M-27 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the extreme north of the

Lower Peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

of the US state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The trunkline runs between

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

(I-75) just north of Indian River and Cheboygan, where it meets US Highway 23 (US 23) near

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

. It remains as a relic of the old US 27 which disappeared north of Grayling after being supplanted by I-75, which lies close to old US 27 between Grayling and Indian River.

Route description

M-27 (Michigan highway) southern terminus

I-75 takes a more direct route between Indian River and Mackinaw City. M-27 follows old US 27 through Topinabee and Cheboygan. With US 23 it is a scenic, if indirect, alternative to I-75 on its approach to the

Mackinac Bridge The Mackinac Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac, connecting the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the bridge (familiarly known as "Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac") is the worl ...

. M-27 runs along the western shore of

Mullett Lake Mullett Lake is a lake in Cheboygan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The lake is named after John Mullett, who, together with William A. Burt, made a federal survey of the area from 1840 to 1843. A neighboring lake was named after Burt. Hist ...

and forms the main street of Topinabee. The highway intersects M-33 near the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Cheboygan and

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

rivers. North of the M-33 junction, M-27 runs parallel to the Cheboygan River on the west river bank into downtown Cheboygan. M-27 has the local road name of Main Street in Cheboygan and Straits Highway outside of the city. State Street (US 23) and Main Street (M-27) form the two major streets in the Cheboygan street grid. The main downtown businesses are located along Main Street south to the city limits. The highway has not been listed on the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's defense, economy and mobility.

History

Previous alignment

This is the second time a highway was designated M-27 in Michigan. The original M-27 was located in

The Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of M ...

, running from the Mount Clemens area east and north through New Baltimore to Port Huron. There it ran through Carsonville and Minden City to Harbor Beach and along Lake Huron to Port Austin. This version of M-27 was designated by July 1, 1919, and would last until 1926. All of the original M-27 was given to other contemporary highways including M-29 (Mount Clemens to Port Huron),

M-51 M51 or M-51 may refer to: * M-51 (Michigan highway), a state highway in Michigan * M51 highway (Russia) * M51 (Cape Town), a Metropolitan Route in Cape Town, South Africa * M51 Skysweeper, an anti-aircraft gun * M51 MACI mine * M51 SLBM, a French ...

(Port Huron to M-83), and M-29 (Harbor Beach to Port Austin).

Current alignment

In the late 1950s, US 27 was the main highway connection between Grayling,

Gaylord Gaylord is a name of Norman French origin, from the Old French ''gaillard'' meaning "joyful" or "high-spirited". It may refer to: People *Gaylord (given name) Surname *Bill Gaylord (born 1967), British former alpine skier *Charles Gaylord (1936 ...

, and Cheboygan. After the construction of the

, US 27 was extended north to

St. Ignace St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,452 at the 2010 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but the two are administered auto ...

. The construction of I-75 in the early 1960s rendered the northern portion of US 27 obsolete. Between Grayling and Indian River, I-75 replaced US 27 as the main highway in the area. North of Indian River, I-75 was built along a different routing. Where US 27 ran northwest through Topinabee to Cheboygan and then concurrently along US 23 to Mackinaw City, I-75 was built due north of Indian River before turning northwest parallel and several miles inland from

, bypassing Cheboygan completely. M-27 was designated in the latter half of 1961 on the current alignment replacing US 27 which was truncated back to Grayling. Today, the stretch from Grayling to about Wolverine is known as Old 27, and from there to Indian River, it is called Straits Highway.

Major intersections

References

External links

M-27
at Michigan Highways M-27
at Michigan Highway Ends--> {{DEFAULTSORT:M027 027 Transportation in Cheboygan County, Michigan U.S. Route 27