Take a quiet ride into the countryside of western Clark County as we follow County Road 335, better known as Spangler Road, north from Interstate 70 to the small community of Medway, Ohio, before retracing our path back to the interstate. Covering approximately 4 miles altogether, this short out-and-back journey makes an unusually quick transition from one of the Dayton region’s major freeway junctions to farmland, wetlands, scattered homes, and the streets of a small Ohio community. Although the distance is modest, Spangler Rd provides a distinctly different perspective from the Interstate highways surrounding it, trading freeway speeds and broad interchanges for a narrow two-lane county road through the flat landscape of Bethel Township.
We begin immediately north of the interchange where Interstate 675 reaches its northern terminus at Interstate 70 and Ohio Route 4. Traffic continuing straight beyond I-675 leaves the Interstate behind and becomes Spangler Road, making this local road a natural continuation of one of the Dayton metropolitan area’s busiest bypass routes. Almost at once, the scale of the drive changes. The ramps and bridges of I-70 recede behind us, the roadway narrows, and open ground begins to replace the freeway infrastructure. Clark County identifies Spangler Road as County Road 335, and county transportation studies classify the corridor as a major collector carrying both local traffic and vehicles arriving directly from I-675. That abrupt transition has even become part of the county’s safety planning, since northbound motorists must quickly adjust from Interstate speeds to the slower two-lane road. Clark County is planning a substantial Spangler Road safety improvement project, including wider shoulders, intersection improvements, drainage work, lighting, and elevation changes intended to reduce recurring flood problems along portions of the corridor.
Continuing north, we settle into the rural landscape of Bethel Township. Fields and scattered residences line the road, with tree lines and low-lying ground breaking up the broad agricultural terrain. This is still part of the greater Dayton-Springfield transportation corridor, but it feels considerably removed from the suburban development surrounding I-675 farther south. Clark County’s own study of CR 335 describes land use here as primarily residential, farmland, and small-community development, an accurate summary of what unfolds outside the windshield. Near Restoration Park Drive, the route passes the landscape associated with the Spangler Nature Preserve and nearby wetland areas, where the flat terrain surrounding the Mad River drainage becomes especially apparent. These low areas are more than just scenery: portions of CR 335 lie within the 100-year floodplain, and the county’s planned reconstruction includes raising parts of the road to address periodic flooding.
As we continue toward Medway, Spangler Road crosses Medway Creek, a small tributary within the Mad River watershed. The stream and nearby wetlands help explain the unusually open, low-lying character of this portion of the drive. Current reconstruction plans specifically call for work near Medway Creek, including changes to Spangler Road and replacement of the crossing structure as part of the larger corridor project. Beyond the creek, development gradually becomes more concentrated. Houses appear closer together, side roads become more frequent, and the countryside begins to give way to the small-town pattern of Medway.
Our northbound run concludes at East Main Street in Medway, where Spangler Road reaches a signalized intersection and the route north changes character. Main Street is part of the historic Lower Valley Pike Scenic Byway, an 11-mile Ohio scenic route established in 2004 and following the Mad River corridor through farmland, woodland, historic settlements, and portions of western Clark County. The Federal Highway Administration’s history of the Lower Valley Pike specifically identifies Medway as one of the communities along the route. The intersection also carries traces of Medway’s past. Historical markers here recognize electrical engineer Benjamin Garver Lamme, who grew up on a nearby Bethel Township farm and later worked for Westinghouse, as well as Medway’s role in the era of electric interurban railways.
At Main Street, we turn around and begin the return trip south. The same roadway presents a slightly different perspective in this direction, as Medway quickly falls behind and the horizon opens again across farmland and low ground. We cross Medway Creek once more, pass the scattered homes and natural areas south of town, and follow CR 335 toward the increasingly visible freeway complex ahead. The contrast becomes especially clear near the end of the drive: within only a couple of miles, we have moved from a small-town intersection and rural Ohio countryside back toward the ramps, bridges, and high-speed traffic of Interstate 70.
Our drive ends where Spangler Road meets the Interstate system and once again becomes part of the larger Dayton transportation network. County Road 335 may be a short route, but that brevity is part of what makes the drive interesting. In only a few minutes, we move between two very different versions of western Ohio — the massive I-70/I-675 interchange on one end and the farms, wetlands, creek bottoms, and quiet streets of Medway on the other. It is a compact reminder that just beyond the freeway ramps, the older rural landscape of Clark County remains remarkably close.
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