Ohio State Route 81

State Route 81 (SR 81) is an east–west route in western Ohio. Its western terminus is at the Indiana state line near Willshire (the route continues as State Road 124), and its eastern terminus is at SR 53 in Patterson. The route also goes through or close to the towns of Elgin, Lima, Ada, and Dunkirk.^[5]

State Route 81
Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length	70.489 mi[1][2][3][4] (113.441 km)
Existed	1927–present
Major junctions
West end	SR 124 near Willshire
Major intersections	US 33 / SR 49 in Willshire US 127 near Rockford I-75 near Lima US 68 in Dunkirk
East end	SR 53 in Patterson
Location
Country	United States
State	Ohio
Counties	Van Wert, Allen, Hardin
Highway system
Ohio State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← SR 80 → SR 82

History

SR 81 was certified by 1927. It was originally routed from Ada to Patterson on the former northernmost section of the now-defunct SR 69. At the time of SR 81's current designation, SR 69 was rerouted to Mount Cory (this route is now part of SR 235).^[6][7] SR 81 was extended to the Indiana state line in 1940 along formerly unnumbered roads from Ada to Lima and along the route of the now-defunct SR 704 (which was created in 1937^[8]) from Lima to the state line.^[9][10] No major changes have occurred to the routing since then.

From 1923 to 1926, SR 81 was a short route in northeastern Ohio between Brentwood Lake and Twinsburg. In 1926, the route became part of SR 82.^[11][6][7]

Major junctions

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Van Wert	Willshire Township	0.000	0.000	SR 124 west	Indiana state line
	Willshire	0.422	0.679	US 33 west (Decatur Road)	Western end of US 33 concurrency
		0.633	1.019	US 33 east / SR 49 south (State Street)	Eastern end of US 33 concurrency; eastern end of SR 49 concurrency
	Willshire Township	0.730	1.175	SR 49 north	Western end of SR 49 concurrency
	Liberty Township	9.123	14.682	SR 118 – Ohio City, Rockford
		11.712	18.849	US 127 – Celina, Van Wert
	Jennings Township	20.364	32.773	SR 116 / Elgin Converse Road – Venedocia, St. Marys
Allen	Spencer–Amanda township line	24.887– 24.935	40.052– 40.129	SR 66 south – Spencerville	Western end of SR 66 concurrency
	Amanda Township	25.175	40.515	SR 66 north – Delphos	Eastern end of SR 66 concurrency
	Lima	37.587	60.490	SR 309 west (North Jameson Avenue)	Western end of SR 309 concurrency
		38.467	61.907	SR 65 (North West Street)	Western end of SR 65 southbound concurrency
		38.519	61.990	SR 65 north (North Elizabeth Street)	Western end of SR 65 northbound concurrency
		38.711	62.299	SR 65 south / SR 309 east (North Union Street)	Eastern end of SR 65 southbound / SR 309 eastbound concurrency
		38.762	62.381	SR 65 / SR 309 (North Central Avenue)	Eastern end of SR 65 northbound / SR 309 westbound concurrency
	Bath Township	40.742	65.568	I-75 – Dayton, Toledo	Exit 127 (I-75)
Hardin	Ada	54.248	87.304	SR 235 (North Main Street)
	Dunkirk	64.372	103.597	US 68 (South Main Street)
	Patterson	70.489	113.441	SR 53 (Kenton Street) / Main Street
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus