M-56 (1971–1987 Michigan Highway)
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M-21 is an east–west state trunkline highway in 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, ...
connecting the cities of
Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
and
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. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
. The highway passes through rural farming country and several small towns along its course through 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 ...
. Following the course of a handful of rivers, M-21 also connects some of the state's freeways like
Interstate 96 Interstate 96 (I-96) is an east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway that runs for approximately entirely within the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The western terminus is at an i ...
(I-96), US Highway 127 (US 127) and
I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end ...
. The highway is used by between 1,700 and 36,000 vehicles daily. M-21 was designated along the highway by July 1, 1919 between
Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...
and Goodells near Port Huron. Changes made in the 1920s extended it on the west end to
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
and on the east end to Port Huron. M-21 was truncated at both of its current termini as two Interstate freeways were completed. I-196 functionally replaced M-21 between Holland and Grand Rapids with a portion retained under state maintenance as Old M-21, now M-121.
I-69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of eight unconnected segments. The longest segment runs from Evansville, Indiana, northeast to the Canada–United States border, Canadian border in Po ...
replaced M-21 from Flint to Port Huron. A section of M-21 through Flint became M-56. That designation was decommissioned in 1984 when M-21 was returned to its former routing in Flint.


Route description

M-21 starts on Fulton Street at a junction with M-37 (East Beltline Avenue) on the east side of greater Grand Rapids. Fulton passes through residential areas on this side of town, and crosses over I-96. Continuing east, the highway passes the headquarters of
Amway Amway Corp. (short for "American Way") is an American multi-level marketing (MLM) company that sells health, beauty, and home care products. The company was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos and is based in Ada Township, Michi ...
and crosses the Grand River near its
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
with the
Thornapple River The Thornapple River (Ottawa dialect, Ottawa: ''Sowanquesake'', "Forked River") (Geographic Names Information System, GNIS ID #) is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Ma ...
in Ada. M-21 runs long the north back of the Grand, turning southeasterly and east to Lowell. The roadway passes through downtown and over the Flat River near its confluence with the Grand. M-21 runs east of town through the southern end of the Lowell State Gaming Area and crosses into Ionia County. The road follows Bluewater Highway along the river, passing to the north of Saranac. It turns northeasterly through lightly forested farmland passing Bertha Brock Park as it approaches the city of Ionia. In town, M-66 runs concurrently along M-21 for a few blocks in the central business district. Bluewater Highway leaves town and continues along the Grand River to Muir, and the trunkline crosses the Maple River on east side of town. M-21 follows the course of the Maple briefly before turning east through farms along the Stony Creek to Pewamo. The highway bypasses the village to the south and crosses into
Clinton County Clinton County may refer to: *Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States: **Clinton County, New York ** Clinton County, Ohio *Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, ...
near the eastern edge of town. Western Clinton County's landscape is dominated by farms, interrupted by the community of Fowler. The highway enters the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
, St. Johns on State Street, passing through a residential section of town. In the middle of downtown, M-21 intersects 2nd Street, which carries Business US Highway 127 (Bus. US 127). East of downtown, M-21 passes back into agricultural land and under the US 127 freeway. The landscape is once again dominated by these farms through the western side of the county. M-21 passes into the community of
Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
and over the county line into Shiawassee County. Continuing east through the county, the highway enters Owosso. The trunkline follows Main Street into downtown and crosses the
Shiawassee River The Shiawassee River ( ) in the U.S. state of Michigan drains an area of within Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland, Genesee County, Michigan, Genesee, Livingston County, Michigan, Livingston, Shiawassee County, Michigan, Shiawassee, Midland Coun ...
between junctions with M-52 and M-71 in Owosso. M-21 runs roughly parallel to the river out into the country side. The remainder of the county is the same, dominated by farmland along a straight stretch of flat highway. North of Lennon, M-21 meets M-13 at an intersection on the Shiawassee– Genesee county line. The landscape starts to transition to residential subdivisions as the roadway approaches the Flint area. In Flint Township, M-21 follows Corunna Road and meets I-75/ US 23 at exit 118. The road crosses a former
branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...
of the
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...
(converted into a bicycle trail) east of the interchange. Corunna Road angles to the northeast near Bradley Avenue and terminates at Court Street. The trunkline turns east and follows Court over a
tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...
of the Flint River near Aldrich Park. Northeast of the stream, M-21 splits along a
one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...
ing of Court and 5th streets. Eastbound traffic follows 5th Street past the city and county buildings in the area. The highway passes over I-475 and terminates at the east frontage road. Traffic connecting between M-21 and I-475 must use the frontage roads to make the connection. All of M-21, except for some segments just outside Grand Rapids and Flint, along with the highway split into two one-way streets inside Flint, is undivided surface road; none of M-21 is
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 ...
. The section between I-75/US 23 and Saginaw Street in Flint is part of the National Highway System, a network of roadways important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility. M-21, like all state highways, is 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 Interst ...
(MDOT). As part of these responsibilities, the department tracks traffic volumes along its highways. They use a metric called
average annual daily traffic Annual average daily traffic (AADT) is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transport engineering, transportation engineering and retail Location_intelligence, location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle tr ...
(AADT), which is a calculation of the average traffic along a segment of roadway for any average day of the year. Traffic volumes in 2009 vary from 22,756 vehicles in the Forest Hills neighborhood east of Grand Rapids to 1,719 vehicles in Pewamo daily. MDOT reported that the peak AADT was 36,053 vehicles daily near the I-75 interchange in the Flint area.


History

Before the Interstate era, M-21 extended across the entire Lower Peninsula, from the junction with US 31 in Holland near
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 depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
east to the
St. Clair River The St. Clair River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair, forming part ...
at Port Huron, and crossed into
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
where the
Blue Water Bridge The Blue Water Bridge is a twin-span international bridge across the St. Clair River that links Port Huron, Michigan, United States, and Point Edward, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Water Bridge connects Highway 402 in Ontario with both Interst ...
is currently located. M-21 was designated by July 1, 1919 on a routing from Ionia to Goodells. Along the way, it ran through
Lyons Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
and Pewamo, joining its current routing to Ovid. M-21 continued through Corunna to Lennon and Flint. There it joined its last routing between Flint and the Port Huron area. The highway was extended to Port Huron by 1924, and the west end was extended to Grand Rapids in 1925 along M-16 (later US 16). The previous routing through Owosso and Lennon was redesignated as M-71 at this time when M-21 was shifted along the current routing between the two communities. The 1926 creation of the United States Highway System led to the extension of M-21 along US 16 to Grand Rapids. From there west, M-21 replaced M-51 on Chicago Drive to Holland. The highway was moved to a new routing between Flint and Lapeer in 1929; the old route was renumbered M-21A. All in-city portions of M-21 were transferred to state control in 1931 with the passage of the Dykstra Act of 1931 (PA 131 of 1931).Public Act 131 of 1931.
Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of the Senate (the upper chamber) and the House of Representatives (the lower chamber). Article IV of the Michigan Con ...
.
A Bypass M-21 (Byp. M-21) designation was created in the Grand Rapids area in 1945. This designation ran from the corner of 28th Street and Chicago Drive along Byp. US 16 and Byp. US 131 on 28th Street. At East Beltline Avenue, Byp. US 131/Byp. M-21 turned north back to M-21. M-21A in Flint was turned over to local control in 1948, decommissioning the number. The Byp. M-21 routing was replaced by M-21 in 1953. The former routing in Grand Rapids became Bus. M-21 instead. A bypass of
Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...
opened in 1958, rerouting M-21 around the town. The I-196 freeway opened through Grand Rapids in 1964, and M-21 was routed along the freeway between Chicago Drive in Grandville and downtown, using I-96 to complete the connection to its previous routing on Fulton Street. The first freeway segment of M-21 on the east end was built from Wadhams to Port Huron in 1966. A freeway segment between Flint and Lapeer opened in 1971. M-21 was routed down M-13 to the new freeway where it joined the M-78 designation from M-13 east. The section of M-21 formerly between M-13 and Bus. M-54 was redesignated M-56. The M-78 designation was replaced by
I-69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of eight unconnected segments. The longest segment runs from Evansville, Indiana, northeast to the Canada–United States border, Canadian border in Po ...
in 1973 after I-69 was extended north from Charlotte. The 1974 completion of I-196 meant the truncation of M-21 to end in Grand Rapids. At the time, M-21 was extended along Fulton Street to the East Beltline, and the business loop was truncated into a spur route redesignated BS I-196. The remaining segment of freeway connecting Flint with Port Huron opened in 1984 as I-69, and M-21 was shortened to Flint. M-56 was replaced by M-21 at this time as well. The former M-21 in Port Huron became BL I-69, and the remainder was turned back to local control.


Major intersections


Related trunklines


M-21A

M-21A was an
alternate route An official alternate route is a special route in the United States that provides an alternate alignment for a highway. They are loop roads and found in many road systems in the United States including the U.S. Highway system and various stat ...
for M-21 near Flint. It started at an intersection between M-21 (Court Street) and US 10 (Dort Highway) and ran southward concurrently with US 10 to Lapeer Road. The highway turned eastward along Lapeer Road and out of the city of Flint. It continued to an intersection with
M-15 M15 or M-15 may refer to: In science * Messier 15 (M15), a globular cluster in the constellation Pegasus In firearms and military equipment * M15 mine, a United States anti-tank mine * M15 rifle, a variant of the M14, a United States military ri ...
south of Davison, where it turned northward, running concurrently with M-15 into downtown. At an intersection with M-21 at Flint Street, M-21A ended. The highway was created in 1929, and it was turned over to local control in late 1948. Major intersections


Bypass M-21

Bypass M-21 (Byp. M-21) was a
bypass route A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, to improve road safety and as replacement ...
of M-21 in Kent County. It started at the intersection between M-21 (Chicago Drive) and 28th Street in Grandville. From there, it was routed eastward along 28th Street running concurrently with Byp. US 16. At the intersection with US 131 (Division Avenue) on the
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
township line, a Byp. US 131 started and ran concurrently eastward along 28th Street. Byp. US 16/Byp. US 131/Byp. M-21 continued along 28th Street in Paris Township to an intersection with Kalamazoo Avenue where M-37 turned off Kalamazoo and onto 28th Street. Further east, 28th Street and East Beltline Avenue intersected. At that junction, Byp. US 131/Byp. M-21 turned northward along East Beltline while M-37 turned south and Byp. US 16 continued eastward on 28th Street. Running northward in Grand Rapids Township, Byp. US 131/Byp. M-21 intersected US 16/ M-50 at Cascade Road before Byp. M-21 terminated at the intersection with M-21 (Fulton Street). During World War II, the state was building a beltline system for Grand Rapids. This highway, numbered M-114 was decommissioned by 1945 and the streets that composed it were given new designations. Byp. M-21 was routed along 28th Street from Grandville to Paris Township and along East Beltline into Grand Rapids Township. In 1953, the mainline M-21 was rerouted to replace its bypass around downtown, decommissioning the Byp. M-21 designation. Major intersections


Business M-21

Business M-21 (Bus. M-21) was a
business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route that branches off a parent numbered highway at its beginning, continues through the central business district of a nearby city or to ...
of M-21 in the
Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
area. It started at an interchange between Chicago Drive and I-196/M-21 in Grandville and followed Chicago Drive easterly through downtown Grandville. From there, the highway ran along industrial areas on the north side of
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
, running parallel to the I-196 freeway. At the intersection with Clyde Park Avenue, Bus. M-21 turned northward along Grandville Avenue and entered the city of Grand Rapids. At Franklin Street, the business route turned eastward and terminated at US 131. In 1953, M-21 was rerouted to replace its bypass route. The former route through downtown Grand Rapids was redesignated as Bus. M-21. At the time, Bus. M-21 continued eastward along Franklin Street before turning northward on Eastern Avenue into downtown Grand Rapids. Once there, it followed Fulton Street eastward through
East Grand Rapids East Grand Rapids is a city in Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the United States, U.S. state of Michigan. , the population was 11,371. The city is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area, including Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids ...
and into Grand Rapids Township where it terminated at East Beltline Avenue. The business loop was truncated to US 131 in 1972, and then redesignated as BS I-196 in 1974. Major intersections


M-56

M-56 was a state trunkline highway from 1971 to the mid-1980s that replaced the M-21 designation from M-13 to
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. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
when the M-21 (now
I-69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of eight unconnected segments. The longest segment runs from Evansville, Indiana, northeast to the Canada–United States border, Canadian border in Po ...
) freeway was being built. The highway started at the intersection with M-13 on the ShiawasseeGenesee county line west of Flint. From there, it followed Corunna Road eastward through rural areas of Genesee County. Today, the area is farm fields through Clayton Township, and in Flint Township it is more suburban. The highway intersected the
I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end ...
/ US 10/ US 23 freeway just west of Flint's city line. Once in Flint, M-56 turned northeasterly onto Court Street. At an intersection with Saginaw Street, the highway turned southeasterly and then ended at the I-69/M-21 freeway. In 1971, M-21 was rerouted in the Flint area. After the change, it turned south along M-13 on the Shiawassee–Genesee county line to the M-78 freeway and then routed eastward to replace M-78. The former routing of M-21 on the western side of the county into downtown was redesignated M-56. When the M-21 designation was replaced with the I-69 designation in 1984, the M-56 designation was retired and M-21 was restored in its place. Major intersections


See also

*


References


External links


M-21
at Michigan Highways

at Michigan Highways {{DEFAULTSORT:M021
021 069 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...
Interstate 69 Transportation in Kent County, Michigan Transportation in Ionia County, Michigan Transportation in Clinton County, Michigan Transportation in Shiawassee County, Michigan Transportation in Genesee County, Michigan