M-79 is an east–west state trunkline highway in the central portion of

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 U.S. state of Michigan. The western terminus is about southeast of

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

at the junction with M-37 and the eastern terminus is in downtown

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

at the junction with M-50 and Business Loop Interstate 69 (BL I-69). It passes through Quimby and

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, where there is a junction with M-66. The entire highway is undivided surface road. It has no direct access with

Interstate 69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at ...

(I-69), although a sign for the highway is located on southbound I-69 at exit 61. The highway was first designated in 1919 between Hastings and

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which en ...

. It was later moved to run to Charlotte. A section of M-79 was designated as M-214 in the 1930s. M-214 would later be decommissioned as a highway designation and the M-79 designation was reapplied to the roadway.

Route description

M-79 starts south of Hastings at a three-way intersection with M-37 in Hastings Township. The trunkline runs east and parallel to a section of the

Thornapple River The Thornapple River (Ottawa: ''Sowanquesake'', "Forked River") (GNIS ID #) is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 tributary of Michigan's longest river, the ...

through wooded terrain that is interspersed with farm fields. South of Thornapple Lake, M-79 angles southeasterly moving from Quimby Road to Scott Road running parallel to the Thornapple River again into the community of Nashville. M-79 meets M-66 and turns south along the latter highway's route along Main and Durkee streets through the community. South of town in Maple Grove Township, M-79 separates from M-66 and turns east along Lawrence Road. Outside of Charlotte, M-79 curves southeast to transition to Lawrence Avenue through town. The eastern terminus is at an intersection with Cochran Avenue, which carries BL I-69 and M-50.

History

M-79 was formed as a state trunkline by July 1, 1919 along part of its present routing. At the time, it ran between Hastings and Nashville as it does today. From Nashville, the trunkline turned south and west to end at the contemporary M-17 in

. By 1927, the southernmost section of M-79 was truncated when M-78 was extended to Battle Creek. In late 1930, the southernmost section was shortened once again as a new

M-14 M14, M-14, or M.14 most often refers to: * M14 rifle, an American military rifle ** Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle, an American designated marksman rifle based on the M14 M14, M-14, or M.14 may also refer to: Roads * Highway M14 (Ukraine) * M-14 (Mic ...

designation replaced M-79 south of Nashville. An eastward extension of M-79 at the same time carries the highway designation to Vermontville. M-79 was extended easterly to Charlotte in 1934 at the same time that the section of the trunkline between Nashville and Vermontville was redesignated M-214. M-79 was rerouted along Assyria and Lawrence roads at the time to connect the sections of M-79 on either side of M-214. By 1941, M-214 was shortened to a connector route in downtown Nashville running between M-79 and M-66. In 1953, M-79 replaced M-214 and the latter designation was retired from the highway system. The last section of gravel roadway in Eaton County was paved by 1960.

Major intersections

References

External links

M-79
at Michigan Highways {{DEFAULTSORT:M079

079 79 may refer to: * 79 (number) * one of the years 79 BC, AD 79, 1979, 2079 * ''79 A.D.'', a 1962 historical epic film * Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79, a catastrophic volcanic eruption in Italy See also

* * List of highways numbered {{Num ...

Transportation in Barry County, Michigan Transportation in Eaton County, Michigan