Outer Drive is a bypass road which encircles both the eastern and western portions of the Detroit, Michigan region. It resembles a jagged horseshoe and was not originally intended to move traffic as much as it was to provide a pleasurable drive around the City of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and some of its suburbs. A boulevard for the vast majority of its length, Outer Drive includes travel through beautiful subdivisions, school sites, and park areas. First proposed in 1918, it immediately won acceptance and eventually evolved into the thoroughfare which exists today. A 1929 article in ''Michigan Women'' magazine, predicted a "...great pleasure boulevard..." that would be "...like a necklace around Detroit...." However, in an article dated August 4, 2004, in the ''

Metro Times The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. History and content Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed f ...

'', Michigan author Curt Guyette described Outer Drive as "...one of the oddest city thoroughfares in the country." Outer Drive was once famous for the elm trees that lined the wandering roadway at one time, but in a circa-1983

WXYZ-TV WXYZ-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Independent station (North America), independent st ...

report about Outer Drive, reporter Erik Smith of the local ABC affiliate, declared that "...now, it may be more famous for its potholes." While mostly within the Detroit city limits, Outer Drive also ventures into the cities of

Allen Park Allen Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 28,638. Ford Motor Company is an integral part of the community. Many of the company's offices and facilities lie within the city limit ...

, Dearborn,

Dearborn Heights Dearborn Heights is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 63,292 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census., Dearborn Heights is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, and is consid ...

Ecorse Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,512 at the 2010 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroit ...

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

, and Melvindale. At its western starting point at Jefferson Avenue in Ecorse near the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...

, the thoroughfare meanders northwesterly to Michigan Avenue, where it makes a northeast bend along the River Rouge; it then continues northeasterly with several 90 degree angle turns until Outer Drive ends at Livernois Avenue. Outer Drive then resumes on Detroit's east side, over-taking State Fair Avenue, Conner Avenue, Alter Road, Chandler Park Drive, and Whittier Avenue, with its eastern terminus at Mack Avenue at the northern edge of the City of

Grosse Pointe Park Grosse Pointe Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 11,555 at the 2010 census. Bordering on Detroit with frontage on southern Lake St. Clair, it is the southernmost of the Grosse Pointe suburbs. Gros ...

, but not actually entering that city. Outer Drive is notable for having several isolated divided portions. There are three such segments. The largest is the westernmost section, beginning at Jefferson Avenue in Ecorse and ending at

Livernois Avenue Livernois Avenue (also referred to as Livernois Road, Livernois Street, Avenue of Fashion, and Main Street) is a major thoroughfare and section line road on the west side of Metro Detroit in the US state of Michigan. Route description Within D ...

in Detroit—this particular sector is . The middle section is between Dequindre Road (at East State Fair Avenue) and at East McNichols Road (between the Mount Olivet Cemetery and the

Coleman A. Young International Airport Coleman A. Young International Airport (Coleman A. Young Municipal Airport, formerly Detroit City Airport until 2003) is six miles northeast of downtown Detroit, in Wayne County, Michigan. It is owned by the City of Detroit. The Federal Aviation ...

); that section is entirely within Detroit. The easternmost section is between Conner Avenue (near Gratiot Avenue) and Mack Avenue; this portion is and likewise completely inside Detroit.

References

Metro Times Article about the history of Outer Drive
{{Metro Detroit Surface Streets, state=open Metro Detroit Streets in Michigan

See also

References