Route information | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Maintained by MDOT | ||||
Length | 20.840 mi [1] (33.539 km) | |||
Existed | 1961 [2] [3] –present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | I-96 near Marne | |||
East end | I-96 near Cascade | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Michigan | |||
Counties | Ottawa, Kent | |||
Highway system | ||||
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M-11 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan in the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. The highway runs through the western and southern sides of the metro area, starting over the border in Ottawa County at an interchange with Interstate 96 (I-96). It runs through both rural woodlands and busy commercial areas before it terminates at another interchange with I-96 in Cascade Township. Locally known as Wilson Avenue and 28th Street, the trunkline is listed on the National Highway System. M-11 carries between 8,000 and 42,000 vehicles on average each day.
When the original state trunklines were designated, an M-11 ran the length of the Lake Michigan shoreline from the Indiana state line to Mackinaw City. That highway was replaced in 1926 by two of the then-newly created US Highways. A second highway was given the M-11 designation at that time in the Saline area. This highway was removed from the highway system and the designation decommissioned in 1954. The current M-11 was designated in 1961 along a set of roads in the Grand Rapids area that includes portions of a former route of US Highway 16 (US 16) in Michigan.
The western terminus is at exit 24 on I-96, one mile (1.6 km) east of Marne. In Ottawa County, the road is called Ironwood Drive. Beginning at the Kent County border, the street is called Remembrance Road (in honor of those who died in battle). From its western terminus, the road angles southeast–northwest for about a mile and a half (2.4 km). Then M-11 turns south on Wilson Avenue to run north–south through Walker. Wilson Avenue intersects M-45 (Lake Michigan Drive) in the Standale Business District. South of Lake Michigan Drive, the trunkline continues on Wilson Avenue through the edge of a rural area. The highway runs through forest land near Millennium Park until it crosses the Grand River at I-196. [4] [5] [6]
Past I-196, M-11 curves to run east–west and becomes 28th Street. Wilson continues southwards as a local road and 28th Street is the route through Grandville and Wyoming. Chicago Drive runs under 28th Street in Grandville; there is a ramp from eastbound Chicago Drive to eastbound 28th Street, but all other connections are through the "28th Street Cutoff" to the east of the grade-separated junction. Continuing eastward through Wyoming, M-11 passes through that city's central business district. The highway intersects US Highway 131 and crosses into Grand Rapids at Division Avenue. Near Kalamazoo Avenue, 28th Street passes the Indian Hills Golf Course. From Breton Avenue eastward, 28th Street is dominated by retail establishments as it continues into Kentwood. M-11 meets an intersection with East Beltline Avenue near the Woodland Mall. East Beltline carries M-37 through the eastern side of the Grand Rapids metro area. M-11 continues eastward to its terminus at exit 44 on I-96 while 28th Street continues farther east to Cascade Road. [4] [5] [6]
M-11 is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) like other state highways in Michigan. As a part of these maintenance responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic that uses the roadways under its jurisdiction. These volumes are expressed using a metric called annual average daily traffic, which is a statistical calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. MDOT's surveys in 2010 showed that the highest traffic levels along M-11 were the 41,214 vehicles daily between Kalamazoo and Breton avenues in Grand Rapids; the lowest counts were the 8,153 vehicles per day in Ottawa County. [7] All of M-11 has been listed on the National Highway System, [8] a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility. [9]
The first M-11 originally ran along Lake Michigan between the Indiana state line near New Buffalo and Mackinaw City on July 1, 1919. [10] On November 11, 1926, the New Buffalo–Benton Harbor segment was used for US 12 and the Watervliet–Mackinaw City section was used for US 31; between Benton Harbor and Watervliet, M-11 was used for a concurrent US 12/US 31. [11] Streets are still designated as Old M-11 in places such as Chikaming Township. [12]
Immediately after the debut of the U.S. Highway System in 1926, M-11 was designated from M-50 at Napoleon to US 112 in Saline. [13] The last section of this highway was fully paved between Bridgewater and Saline in late 1948 or early 1949. [14] [15] In the middle of 1954, M-92 was extended southward from Chelsea to Manchester. From there, that highway replaced M-11 west to Bridgewater before turning south to Clinton; at the same time, the remainder of M-11 was removed from the state highway system and the designation was decommissioned. [16] [17]
The current M-11 was known as Beales Road in the early 1900s and was a sandy road placed over hills where it ended just west of Byron Center Avenue at gravel pits. [18] The modern highway was added to the state highway system as a component of M-114 c. 1930. [19] By 1942, the trunkline was completed and reassigned a Bypass US 16 designation, [20] until the mainline US 16 was rerouted over the bypass in 1953. [21] [22] In the latter half of 1961, the M-11 designation was first assigned in the Grand Rapids area along the current routing when US 16 was moved to the newly opened I-96 freeway. [2] [3] The routing has remained unchanged since. [4]
The current M-11 follows Remembrance Road, Wilson Avenue and 28th Street. The first two of these names were chosen to memorialize the roadway in honor of local people. Remembrance Road was dedicated in 1923 on the initiative of the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. They planted 231 elms in a double row on each side of the highway and erected a boulder bearing a bronze plaque dedicated to the veterans of Kent County. Wilson Avenue was named for Samuel H. Wilson, a local realtor. He had developed a series of local residential subdivisions in the area up until his 1931 death, In 1942, the county road commission named Wilson Avenue in his honor to comply with a state law requiring roads that benefitted from state funds to have proper names. [23]
County | Location | mi [1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ottawa | Wright–Tallmadge township line | 0.000– 0.649 | 0.000– 1.044 | I-96 – Muskegon, Grand Rapids | Exits 24 (eastbound) and 25 (westbound) on I-96 |
Kent | Walker | 5.004 | 8.053 | M-45 (Lake Michigan Drive) – Allendale, Grand Rapids | |
Grandville | 9.187– 9.206 | 14.785– 14.816 | I-196 (G.R. Ford Freeway) – Holland, Grand Rapids | Exit 70 on I-196 | |
9.947 | 16.008 | Chicago Drive | Grade separation with a ramp from eastbound Chicago Drive to eastbound 28th Street; remaining connections are made via Wallace Avenue | ||
Wyoming | 13.644– 13.655 | 21.958– 21.976 | US 131 – Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids | Exit 81 on US 131 | |
Grand Rapids | 14.242 | 22.920 | A-45 south / Division Avenue – Kalamazoo | Northern terminus of A-45, the former US 131 | |
Kentwood | 18.430 | 29.660 | M-37 – Hastings, Grand Rapids | ||
Cascade Township | 20.817– 20.840 | 33.502– 33.539 | I-96 – Grand Rapids, Lansing | Exit 43 on I-96; roadway continues eastward as 28th Street | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
M-37 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. The southern terminus is near the border between Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties at exit 92 of Interstate 94 (I-94) southwest of Battle Creek. The northern terminus is at the Mission Point Light on Old Mission Point in Grand Traverse County. In between, the highway connects Battle Creek, Grand Rapids and Traverse City. Motorists will travel through agricultural land, forests, suburbs and large cities along the way. The section of M-37 on the Old Mission Peninsula was designated what is now a Pure Michigan Scenic Byway in 2008.
M-78 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. The western terminus is the intersection with M-66 north of Battle Creek in Pennfield Township. The roadway runs 10.744 miles (17.291 km) through rural farmland and the community of Bellevue as it approaches its eastern terminus at an interchange with Interstate 69 (I-69) near Olivet. The highway is used by between 3,100 and 5,300 vehicles on a daily basis.
M-21 is an east–west state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan connecting the cities of Grand Rapids and Flint. The highway passes through rural farming country and several small towns along its course through the Lower Peninsula. Following the course of a handful of rivers, M-21 also connects some of the state's freeways like Interstate 96 (I-96), US Highway 127 (US 127) and I-75. The highway is used by between 1,700 and 36,000 vehicles daily.
Interstate 196 (I-196) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs for 80.6 miles (129.7 km) in the US state of Michigan. It is a state trunkline highway that links Benton Harbor, South Haven, Holland, and Grand Rapids. In Kent, Ottawa, and Allegan counties, I-196 is known as the Gerald R. Ford Freeway, or simply the Ford Freeway, after President Gerald Ford, who was raised in Grand Rapids and served Michigan in the House of Representatives for 25 years. This name generally refers only to the section between Holland and Grand Rapids. I-196 changes direction; it is signed as a north–south highway from its southern terminus to the junction with US Highway 31 (US 31) just south of Holland, and as an east–west trunkline from this point to its eastern terminus at an interchange with I-96, its parent highway. There are three business routes related to the main freeway. There are two business loops and one business spur that serve South Haven, Holland and the Grand Rapids areas. Another business spur for Muskegon had been designated relative to the I-196 number.
M-96 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan that runs between Kalamazoo and Marshall. Its termini are both on business routes of Interstate 94 (I-94); the eastern one coincides with an intersection with I-69. Between Kalamazoo and Marshall it passes through Comstock, Galesburg, Augusta, and Battle Creek intersecting I-194/M-66 in Battle Creek and I-94 in Emmett Township.
M-43 is a state trunkline highway in the southwestern and central parts of the US state of Michigan. The highway runs from South Haven to Webberville along an indirect path through both rural areas and larger cities. The trunkline follows five overall segments: a southeasterly track from South Haven to Oshtemo Township, a northerly path to Plainwell, a southeasterly route to Richland, a northeasterly course to the Hastings area and an easterly route through the Lansing area.
US Highway 16 (US 16), also called Grand River Avenue for much of its length in the state, was one of the principal roads prior to the post-World War II construction of freeways in the state of Michigan. Before the creation of the United States Numbered Highway System in 1926, the highway had been designated as a state highway numbered M-16. The modern route of Grand River Avenue cuts across the Lower Peninsula in a northwest–southeast fashion from near Grand Rapids to Detroit. Before the late 1950s and early 1960s, US 16 followed other roads between Muskegon and Grand Rapids, and then Grand River Avenue through Lansing to Detroit. In the years immediately preceding the creation of the Interstate Highway System, US 16 was shifted from older roads to newer freeways. Later, it was co-designated as an Interstate. When the gap in the freeway was filled in around Lansing, the US 16 designation was decommissioned in the state. The freeway was solely designated Interstate 96 (I-96) east of Grand Rapids and I-196 west of that city.
M-50 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. Although designated as an east–west highway, it is nearly a diagonal northwest–southeast route. The western terminus is at exit 52 along Interstate 96 (I-96) near Alto a few miles east of the metro Grand Rapids area, and its eastern terminus is in downtown Monroe at US Highway 24. In between the trunkline runs through seven counties of the southern part of the Lower Peninsula mostly through rural farm fields and small communities. The highway also runs through downtown Jackson to connect between two freeway sections of US 127. In the Irish Hills area of the state southeast of Jackson, M-50 runs next to Michigan International Speedway.
M-14 is an east–west state trunkline highway in the southeastern portion of the US state of Michigan. Entirely freeway, it runs for 22.250 miles (35.808 km) to connect Ann Arbor with Detroit by way of a connection with Interstate 96 (I-96). The western terminus is at a partial interchange with I-94 west of Ann Arbor. From there, the freeway curves around the north side of Ann Arbor and runs concurrently with US Highway 23 (US 23). East of that section, M-14 passes through woodlands and fields in Washtenaw County. In Wayne County, the freeway returns to a suburban area of mixed residential neighborhoods and light industrial areas. It crosses two different rivers and a pair of rail lines as it approaches Detroit's inner suburbs, where it terminates at an interchange between I-96 and I-275.
M-51 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the southwestern portion of the US state of Michigan. The southern terminus is at a connection with State Road 933 across the Michigan–Indiana state line near South Bend, Indiana. From there the trunkline runs north through an interchange with US Highway 12 (US 12) into Niles along a route that was once part of Business US 12. North of Niles, the highway runs parallel to a river and a rail line through rural areas. The northern terminus is on Interstate 94 (I-94) west of Paw Paw.
M-45 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan that is also called Lake Michigan Drive. The highway runs from Agnew near Lake Michigan to the west side of Grand Rapids in the western Lower Peninsula. Lake Michigan Drive continues in each direction from M-45's termini, extending west of US Highway 31 (US 31) and east of Interstate 196 (I-196). In between, the road runs through rural and suburban areas of Ottawa and Kent counties, including the main campus of Grand Valley State University in Allendale. Lake Michigan Drive was originally part of M-50 until the mid-1960s. Previously in the 1920s and 1930s, the M-45 number was designated along a highway in the Upper Peninsula (UP).
M-143, also known as Michigan Avenue, is a previously unsigned spur state trunkline highway in the south central region of the US state of Michigan. The M-143 portion of Michigan Avenue runs from the East Lansing city limit to a junction with M-43 at Grand River Avenue. This highway is the second time that there has been an M-143 in Michigan. The first was a connection to the original Cheboygan State Park. The current is a remnant of M-43 in the Lansing area.
M-44 is a 37.463-mile (60.291 km) state trunkline highway in the western region of the US state of Michigan. It runs northward from the intersection of M-11 and M-37 toward the Rockford area. The highway then turns eastward to Belding, and it ends six miles (10 km) north of Ionia at M-66. M-44 is known in Grand Rapids as the "East Beltline" and intersects with its related highway, Connector M-44, in Plainfield Township. This highway runs concurrently with M-37 between M-11 and Interstate 96 (I-96).
M-114 was the designation of a former state trunkline highway and planned beltline in the US state of Michigan around the city of Grand Rapids. It was designated by the end of 1929 on various streets in adjoining cities and townships. By the 1940s, sections of it on the west and south sides of Grand Rapids were given new designations and the segment along the east side of town was finished. By late 1945 the highway designation was completely decommissioned in favor of other numbers. M-114 split into two branches, one running east–west and the other running north–south. The east–west spur routing is now local streets while the rest is part of state highways.
US Highway 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan. In Michigan, it runs for 210 miles (340 km) between New Buffalo and Detroit as a state trunkline highway and Pure Michigan Byway. On its western end, the highway is mostly a two-lane road that runs through the southern tier of counties roughly parallel to the Indiana state line. It forms part of the Niles Bypass, a four-lane expressway south of Niles in the southwestern part of the state, and it runs concurrently with the Interstate 94 (I-94) freeway around the south side of Ypsilanti in southeastern Michigan. In between Coldwater and the Ann Arbor area, the highway angles northeasterly and passes Michigan International Speedway. East of Ypsilanti, US 12 follows a divided highway routing on Michigan Avenue into Detroit, where it terminates at an intersection with Cass Avenue.
There are currently eight business routes of Interstate 94 (I-94) in the US state of Michigan. These business routes connect I-94 to the downtown business districts of neighboring cities. Seven of the eight routes are business loops which bear the Business Loop I-94 designation while one is a business spur that bears the Business Spur I-94. These loops are former routings of I-94's two predecessors in Michigan: US Highway 12 (US 12) or US 25. The westernmost BL I-94 runs through the twin cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph along the former routing of US 12 and US 31/US 33 that now includes a section of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour in the state. The loops in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Marshall, Albion, and Jackson were also formerly segments of US 12 which were later designated as separate version of Business US Highway 12 through their respective cities before becoming BL I-94s in 1960. The BL I-94 in Kalamazoo was converted into BS I-94 in 2019. The route of the business loop through Ann Arbor was previously US 12 and then later M-14 before receiving its current moniker. The BL I-94 through Port Huron was previously US 25 and then Business US Highway 25.
There are six business routes of US Highway 131 in the state of Michigan, and previously there was one bypass route and an additional business route. All of the business routes are former sections of US Highway 131 (US 131). These former sections of the mainline highway, along with the necessary connecting roads, allow traffic to access the downtowns business districts of cities bypassed by sections of US 131 built since the 1950s. The extant business loops connect to Constantine, Three Rivers, Kalamazoo, Big Rapids, Cadillac, and Manton. The former bypass route in Grand Rapids allowed traffic to bypass that city's downtown at a time when US 131 still ran through the heart of the city, and the later business route connected through downtown while US 131 ran on a freeway bypassing the central business district.
There have been six business routes of Interstate 96 (I-96) in the US state of Michigan. There are two business loops designated Business Loop Interstate 96 : one through Lansing and one through Howell. Both follow the old route of US Highway 16 (US 16), with appropriate connections to I-96. There are three former business spurs that were designated Business Spur Interstate 96. One connected to the carferry docks in Muskegon, running concurrently with part of Business US 31 along former US 16, but it has been eliminated. The second spur ran into downtown Portland until it was decommissioned in 2007. Two routes in the Detroit area—a loop through Farmington and a spur into Detroit—both using Grand River Avenue, and meeting at the temporary end of I-96 near Purdue Avenue, were eliminated when I-96 was moved to the completed Jeffries Freeway in 1977. The Farmington business route is still state-maintained as an unsigned highway, while the Detroit business route remained unsigned until it was decommissioned in 2016 and replaced by an extension of M-5.