controlled access freeway from its southern terminus to I-270. The controlled access section carries two or three lanes in each direction, depending on the location. North of I-270, it becomes a two-lane road. It roughly follows the Olentangy River for about two-thirds of its length. The route passes through the Ohio State University campus. The section between Interstate 670 and Interstate 70 is known as the West Innerbelt, and it is commonly referred to as such in traffic reports. The original name of this section was Sandusky Street.
 State Route 315 | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ODOT | ||||
| Length | 22.48 mi[1] (36.18 km) | |||
| Existed | 1933[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   I-70 / I-71 in Columbus | |||
| North end |  US 23 near Delaware | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Ohio | |||
| Counties | Franklin, Delaware | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
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State Route 315 begins at an interchange with Interstates 70 and 71 on the southwest corner of downtown Columbus. Shortly after this interchange, the route meets US 62 and SR 3 at a split diamond interchange with Rich Street and Town Street. The route then meets US 33 and Interstate 670 at the complex Sandusky-Spring interchange. Near the Wexner Medical Center, the route has slip ramps that allow access to Medical Center Drive and Olentangy River Road. The road then runs along the west side of the Ohio State University campus, meeting Lane Avenue and Ackerman Road at diamond interchanges.
Shortly after Ackerman Road, the roadway turns sharply east, then sharply north at North Broadway to avoid both Union Cemetery and Riverside Methodist Hospital. Now closely following the Olentangy River, the route has a partial interchange with Henderson Road/Olentangy River Road. After this, the route meets the terminus of Bethel Road in a modified diamond interchange. At exit 10, the road meets SR 161 at a diamond interchange before the freeway ends at a windmill interchange with Interstate 270.
The road briefly continues as a 4-lane divided highway until an intersection with Olentangy River Road/Mason Place, where it is reduced to two lanes. After passing through some wooded areas and housing developments, the route meets SR 750 near the village of Powell. This is the last major intersection before the route ends at US 23 in Stratford.
History
editState Route 315 was signed in 1932 along its current routing between SR 161 near Linworth and US 23 near Stratford.[4] The entire route was paved by 1935.[5] By 1966, the route had been extended to downtown Columbus along the previously unnumbered Olentangy River Road, ending at an intersection with US 33.[6]
By 1967, a portion of freeway had opened between Interstate 71 and Interstate 670 along Sandusky Street. From there to Henderson Road, the route was a 4-lane surface road.[7] Freeway construction continued in pieces throughout the 1970s, requiring the relocation of some parts of the Olentangy River.[8]
By 1980, the only remaining freeway gap was between Ackerman Road and Henderson Road. This section had been a point of contention since 1969, when the Marburn Women's Action Group (MWAG) was formed. The MWAG successfully lobbied the Ohio General Assembly to revise Sec. 1721.01 of the Ohio Revised Code, allowing the freeway to be built on unused Union Cemetery land. This avoided the displacement of homeowners in the Marburn neighborhood.[9] The road also had to avoid the Riverside Methodist Hospital, thus resulting in two sharp curves at North Broadway.[10]
In 2005, a section of the route between King Avenue and the Franklin/Delaware county line was named in honor of Lawrence E. Hughes, who was a major influence for the construction of the Olentangy Freeway.[11]
Exit list
edit| County | Location | mi[12][13] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | Columbus | 0.00– 0.44 | 0.00– 0.71 | — | I-70 / I-71 – Wheeling, Cleveland, Dayton | Mound-Sandusky Interchange; I-70 exit 99B; I-71 exit 106B. |
| 0.51– 0.79 | 0.82– 1.27 | 1A |   US 62 (Rich Street) / SR 3 (Town Street) | Split diamond interchange with one-way couplet | ||
| 0.92 | 1.48 | 1B |  US 40 (West Broad Street) | Southbound exit from I-670/US 33 ramps only; exit to West Broad Street from OH-315 southbound is prohibited. | ||
| 1.21– 1.70 | 1.95– 2.74 | 1C |  US 33 (Dublin Road) | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; part of Spring Sandusky Interchange | ||
| 1.29– 1.66 | 2.08– 2.67 | 1D |   I-670 (John Glenn Columbus International Airport) | Northbound-westbound and eastbound-southbound movements handled by US 33, Spring Sandusky Interchange; I-670 exit 2B eastbound to 315 northbound, 2A-B westbound. | ||
| 1.97– 2.59 | 3.17– 4.17 | 2 |  SR 315C (Goodale Street) / CR 9 (Olentangy River Road) to I-670 | |||
| 3.18– 3.26 | 5.12– 5.25 | 3 | Medical Center Drive/King Avenue | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; access to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center | ||
| 3.69– 3.81 | 5.94– 6.13 | 3 | CR 9 (Olentangy River Road) / CR 176 (Kinnear Road) | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; southbound access to King Avenue, Fifth Avenue, and Third Avenue | ||
| 4.20– 4.49 | 6.76– 7.23 | 4 | CR 59 (Lane Avenue) | Access to Ohio State University, Ohio Stadium, Schottenstein Center and Upper Arlington | ||
| 5.03– 5.35 | 8.10– 8.61 | 5 | CR 52M (Ackerman Road) | |||
| 5.69– 6.52 | 9.16– 10.49 | 6 |  CR 523 (West North Broadway) / CR 9 (Olentangy River Road) | Signed as exits 6A (west) and 6B (Olentangy River Road) northbound. Access to Riverside Methodist Hospital. | ||
| 7.61– 8.11 | 12.25– 13.05 | 7 | CR 55 (Henderson Road) / CR 9 (Olentangy River Road) | |||
| 8.35– 8.83 | 13.44– 14.21 | 8 | CR 67 (Bethel Road) | |||
| Worthington | 10.22– 10.59 | 16.45– 17.04 | 10 |  SR 161 (Dublin–Granville Road) | ||
| Sharon Township | 11.66– 12.28 | 18.76– 19.76 | 12 |  I-270 (Jack Nicklaus Freeway) | I-270 exits 22A-B; Modified cloverleaf interchange. | |
| 12.28 | 19.76 | Northern end of freeway | ||||
| Delaware | Liberty Township | 15.22 | 24.49 |  SR 750 (Powell Road) | ||
| Delaware Township | 22.48 | 36.18 | US 23 (Columbus Pike) | Northern terminus of SR 315 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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State Route 315C
editState Route 315C | |
|---|---|
| Location | Columbus, Ohio |
| Length | 1.09 mi[14] (1.75 km) |
An unsigned State Route 315C exists which begins on the Interstate 670 westbound ramp to Neil Avenue, follows Neil south to the Goodale-Neil Connector and Goodale Avenue, then up Olentangy River Road and onto the ramp to State Route 315 southbound, where it ends. It is clear from the Straight Line Diagram that SR 315C exists westbound only.[14]
References
edit- ↑ Ohio Department of Transportation. "Technical Services Straight Line Diagrams".
- ↑ "Route 315 Is Included In State Road System". Columbus Evening Dispatch. Columbus, Ohio. August 9, 1933. p. 6 – via NewsBank.
- ↑ "Olentangy Freeway" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
- ↑ Ohio Department of Highways (1932). "1932 State Highway System Map" (PDF). www.dot.state.oh.us. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Ohio Department of Highways (1935). "Official 1935 Ohio State Highway Map" (PDF). www.dot.state.oh.us. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Simpson, John (January 10, 1998). "Route 315". pages.prodigy.net. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
- ↑ USGS (1967). "Southwest Columbus 7.5' Quad". ngmdb.usgs.gov. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Hendren, Sam (May 8, 2017). "Curious Cbus: Was The Olentangy River Moved For Route 315, And Where?". WOSU 89.7 NPR News. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Marburn Women's Action Group, MSS 1519, Ohio History Connection https://aspace.ohiohistory.org/repositories/2/resources/28498 Accessed April 28, 2026.
- ↑ Williams, Karen. "Then and Now: RT. 315 Exit to Lane Avenue". Upper Arlington Historical Society. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Ohio Revised Code 5533.90".
- ↑ Ohio Department of Transportation. "Ohio State Route 315 - Straight Line Diagram - Franklin County" (PDF).
- ↑ Ohio Department of Transportation. "Ohio State Route 315 - Straight Line Diagram - Delaware County" (PDF).
- 1 2 Ohio Department of Transportation. "Route 315C Straight Line Diagram" (PDF).
External links
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Media related to Ohio State Route 315 at Wikimedia Commons
