M-30 is a state trunkline highway in the U.S. 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 ...

that runs in a north–south direction from the Midland area to

West Branch West Branch may refer to: Communities * West Branch, Iowa, city in Cedar and Johnson counties * West Branch, Michigan, city in Ogemaw County * West Branch, New Brunswick, in the Local Service District of Weldford Parish * West Branch River John, i ...

. The highway runs through rural parts of three counties in 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 ...

. The southern end runs along the

Michigan Meridian The Michigan meridian is the principal meridian (or north-south line) used as a reference in the Michigan Survey, the survey of the U.S. state of Michigan in the early 19th century. It is located at 84 degrees, 21 minutes and 53 seconds west long ...

and parallel to the

Tittabawassee River The Tittabawassee River flows in a generally southeasterly direction through the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river begins at Secord Lake in Clement Township, at the confluence of the East Branch and the Middle Branch. Fro ...

. Prior to 1962, M-30's southern terminus was at a junction with M-46 in

Merrill Merrill may refer to: Places in the United States * Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska * Merrill, Iowa *Merrill, Maine * Merrill, Michigan *Merrill, Mississippi, an unincorporated community near Lucedale in George County *Merrill, Oregon *Merrill, W ...

. Since then, the segment south of US Highway 10 (US 10) was returned to local control and decommissioned. In May 2009, M-30 was extended southerly from US 10 to M-20, restoring some of the highway decommissioned in the 1960s to M-30.

Route description

M-30 is a rural, two-lane highway. M-30 follows Meridian Road starting at an intersection with M-20 (Isabella Road) outside of Midland. From this intersection, the highway runs north along the

through forest lands to a crossing of the

near Sanford. M-30 passes through the community and crosses the US 10 freeway near the location where the latter crosses a narrow section of

Sanford Lake Sanford Lake was a man-made reservoir located in Midland County, Michigan, but is no longer present since the failure of the dam in May 2020. It was formed by the damming of the Tittabawassee River near the town of Sanford, Michigan. It was bu ...

. The road continues north running parallel to the lake along the meridian to a point near Edenville. There, the highway turns westerly along Curtis Road and then back northerly on Midland Road to a crossing of the Tittabawassee and

Wixom Lake Wixom Lake was a reservoir in the U.S. state of Michigan from 1925 to 2020. It was named after Frank Wixom, who was instrumental in building the Edenville Dam. Unusual for its size, Wixom Lake boasts a lighthouse on Musselman Island. From 2019-2020 ...

. Past the river and lake crossings, M-30 angles to the northeast to return to the Michigan Meridian. The area adjacent to the lake is farm land, but continuing north, the highway returns to the woodlands of the

Au Sable State Forest The Au Sable State Forest is a state forest in the north-central Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The Au Sable State Forest is a byproduct of the lumbering boom in Michigan during the ...

. M-30 intersects M-61 at Wooden Shoe Village near Smallwood Lake. The highway continues to parallel the Tittabawassee River, crossing several of its smaller

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

, until a point south of the Gladwin– Ogemaw County county line. The trunkline passes through a small unnamed, unincorporated community northwest of Hockaday near Indian and Elk lakes as the road turns to the northeast between the lakes in the area. M-30 crosses the county line near

Edwards Edwards may refer to: People * Edwards (surname) * Edwards family, a prominent family from Chile * Edwards Barham (1937-2014), a former member of the Louisiana State Senate * Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892), an American attorney, jurist, and ora ...

and continues northward. The highway turns to the northeast as it approaches West Branch, crossing under Interstate 75 (I-75) without an interchange. M-30 ends at Business Loop I-75/ M-55 on the west side of West Branch. M-30 northern terminus (Michigan)

The

Michigan Department of Transportation 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 ...

(MDOT) maintains M-30 like all other parts of the state trunkline highway system. As a part of these responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic using its roads in surveys using a metric called

average annual daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...

(AADT). MDOT calculates the traffic level for a segment of roadway for any average day of the year in these surveys. For 2009, the highest traffic levels were observed on the section north of US 10 at 7,579 vehicles per day. The lowest AADT levels were the 2,952 vehicles between the M-61 junction and the Gladwin–Ogemaw county line. The survey did not include the section south of US 10. No segment has been listed as part of the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.

History

M-30 was first designated by July 1, 1919. The original routing only ran from Winegars to West Branch. South of Winegars, the roadway is a portion of M-18. An extension of M-18 in 1928 or 1929 south of Beaverton led to the redesignation and extension of M-30 south through Edenville and Sanford to end at M-46. M-30 was completely paved as the last of gravel roadway were completed between Sanford and the Midland–

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

county line in 1961. The next year, when M-30 was truncated to end at the US 10 freeway in Sanford, the remaining portion south of US 10 was turned over to county control. On May 13, 2009, the Midland County Road Commission (MCRC) and the

(MDOT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding that transferred control of Meridian Road south of US 10 to M-20. The roadway transferred included a newly constructed bridge over the Tittabawassee River and other segments of roadway rebuilt by the MCRC. On May 20, 2020, the bridge carrying M-30 over

collapsed after two dams on the Tittabawassee River failed, leading to severe flooding. A temporary bridge opened at the site in March 2021; this span will be replaced in the future once the waterway's final configuration is determined.

Major intersections

Notes

References

External links