Ohio State Route 143 - History

History

The debut of the State Route 143 designation took place in 1923. Originally, this highway started in downtown Middleport at the intersection of 2nd Avenue, the former routing of State Route 7, and Mill Street. It followed Mill Street to the northwest, which becomes known as Bradbury Road once it leaves the village. State Route 143 continued on Bradbury Road to its intersection with State Route 124, then turned east onto the current alignment of State Route 124. It proceeded east to the State Route 7 intersection, then turned north onto what is presently the duplex of State Route 7 and State Route 124 to the current southern terminus of State Route 143. It then followed the entirety of its current alignment, coming to an end at the predecessor to U.S. Route 50, State Route 26.

By 1969, in conjunction with the completion of a new State Route 7 bypass of Middleport and Pomeroy, the State Route 143 designation was removed from the portions located to the south of its current southern terminus, thus resulting in the highway taking on the shape it has today. Jurisdiction of the portion of State Route 143 along Mill Street in Middleport was turned over to the county, while control of the Bradbury Road section was transferred to Meigs County. The east–west concurrent segment with State Route 124 became just State Route 124, while the north–south concurrent stretch with State Route 124 turned into a duplex of State Route 7 and State Route 124.