List of Interstate Highways in Michigan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Interstate Highways in Michigan are the segments of the national Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways that are owned and maintained by 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 ...
, totaling about . The longest of these, Interstate 75 (I-75), is also the longest highway of any kind in the state. On a national level, the standards and numbering for the system are handled by the
Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
(FHWA) and the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test quality control, protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction through ...
(AASHTO), while the highways in Michigan are maintained by 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) and the
Mackinac Bridge Authority The Mackinac Bridge Authority is an independent state agency of the U.S. state of Michigan that operates the Mackinac Bridge across the Straits of Mackinac. The Mackinac Bridge Authority has been directed by the state of Michigan to maintain the ...
(MBA). The Interstates in Michigan have their origins in World War II-era
expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional slide ...
built in the
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 ...
area. After the system was created in 1956, the state highway department completed its first border-to-border Interstate in 1960. The last highway was completed in 1992, giving Michigan a total of 13 Interstate freeways. The original allotment of mileage to Michigan which would receive federal funding was expanded in 1968, and the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
designated an additional highway in the 1990s that has not yet been built. There are also 26 current
business routes A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...
that connect cities bypassed by the Interstates; 23 are business loops that connect on both ends to their parent highway, and three are
business spur A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...
s that connect on only one end. I-496 has the
Capitol Loop The Capitol Loop is a state trunkline highway running through Lansing, Michigan, in the United States that was commissioned on October 13, 1989. It forms a loop route off Interstate 496 (I-496) through downtown near the Michigan State Capitol ...
as its connection to the Michigan State Capitol in downtown
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 ...
. Another six business routes have been designated but are either no longer signed or maintained as state highways.


Description

MDOT is the agency responsible for the day-to-day maintenance and operations of the State Trunkline Highway System, which includes the Interstate Highways in Michigan. These highways are built to
Interstate Highway standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway to ...
, meaning they are all
freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
s with minimum requirements for full
control of access A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
, design speeds of depending on type of terrain, a minimum of two travel lanes in each direction, and specific widths of lanes or shoulders; exceptions from these standards have to be approved by the FHWA. The
numbering scheme There are many different numbering schemes for assigning nominal numbers to entities. These generally require an agreed set of rules, or a central coordinator. The schemes can be considered to be examples of a primary key of a database management ...
used to designate the Interstates was developed by AASHTO, an organization composed of the various state departments of transportation in the United States. The Interstate Highway System covers about in the state and consists of four primary highways and nine auxiliary highways. There are additional 29 
business routes A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...
associated with the system in Michigan. The longest segment of Interstate Highway in the state is Interstate 75 (I-75) at just under ; the shortest is
I-375 Interstate 375 may refer to: * Interstate 375 (Florida), a spur in St. Petersburg, Florida *Interstate 375 (Michigan) Interstate 375 (I-375) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. It ...
at . The length of I-75, the longest highway of any kind in the state, includes the
Mackinac Bridge The Mackinac Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac, connecting the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the bridge (familiarly known as "Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac") is the worl ...
, which is maintained by the MBA, the only section of state highway not under MDOT jurisdiction. The Mackinac Bridge is one of three monumental bridges in the state used by I-75; the others are the Zilwaukee and
International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...
bridges. A fourth, the privately owned
Ambassador Bridge The Ambassador Bridge is a tolled international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, it is the busiest international border crossing in North ...
connects I-75 and
I-96 Interstate 96 (I-96) is an east–west Interstate Highway that runs for approximately entirely within the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The western terminus is at an interchange with US Highway 31 (US 31) and Bu ...
in Detroit to Canada.


History

Construction of the first
expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional slide ...
in Michigan predates the Interstate Highway System. During World War II, 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 ...
(MSHD) built the Willow Run and Detroit Industrial expressways (now part of I-94) to carry workers from
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 ...
to the defense plants at
Willow Run Airport Willow Run Airport is an airport in Van Buren Charter Township and Ypsilanti Township, near Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States that serves freight, corporate, and general aviation. Due to its very close proximity to Detroit Metropolitan Ai ...
.. The state created the Michigan Turnpike Authority (MTA) in 1951,. which proposed the construction of a toll freeway to run north–south in the state. The original termini for the
Michigan Turnpike Interstate 75 (I-75) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs north–south from Miami, Florida, to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. I-75 enters the state from Ohi ...
were
Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...
and Rockwood. Interagency politics stalled progress on any proposed turnpikes while MSHD had three freeways under planning or construction.. The Interstate Highway System was authorized by the
Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, was enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law. With an original authorization of $25 billion for t ...
, and the state had already designed several freeways for its portion of that system. Seizing the opportunity brought by a 1957 state law, the department sold $700 million in bonds (equivalent to $ in 2011) in the late 1950s and early 1960s to finance land purchases and construction of the new freeways. The goal was to connect every city with a population over 50,000 with four-lane freeways that could accommodate rural traffic traveling at . The MSHD delayed numbering these freeways as part of the Interstate Highway System until the federal government had finalized the designations to be assigned to Michigan's freeways. The first highway to be signed as an Interstate in Michigan was I-75, which received signage in late 1959, along a section near the Ohio state line that opened to traffic in October 1957. I-94 was the first of the Interstates to be completed border to border in a US state. In 1974, the state implemented mileage-based
exit number An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit. In some countries, such as the United States, it is also marked on a sign in the go ...
s along the Interstates in Michigan. The MSHD asked for in additions to the state's Interstate mileage in 1968. Included in these requests were the extension of the Davison Freeway (now M-8), the extension of I-69 from
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 ...
to
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 ...
, and the conversion of the northern sections of US Highway 23 (US 23) and US 131. Of these, the I-69 proposal was approved when the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
extended it to terminate in at I-75 in
Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
. The highway was lengthened twice more: to I-475 in 1973 and to Port Huron on February 10, 1987. These last two extensions were classified '' non-chargeable mileage'', or segments not financed through the Interstate Highway fund. The federal government paid 90 percent of the cost of the chargeable mileage originally approved. The last of Michigan's Interstates to be completed was
I-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 ...
, the last segment of which opened in 1992. Since then, the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
has designated an additional primary Interstate,
I-73 Interstate 73 (I-73) is a north–south Interstate Highway, located within the US state of North Carolina. Currently, there is one continuous section of I-73, totaling , first traversing the U.S. Route 220 (US 220) freeway from ...
in the state. All studies by MDOT on that highway were cancelled in 2001 over funding concerns. Press reports state there is a "lack of need" for the freeway in the state, and the department has no plans to revive I-73 as of 2011. If built as designated, I-73 would cross into Michigan near
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
, and connect
Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...
,
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 ...
, and Clare to I-75 at Grayling.


Primary Interstates

File:I-69 exit 70 MI.jpg, alt=Photograph, I-69 approaching exit 70 File:I-75 Chrysler Freeway looking south.jpg, alt=Photograph, Looking south along I-75 (Chrysler Freeway) at the Detroit skyline File:Mackinac Bridge from the air4.jpg, alt=Aerial photograph, Mackinac Bridge and I-75 over the Straits of Mackinac File:Non Interchange Signage with Mileage Signage.jpg, alt=Photograph, I-94 at Park Road near Coloma File:Interstate 96 and Sternberg Road.jpg, alt=Photograph, I-96 near its western terminus File:Interstate 96 E-L at M-39.jpg, alt=Photograph, Local-express lanes along I-96 (Jeffries Freeway) File:Blue Water Bridge.jpg, alt=Aerial photograph, Twin-span Blue Water Bridge carrying I-69 and I-94


Auxiliary Interstates

was completed in 1974 as a connector from Grand Rapids to I-94 in the
Benton Harbor Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 46 miles southwest of Kalamazoo and 71 miles southwest of Grand Rapids. According to the 2020 census, its population was 9,103. It is the smaller, by population, of ...
St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...
area. File:Interstate 194 Michigan.jpg, alt=Photograph, I-194/M-66, the Sojourner Truth Downtown Parkway File:I-196 entering Grand Rapids, MI.jpg, alt=Photograph, I-196 entering downtown Grand Rapids File:I-275S at M14 1 Northville.jpg, alt=Photograph, Looking south at the I-96/I-275 split File:Interstate 296 & Grand River cropped.jpg, alt=Panoramic photograph, Unsigned I-296 from across the Grand River File:Northern end of I-375 Detroit.jpg, alt=Photograph, Northern end of I-375 where it merges into I-75 near Gratiot Avenue in Detroit File:I-496 at MLK Boulevard.jpg, alt=Photograph, I-496 in Lansing File:Interstate 675 at Schaefer Street Saginaw Michigan.jpg, alt=Photograph, I-675 crossing Schaefer Street in Saginaw File:Interstate 696 pedestrian plazas Oak Park.jpg, alt=Aerial photograph, Pedestrian plazas along I-696 in Oak Park File:Spaghetti Bowl Interchange (Novi, Michigan).png, alt=Satellite photo, Satellite image of the junction of I-96, I-275 and I-696


Proposed Interstates


Business routes


See also

*


Notes


References


Footnotes


Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Michigan Highways
Michigan Highway Ends
->
Interstate Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Interstate Highways In Michigan
Interstate Highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...