U.S. 24 East - Paulding / Defiance Counties

U.S. 24 enters the Buckeye State of Ohio as part of the four lane expressway that opened on October 29, 2009. At the state line, U.S. 24 enters Paulding County.

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Unlike the Indiana stretch of the Fort-to-Port highway, Ohio's stretch is an expressway from the Ohio state line northeast to Napoleon with interchanges at crossings with state and U.S. highways. It maintains a 65 mile per hour speed limit for nearly its entire routing.

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U.S. 24 from the Ohio state line to Napoleon has at-grade intersections with minor county roads. Up ahead is the intersection with Paulding County Road 21.

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SR 49 meets U.S. 24 at Exit 3 in one mile. Unlike most non-interstate highways in Ohio, exit number are uses along U.S. 24 east to Toledo.

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SR 49 runs 153 miles from U.S. 35 in Dayton north through Greenville and along the Indiana border to the Michigan state line north of Columbia.

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The village of Antwerp is just north of U.S. 24 at the junction of SR 49 and CR 424 (old U.S. 24). The village of Payne is several miles to the south at SR 49 and SR 613.

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Ohio's stretch of U.S. 24 has decorative overpasses along its route. Pictured here is the overpass at the SR 49 interchange.

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East of Exit 3 (SR 49), U.S. 24 is 16 miles from Defiance and 58 miles from Maumee. The main control city of Toledo lies 66 miles away.

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Another decorative overpass carries Paulding County Road 176 over U.S. 24.

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A view of U.S. 24 to the east of the Antwerp area. Traffic picks up on this highway once one gets past Defiance.

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U.S. 24 at the intersection with Crane Township Road 83.

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U.S. 24 at the intersection with Paulding County Road 87.

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A view of U.S. 24 to the east of Paulding County Road 87. Up ahead is the interchange with U.S. 127.

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One mile now from Exit 13 with U.S. 127. Note the dark green patch underneath the U.S. 127 shield on the sign. When this highway first opened, an erroneous SR 127 (a non-existent highway) shield was placed instead, prompting ODOT to cover it with the correct U.S. 127 shield.

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U.S. 127 runs across western Ohio from Cincinnati north through Eaton, Greenville, Celina, Van Wert, Paulding and Bryan before entering Michigan near Fayette. Nationally, U.S. 127 travels for 758 miles from Interstate 75 near Grayling, Michigan south to U.S. 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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U.S. 24 passes to the south of the community of Cecil at the point where Exit 13 turns off of U.S. 24 east. The Paulding County seat of Paulding lies six miles to the south and the Defiance County community of Sherwood is five miles to the north.

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East of Exit 13 (U.S. 127), U.S. 24 is 11 miles from Defiance and 27 miles from Napoleon.

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Scenes of U.S. 24 to the east of Exit 13 (U.S. 127), as the expressway crosses Paulding County Roads 115, 232, 133 and 143 respectively.

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U.S. 24 crosses into Defiance County to the east of the intersection with Paulding County Road 143.

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A view of U.S. 24 as it approaches the Defiance area.

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The next four interchanges along U.S. 24 serve the Defiance County seat of Defiance. The community was formed at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers at the site of Fort Defiance, built by General Mad Anthony Wayne (Fort Wayne's namesake) in 1794 to help claim Northwest Ohio for the new white settlers. Defiance is also the largest community along U.S. 24 in between Fort Wayne and Toledo.

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Now a mile away from Exit 22 with Baltimore Street, the former routing of U.S. 24 into the city of Defiance.

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Exit 22 (Baltimore Street) now lies a half mile away. Until 2009, U.S. 24 had followed Baltimore Street from the west and turned to the northeast as a part of the Defiance bypass, which had been a two lane highway to the northeast. Baltimore Street (Defiance County Road 424) now continues east continuously into central Defiance.

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Exit 22 turns off of U.S. 24 east onto Baltimore Street. Defiance County Road 424 heads west from here along the old routing of U.S. 24 while Baltimore Street follows the south bank of the Maumee River into Defiance.

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Now heading northeast from Exit 22 (Baltimore Street). This stretch of U.S. 24 from here to Exit 25 (SR 15 & SR 18) was a two lane highway that was a part of the 1960s-built Defiance bypass until 2008.

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Now a quarter mile away from Exit 22 with SR 15 & SR 18 (Ralston Avenue). SR 15 runs for 102 miles from the Michigan state line near Pioneer southeast through Defiance to U.S. 23 near Carey. SR 18 goes for 197 miles from the Indiana state line near Hicksville to SR 91 in Akron.

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Exit 22 turns off of U.S. 24 east for SR 15 & SR 18 (Ralston Avenue). The two highways head southeast toward a junction with SR 66 (Clinton Street) to the north of Downtown Defiance. The Williams County seat of Bryan lies 15 miles to the northwest along SR 15. SR 18 turns off of SR 15 just northwest town for a westerly path toward Hicksville.

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Passing underneath the SR 15 & SR 18 (Ralston Avenue) overpass, U.S. 24 is now 3/4 mile away from Exit 26 with SR 66 (Clinton Street). The overpass was rebuilt in the late 2000s, since it had been part of the original freeway bypass of Defiance that had been built in the 1960s.

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Exit 26 turns off at a diamond interchange with SR 66 (Clinton Street). The interchange was rebuilt by 2011 with a new overpass and pavement for SR 66 (Clinton Street) in the vicinity of U.S. 24. Archbold lies 18 miles to the north while Downtown Defiance is a mile to the south. Numerous commercial businesses serve Defiance at this exit.

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East of Exit 26 (SR 66), we are now a mile away from Exit 28 with SR 281 (Domersville Road).

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SR 281 (Domersville Road) runs for 50 miles from U.S. 24 in Defiance to U.S. 6 near Bradner.

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Exit 28 turns off of U.S. 24 east at a diamond interchange with SR 281 (Domersville Road). To the north, the road is a simple county highway and to the south SR 281 passes through the far east side of Defiance toward a junction with SR 18.

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Northeast of Defiance, U.S. 24 follows a straight path toward the community of Napoleon. This route of U.S. 24 had been first built in the 1960s, but only as a two lane highway. It was not until 2009 that this highway was widened to four lanes for the stretch from Defiance to Napoleon. Pictured are the intersections with Jewell Road 55, Independence Road, Flory Road and Banner School Road.

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U.S. 24 enters Henry County past the Banner School Road intersection.

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