M-88 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 ...
. It runs between
US Highway 31
U.S. Route 31 or U.S. Highway 31 (US 31) is a major north–south U.S. highway connecting southern Alabama to northern Michigan. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with US 90/ US 98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Its ...
(US 31) and
US 131/
M-66 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 ...
. Running from
Mancelona to
Eastport, M-88 also goes through the communities of
Bellaire and
Central Lake. The highway is completely within
Antrim County and is known by the street name of "Scenic Highway" outside of the various communities along its routing.
M-88 is an original trunkline dating back to the 1919 signing of the state system. An extension in the 1920s and paving in the late 1930s created the highway as it exists today. The highway was not listed on the
National Highway System, nor is it included in the
Lake Michigan Circle Tour
The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. It consists of routes for circumnavigating the lakes, either individually or collectively. It was designated by the Grea ...
.
Route description
M-88 starts in the community of Eastport at an intersection four blocks east of the
Grand Traverse Bay
Grand Traverse Bay is a deep bay of Lake Michigan formed by the Leelanau Peninsula in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The bay is long, wide, and up to deep in spots. It is further divided into two east and west arms by the Ol ...
of
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
next to Barnes County Park. From its start, it runs east along the northern end of
Torch Lake. M-88 zig-zags south and east along Scenic Highway to the community of Central Lake. In Central Lake it runs south along Main Street, following the western shore of
Intermediate Lake
Intermediate may refer to:
* Intermediate 1 or Intermediate 2, educational qualifications in Scotland
* Intermediate (anatomy), the relative location of an anatomical structure lying between two other structures: see Anatomical terms of location
...
.
South of Intermediate Lake, M-88 crosses the
Intermediate River
Intermediate may refer to:
* Intermediate 1 or Intermediate 2, educational qualifications in Scotland
* Intermediate (anatomy), the relative location of an anatomical structure lying between two other structures: see Anatomical terms of location
...
on a
historic designation-eligible
Depression-era bridge along Bridge Street in Bellaire.
This section of M-88 is just west of the
Antrim County Airport
Antrim County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located one mile (2 km) northeast of the central business district of Bellaire, a village in Antrim County, Michigan, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Adminis ...
before the highway turns east on Cayuga Street in downtown and south on Division Street.
The Bellaire section of the trunkline is the location of the highest traffic levels along the highway. 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) measures the
annual average 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) in traffic surveys. The 2007 survey showed that 5,200 vehicles used the section of roadway on the average day in Bellaire.
South of Bellaire, M-88 passes the Chief Golf Course and the Legend, Summit and Bellaire golf clubs. M-88 crosses the Shanty Creek, which is the namesake of a resort in the area. South of the Bellaire Golf Club, M-88 turns eastward again, passing south of Schuss Mountain, another resort. This section of trunkline is used by 3,300 vehicles in the 2007 AADT survey.
Past Schuss Mountain, M-88 turns east at Alden highway and enters the community of Mancelona, passing the Fairview Cemetery. The highway runs along on State Street into downtown. M-88 ends at an intersection with US 131/M-66 running along Williams Street, and State Street continues eastward as
C-38.
History
M-88 was first designated by July 1, 1919 along its current routing between Mancelona and Bellaire. It was extended in 1927 through Central Lake to end in Eastport.
It was used as a temporary routing of US 31 between Eastport and Bellaire while the
Elk Rapids to Eastport section of US 31 was reconstructed.
The first sections of roadway were paved near Bellaire in late 1936.
Paving was completed on the entire highway by late 1940
No changes have been made to the highway since.
None of the highway was added to the National Highway System, a system of strategically important highways.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
M-88at Michigan Highways
{{DEFAULTSORT:M088
088
Transportation in Antrim County, Michigan