M-29 is a
state trunkline highway in the US state of
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
that runs in a south–north direction from
Chesterfield Township to
Marysville. It generally runs along the shore of
Lake St. Clair and the
St. Clair River
The St. Clair River (french: Rivière Sainte-Claire) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron int ...
.
The M-29 designation has been used twice in Michigan starting in 1919. The first designation near
Lansing
Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...
was replaced by
U.S. Route 27 (US 27) in 1926. At that time, the M-29 designation was moved to the east side of the state along the current routing and farther north along part of what became
US 25 and
M-25 M25 or M-25 may be:
Aerospace
* M-25 Dromader Mikro, a variant of the Polish PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader agricultural aircraft
* Cors-Air M25Y Black Devil, an Italian aircraft engine
* Shvetsov M-25, an aircraft radial engine produced in the Soviet ...
. The 1933 extension of US 25 replaced the northern section of M-29 leading to the current location of M-29.
Route description
![M-29 in Chesterfield Township](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/M-29_in_Chesterfield_Township.jpg)
The route generally follows the eastern border of the state along the northwest shore of
Lake St. Clair and the western bank of the
St. Clair River
The St. Clair River (french: Rivière Sainte-Claire) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron int ...
. From
Algonac to its northern terminus in Marysville, M-29 is within a mile of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, just across the river to the east. The route starts at an interchange with
Interstate 94 (I-94) at exit 243. The road passes east through the residential areas of
Chesterfield Township towards the shores of
Lake St. Clair. Upon reaching the lake, the road turns to the northeast as it generally follows the contours of the lakeshore and St. Clair River further down. The road passes through
New Baltimore and curves around the northern edge of Anchor Bay, which is part of Lake St. Clair. West of I-94, the route continues as 23 Mile Road.
From there the route swings to the south, following the eastern shore of the lake before turning back to the east as it approaches the Harsens Island Ferry docks. M-29 is the main thoroughfare with which to reach
Harsens Island
Harsens Island is a wet marshy location at the mouth of the St. Clair River on Lake St. Clair, in the U.S. state of Michigan. Politically, the island is in Clay Township of St. Clair County.
History
The island was named for its first Euro-Ame ...
which connects to
St. Clair Flats Wildlife Area and the communities of
Grand Point,
Maple Leaf
The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada.
History of use in Canada
By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along th ...
and
Sans Souci via
M-154 by auto
ferry. After passing by the ferry docks, the road turns back to the north, paralleling the St. Clair River as it runs along the eastern side of
Algonac State Park, passing through numerous riverbank communities. The road then turns to the north and runs a few blocks inland as it enters
Marine City. On the northern side of the town, the road turns back to the east, to once again, running adjacent the bank of the river.
[
The route continues along the shoreline, until it meanders back inland a bit as it passes by the St. Clair and Belle River power plants, after which it runs close to the bank, once again, buffered by several riverbank residences. As the route enters the city of St. Clair, it is known as River Road and Riverside Avenue as it serves as the main thoroughfare along the shore. As M-29 approaches Marysville the road turns back inland from the river where it travels through the southeastern side of Marysville before terminating at an intersection with I-94 Business Loop which leads into ]Port Huron
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately.
Located along the St. Clair ...
.[
]
History
Prior to the implementation of the U.S. Highway System
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...
, M-29 existed as a route that connected the Lansing
Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...
area to Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
via Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
and Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
. In 1926, when the U.S. Highway system was created, US 27
U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 1 in Florida, US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 in India ...
overtook the alignment that M-29 had previously occupied. At the same time the M-29 designation was shifted to the eastern side of the state, generally where it exists today. However, rather than terminating in Marysville, the route continued all the way around the thumb and into Bay City on a route now occupied by present-day M-25 M25 or M-25 may be:
Aerospace
* M-25 Dromader Mikro, a variant of the Polish PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader agricultural aircraft
* Cors-Air M25Y Black Devil, an Italian aircraft engine
* Shvetsov M-25, an aircraft radial engine produced in the Soviet ...
.
In 1933, the US 25 designation was extended from Port Huron, along the existing M-29 roadway, to a terminus in Port Austin. This would have created two discontinuous segments of M-29, so the section designated as such from Bay City to Port Austin was renumbered to M-25. In 1939, M-29, which formerly terminated at US 25 and Gratiot Avenue was shifted slightly eastward and realigned to run along Jefferson Avenue along the Lake St. Clair shoreline. It continued along Jefferson Avenue down to Grosse Pointe Shores
Grosse Pointe Shores is a city in Macomb and Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,008 at the 2010 census.
Grosse Pointe Shores was incorporated as a village in 1911 and was part of Grosse Pointe Township in Wayne ...
where it then turned west along Vernier Road where it then terminated at US 25 on the Detroit – East Detroit border.
In 1949, the route was altered once again when a new bypass was built in Mount Clemens. From New Baltimore, the road continued along 23 Mile Road, as it had before, to US 25 and proceeded to the southwest to Hall Road where it assumed the new bypass alignment and continued to Crocker Boulevard where it turned southeasterly along its former alignment. Later in 1956, the Michigan State Highway Department
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is a constitutional government principal department of the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstate ...
made a few realignments in the Marine City as the route was moved to its present-day course.
In 1963, a section of I-94 freeway opened from south of Mount Clemens to Marysville. M-29 south of 23 Mile Road was routed onto it down to present day exit 235. Three years later, a realignment in Marysville, realigned M-29 onto the Busha Highway, returning the old route to local control. Finally, in 1971, M-29 south of exit 243 on I-94 was truncated back to its present-day terminus, and the route has existed as such since then.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
M-29
at Michigan Highways