M-56 was a
state trunkline highway in the southeastern part of the US state of
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. It existed from 1919 until 1957. The highway ran north from
Monroe
Monroe or Monroes may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Monroe (surname)
* Monroe (given name)
* James Monroe, 5th President of the United States
* Marilyn Monroe, actress and model
Places United States
* Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...
, where it connected with
US Highway 24 (US 24, Telegraph Road), to
Flat Rock where it terminated at an intersection with US 24/
US 25. Before a series of truncations in the 1950s, the highway continued along the
Huron River
The Huron River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed November 7, 2011 river in southeast Michigan, southeastern Michigan, rising out of the Huron Swamp in Springfie ...
to
New Boston and
Belleville. The trunkline was progressively scaled back to Flat Rock before being decommissioned in 1957.
Route description
When it was decommissioned in 1957, M-56 started at an intersection with US 24 (Telegraph Road) on the west side of Monroe. From there, the trunkline ran southeasterly along Elm Avenue to an intersection with
US 25 (Dixie Highway, now
M-125) in downtown. M-56 also intersected
US 24A (now
Interstate 75, I-75) just outside town. The highway continued northeasterly past
Sterling State Park
William C. Sterling State Park is a public recreation area located in Frenchtown Charter Township with a small portion lying within the city limits of Monroe, Michigan. It is the only Michigan state park located on Lake Erie. The park encomp ...
and along Brest Bay in the communities of
Detroit Beach and
Woodland Beach. Turning inland near
Stony Point, the trunkline followed
Dixie Highway
Dixie Highway was a United States auto trail first planned in 1914 to connect the Midwest with the South. It was part of a system and was expanded from an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final system is better understood as a network o ...
across the Swan Creek. North of the creek, Dixie Highway met US Turnpike, and M-56 followed Dixie Highway northward into
South Rockwood. In that village, the trunkline turned northeasterly parallel to US 24 to cross the
Huron River
The Huron River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed November 7, 2011 river in southeast Michigan, southeastern Michigan, rising out of the Huron Swamp in Springfie ...
. On the north side of the river, M-56 followed the southernmost end of Fort Street to Huron River Drive, turning northwesterly along the latter road. The highway ran through an intersection with US 24A and parallel to the river into Flat Rock, where it terminated at the intersection with US 24/US 25 (Telegraph Road, now just US 24).
History
When the state highway system was first signposted in 1919,Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
state line to the Belleville area.[ When the ]United States Numbered 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 ...
was created on November 11, 1926,
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
Former M-56
at Michigan Highways-->
{{DEFAULTSORT:M056
056-1
Transportation in Monroe County, Michigan
Transportation in Wayne County, Michigan