Ohio State Route 309
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| State Route 309 |
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| Length: | 103.20 mi[1] (166.08 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1975 | ||||||||
| West end: |  US 30 near Delphos |
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| Major junctions: |
 I-75 near Lima |
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| East end: | US 30 in Mansfield |
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| Counties: | Allen, Hardin, Marion, Morrow, Crawford, Richland | ||||||||
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State Route 309 (SR 309) is an east-west highway in central Ohio. Its western terminus is at its interchange with U.S. 30 near Delphos, Ohio, and its eastern terminus is at its interchange with U.S. 30 in Mansfield, Ohio. Its current route takes it through the towns of Elida, Lima, Kenton, Marion, Caledonia, Galion, and Ontario.
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[edit] History
Ohio 309's current route was the route of U.S. Route 30S until that split was decertified in 1975. Under Ohio numbering custom, the 400 series of numbers was traditionally used to renumber decertified and remnant highways. However, State Route 430 had already been certified from Mansfield to Mifflin as a remnant of US 30. Despite the fact that Ohio 430 ended on US 30S, it was decided that US 30S would be recertified with a new number that looked similar to 30S, so it would not confuse travelers of the route.[citation needed] The route was thus certified as SR 309.
The only significant change of the route since this certification is its western terminus, which originally was with U.S. 30 in Delphos. When U.S. 30's bypass around Delphos was completed in 1981, Ohio 309's western terminus was made the easternmost interchange of the bypass.
Before being used as its current route, the route number 309 was used as the route number of what is now State Route 541. It was replaced with the now defunct State Route 271 in 1936.
[edit] Harding Highway
The Lincoln Highway left the present State Route 309, a better-quality road at the time, in favor of the direct Delphos-Mansfield route now generally followed by US 30. Only two weeks after the official route was announced in September 1913, it had already been redefined to a straighter path between Lima and Galion; the rest of the straightening came later. The towns along the route got together and formed the Harding Highway, named after President Warren G. Harding, who had grown up in the area.
There were also plans to continue the Harding Highway from coast to coast. Most of U.S. Route 40 in New Jersey and most of New Jersey Route 48 is named Harding Highway, possibly as part of the same road. In 1921, President Harding, in fact, dedicated New Jersey's portion on the steps of Woodstown High School in Woodstown. It originally ran from the Delaware River town of Penns Grove where it started at a now-abandoned ferry dock, traveled along present-day Main Street and NJ Route 48 to U.S. Route 40 from Carneys Point to Atlantic City. Currently, it no longer extends to the Delaware, as it was truncated to DuPont Road in Carneys Point after U.S. Route 40 was rerouted to the ferry in Pennsville; however, the eastern end is still Atlantic City.
