M-31 (Michigan highway)

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M-31 1919.svg

M-31

M-31 (Michigan highway)
M-31 highlighted in red on a modern map
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length166.910 mi [1]  (268.616 km)
Existedc.July 1, 1919 [2] c.November 11, 1926 [3]
Major junctions
South endM-21 1919.svg M-21 in Port Huron
Major intersectionsM-19 1919.svg M-19 in Bad Axe
North endM-10 1919.svg M-10 in Saginaw
Location
Country United States
State Michigan
Counties St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Bay, Saginaw
Highway system
Business plate.svg
US 31.svg
Bus. US 31
M-32.svg M-32

M-31 was a state trunkline highway in the Lower Peninsula in the US state of Michigan. It generally ran north from Port Huron along the Lake Huron shoreline through The Thumb region before turning inland. The highway crossed The Thumb and then ran along the Saginaw Bay shoreline before running inland again, terminating at Saginaw. It was one of the original state highways signposted in 1919, but it was renumbered as other highways in 1926, decommissioning the designation in the process. Parts of its route are now M-24, M-25, M-81 and M-142.

Contents

Route description

M-31 started at M-21 in Port Huron and ran northward along the Lake Huron shoreline. Along the way, it intersected the western terminus of M-46 before reaching Harbor Beach. In town, the original M-27 merged in from the north, and M-27/M-31 ran concurrently westward, turning inland. The two highways separated north of Ruth as M-27 turned southward. M-31 continued across The Thumb through Bad Axe, where it ran concurrently with M-19 in town. The highway carried on westward through Elkton and Pigeon to Bay Port. Once there, the trunkline turned southwesterly to follow along part of the Saginaw Bay. The road passed through Sebewaing to Unionville before turning back inland. Running southward to Akron, the highway turned alternately westward and southward to Fairgrove. M-31 next ran west along Bradleyville Road to a connection with M-81; the two highways ran concurrently south through Gilford before M-31 separated and turned back westward through Reese to Saginaw. The northern terminus in downtown Saginaw was at an intersection with what was then M-10. [4]

History

When the state highway system was first signed in 1919, [5] M-31 was one of the original trunklines, originally running northward from Port Huron to Harbor Beach and then westward to Saginaw. [2] When the U.S. Highway System was approved on November 11, 1926, [6] M-31 was decommissioned in favor of alternate numbers. From Port Huron north to Harbor Beach, M-29 was extended as a replacement. The segment west to Bay Port was renumbered M-83 while from Bad Axe west it was also additionally part of M-29 to Unionville. The remainder was numbered M-84 from Unionville to Reese, and M-81 from Reese to Saginaw. [3]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi [1] kmDestinationsNotes
St. Clair Port Huron 0.0000.000South plate.svg
M-19 1919.svg
M-19 south Detroit
North plate.svg
M-19 1919.svg
West plate.svg
M-21 1919.svg
M-19 north / M-21 west Flint
4.1496.677M-27 1919.svg M-27  Fort Gratiot Southern terminus of original M-27
Sanilac Port Sanilac 33.48653.890M-46 1919.svg M-46  Sandusky Eastern terminus of M-46
Huron Harbor Beach 62.990101.373North plate.svg
M-27 1919.svg
M-27 north Port Austin
Eastern end of M-27 concurrency
Sand Beach Township 67.853109.199South plate.svg
M-27 1919.svg
M-27 south
Western end of M-27 concurrency
Bad Axe 77.934125.423South plate.svg
M-19 1919.svg
M-19 south Sandusky
Eastern end of M-19 concurrency
80.910130.212South plate.svg
M-53 1919.svg
M-53 south Cass City
Northern terminus of M-53
Verona TownshipColfax Township line82.400132.610North plate.svg
M-19 1919.svg
M-19 north Port Austin
Western end of M-19 concurrency
Tuscola Gilford Township 147.270237.008North plate.svg
M-81 1919.svg
M-81 north
Northern end of M-81 concurrency
Denmark Township 152.238245.003South plate.svg
M-81 1919.svg
M-81 south
Southern end of M-81 concurrency
Bay Saginaw 166.910268.616M-10 1919.svg M-10  Flint, Bay City
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

Related Research Articles

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There are currently four business routes of Interstate 69 (I-69) in the US state of Michigan. Designated Business Loop Interstate 69, they are all former routings of I-69's predecessor highways, US Highway 27 (US 27), M-78 or M-21, in whole or in part. The BL I-69 in Coldwater and the one in Charlotte were both parts of US 27 before the freeway bypassed those two cities in 1967 and the early 1970s, respectively. The BL I-69 through Lansing and East Lansing was previously part of M-78 and Temporary I-69 until it was redesignated in 1987. Before 1984, the loop in Port Huron was originally part of M-21 and was initially a business spur numbered Business Spur Interstate 69. It was later redesignated when it was extended to run concurrently with that city's BL I-94 which was originally part of I-94's predecessor, US 25. Each business loop follows streets through each city's downtown areas and connects to I-69 on both ends, giving traffic a route through the downtown and back to the freeway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 25 in Michigan</span> Former US Highway in Michigan

US Highway 25 (US 25) was a part of the United States Numbered Highway System in the state of Michigan that ran from the Ohio state line near Toledo and ended at the tip of The Thumb in Port Austin. The general routing of this state trunkline highway took it northeasterly from the state line through Monroe and Detroit to Port Huron. Along this southern half, it followed undivided highways and ran concurrently along two freeways, Interstate 75 (I-75) and I-94. Near the foot of the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, US 25 turned north and northwesterly along the Lake Huron shoreline to Port Austin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M-56 (1919–1957 Michigan highway)</span> Former state highway in Michigan

M-56 was a state trunkline highway in the southeastern part of the US state of Michigan. It existed from 1919 until 1957. The highway ran north from Monroe, where it connected with US Highway 24, 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 to New Boston and Belleville. The trunkline was progressively scaled back to Flat Rock before being decommissioned in 1957.

References

  1. 1 2 Michigan Department of Transportation (2021). Next Generation PR Finder (Map). Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Michigan State Highway Department (July 1, 1919). State of Michigan (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. Lower Peninsula sheet. OCLC   15607244 . Retrieved October 17, 2019 via Michigan History Center.
  3. 1 2 Michigan State Highway Department (December 1, 1926). Official Highway Condition Map (Map). [c. 1:823,680]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department.
  4. Michigan State Highway Department (November 1, 1926). Official Highway Condition Map (Map). [c. 1:823,680]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department.
  5. "Michigan May Do Well Following Wisconsin's Road Marking System". The Grand Rapids Press . September 20, 1919. p. 10. OCLC   9975013.
  6. Bureau of Public Roads & American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: United States Geological Survey. OCLC   32889555 . Retrieved November 7, 2013 via Wikimedia Commons.
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