State Route 243 is an east–west state highway

State highway

State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 in the southern portion of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. The western terminus of State Route 243 is at a diamond interchange

Diamond interchange

A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a freeway crosses a minor road. The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge...

 with the U.S. Route 52 expressway in Coal Grove

Coal Grove, Ohio

Coal Grove is a village in Lawrence County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,027 at the 2000 census. The 2006 Census estimate reports a population increase to 2,087 residents . It borders the city of Ironton and lies across the Ohio River from Ashland, Kentucky...

. The eastern terminus of the state highway is at its signalized junction with State Route 7 approximately 1.25 miles (2 km) west of Proctorville

Proctorville, Ohio

Proctorville is a village in Lawrence County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 620 at the 2000 census. The East End Bridge connects Proctorville to Huntington, West Virginia across the Ohio River....

 near the northern banks of the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

.

State Route 243 used to continue east from here, running concurrently with State Route 7 into Proctorville, then split briefly from State Route 7 as it passed through the community of Rome before ending at State Route 7 about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Proctorville. State Route 243 was truncated to its present location following completion of the new State Route 775

Ohio State Route 775

State Route 775 is a north–south state highway in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. Its southern terminus is on the East End Bridge with the unmarked West Virginia Route 106 south of Proctorville, and its northern terminus is at State Route 141 nearly west of Gallipolis...

 by-pass of Proctorville, which State Route 7 was re-routed onto, leaving jurisdiction of the former routings of State Route 7 and State Route 243 through Proctorville and Rome to be turned over from the state to the local jurisdictions.

History

• 1928 – Original route certified; originally routed from Rome to 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Rome.
• 1933 – Routed from Coal Grove
  Coal Grove, Ohio
  Coal Grove is a village in Lawrence County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,027 at the 2000 census. The 2006 Census estimate reports a population increase to 2,087 residents . It borders the city of Ironton and lies across the Ohio River from Ashland, Kentucky...
  
   to Bradrick along a previously unnumbered road, and concurrently with State Route 7 from Bradrick to Rome.

Major intersections