Michigan Highways
The State Trunkline Highway System of the US state of Michigan is a network of roads owned and maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The most prominent of these roads are part of one of three numbered highway systems in Michigan: Interstates Highways, US Highways, and the other State Trunklines. Other systems of roads are operated by the 83 counties in the state as well as each city.
Interstate Highways and US Highways are assigned at the national level. Interstate Highways are numbered in a grid—even-numbered highways are east–west highways (with the lowest numbers along Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico), and odd-numbered highways are north–south highways (with the lowest numbers along the Pacific Ocean). US Highways are also numbered in a grid—even numbered for east–west highways (with the lowest numbers along Canada) and odd numbered for north–south highways (with the lowest numbers along the Atlantic Ocean). For this reason, mainline (two-digit) Interstate Highways in Michigan all have numbers above 69 and mainline US Highways all have numbers below 45. Three-digit Interstate and U.S. Highways, also known as "child routes," are branches off their main one- or two-digit "parents". The Interstate and US Highways are maintained by MDOT. Interstate 75 (I-75) and US Highway 23 (US 23) are the longest examples in the state.
State Trunklines are the other state highways maintained by MDOT. These highways are completely owned and maintained by the state. Michigan highways are properly referred to using the M and never as "Route 28" or "Highway 115", but as M-28 or M-115. The marker used for state trunklines is a diamond with a block-letter "M" at the top. Roads that are maintained by the state but not assigned a state trunkline designation carry an unsigned highway designation.
County-Designated Highways are assigned numbers in a zone system by MDOT, but maintained by the counties. Each zone is indicated by a letter A–H which is followed by a number based on a grid inside that zone. Each county also maintains any other roadway that is not a state trunkline or a city street. The numbering and signing practices vary from county to county, as does the size of each county's system. Numerical designations typically do not carry over from one county to the next; a CDH that crosses county lines keeps its designation in each county however. County road designations are typically abbreviated "CR" or "Co Rd" followed by the number, and CDHs are abbreviated to just their letter and number assignment.
Recognized content - 
Interstate 496 (I-496) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that passes through downtown Lansing in the US state of Michigan. Also a component of the State Trunkline Highway System, the freeway connects I-96 to the downtown area. It has been named the R.E. Olds Freeway (sometimes just Olds Freeway) for Ransom E. Olds, the founder of Oldsmobile and the REO Motor Car Company. I-496 runs east–west from I-96/I-69 near the downtown area and north–south along a section that runs concurrently with US Highway 127 (US 127). The trunkline also passes a former assembly plant used by Oldsmobile and runs along or crosses parts of the Grand and Red Cedar rivers.
Construction of I-496 started in 1963, and the freeway opened on December 18, 1970. Segments of the freeway south of downtown Lansing were built in the location of a historically black neighborhood. This neighborhood was formed based on the segregationist practices of the early 20th century. Community leaders worked for different housing opportunities for the black residents displaced by I-496 rather than fight the freeway. As the trunkline neared completion, competing proposals to name it resulted in two similar, but separate designations applied to I-496. The city originally approved one name in honor of a former mayor. The local historical society proposed that the state name it as a memorial to Olds after the demolition of the Olds Mansion. The city renamed it the Oldsmobile Expressway, the name under which it opened in December 1970. Two years later, the Michigan Legislature restored its preferred name and it has been the Olds Freeway since. (Full article...)General images
-
Grand River Avenue, once a part of M-16 and later US 16, was originally an Indian trail converted as a plank road before becoming a state highway. -
H-58 west of Grand Marais -
Planning map for the Detroit area freeways from 1955 -
Welcome sign along US 8 -
Junction between M-28 and M-178 south of Munising before 1941 -
Exit 254 on I-75 south of Grayling -
M-553 approaching Glass' Curve south of Marquette -
Interstate HighwaysOther freewaysMiscellaneous expressways -
H-13 during winter -
Map of the zone system -
M-121 in Jenison -
A-2 in Allegan County south of Holland -
Map of the pre-statehood Indian trails -
M-87 on November 1, 1956 -
Construction along I-96 for the interchange with M-231 in July 2013 (from Michigan State Trunkline Highway System) -
Dead Man's Curve along the Marquette–Negaunee Road shown in 1917 with its hand-painted centerline, the first in the nation -
M-39 bridge over the River Rouge in Dearborn -
Milemarker used in 1922 for M-14
.JPG)
.jpg)
Selected picture
Topics
State Trunkline System, overview of the system
- Interstates Highways in the state
- US Highways in the state
- State Trunklines
- County-Designated Highways in the state
- Pure Michigan Byways, a system of scenic, historical or recreational highways in the state
- Great Lakes Circle Tour
Subcategories
Related portals
WikiProjects
Things to do
Nominations and votes for selected articles and selected pictures are always needed. Anyone can nominate an article, and anyone can vote for an article. You can also recommend items for Did you know?. Improvements to the articles are always welcome as the project works on expanding and nominating the remaining ones for Good Article or Featured Article status.
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search