Lake Michigan Drive | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by MDOT | ||||
Length | 24.434 mi [1] (39.323 km) | |||
Existed | 1964 [2] [3] –present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | US 31 in Agnew | |||
M-231 near Robinson | ||||
East end | I-196 in Grand Rapids | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Michigan | |||
Counties | Ottawa, Kent | |||
Highway system | ||||
|
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).
Lake Michigan Drive starts near Lake Michigan at an intersection with Lakeshore Drive near the Grand Rapids water filtration plant. The road runs east to an intersection with US 31 in Agnew, where the M-45 designation begins. The area is marked by a mix of woodland and agricultural properties. The road runs through rural Ottawa County to Allendale. Through town, Lake Michigan Drive widens to a four-lane divided boulevard with a median. East of the main part of town, M-45 passes the main campus of Grand Valley State University before crossing the Grand River. At 24th Avenue, the highway loses its median and gains a central turn lane. The landscape becomes more suburban as the highway crosses into Kent County near the M-11 intersection in Walker. From here east to the terminus in Grand Rapids, the road is lined with residential subdivisions and commercial properties. At Bridge Street, Lake Michigan Drive turns to the southeast and approaches John Ball Zoological Garden. M-45 ends at the interchange with I-196. Lake Michigan Drive continues east to its end where it becomes Pearl Street near the Grand River downtown. [4] [5]
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) maintains M-45 like all other parts of the state trunkline highway system. As part of these responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of the traffic using its roadways which is expressed using a metric called average annual daily traffic (AADT). This is a calculation of the traffic levels for a segment of roadway for any average day of the year. In 2009, 4,910 vehicles used the section of M-45 near the western terminus daily. Near the interchange with I-196, 32,376 vehicles were observed along Lake Michigan Drive each day. [6] No segment of the highway is listed on the National Highway System, [7] a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility. [8]
M-45 was originally designated in the UP on what is now M-95 by July 1, 1919. The highway ran between M-12 in Sagola and M-15 in Humboldt Township. [9] When the United States Numbered Highway System was created on November 11, 1926, [10] US 2 replaced most of M-12 through the UP. M-45 was extended south of Sagola to the north side of Iron Mountain. Along with this change, M-69 replaced another previous section of M-12 and all of M-90. M-69 ran concurrently with M-45 between Sagola and Randville to connect these two highway segments. [11] By 1933, M-45 was extended concurrently along US 2/US 141 into Iron Mountain and then as an independent routing through Kingsford to the Wisconsin state line. [12] Before the next year, the M-95 replaced M-45 in the UP. [13]
The current designation of M-45 dates back to 1964. M-50 was truncated to end near Lowell at I-96. The remainder of M-50 on Cascade Road, Fulton Street and Lake Michigan Drive was redesignated as M-45. [2] [3] The eastern section from Business US 131 (Division Avenue) to I-96 was turned over to local control in 1972, shortening the route. [14] [15] The east end would be shortened again by 1995, removing the M-45 designation east of I-196. [16] [17] Jurisdiction was only transferred to the City of Grand Rapids on the portion from Division Avenue west to the Grand River, leaving part of West Fulton Street under state maintenance as an unsigned trunkline. [18] M-45 was upgraded to a four-lane divided highway in 2001–02 between Walker and the Grand Valley State campus in Allendale. [19] The new alignment bypassed a section of road between 24th and 40th avenues. That section was renamed River Hill Drive, [20] but retained as an unsigned state trunkline (Old M-45). [18]
County | Location | mi [1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ottawa | Agnew | 0.000 | 0.000 | US 31 / LMCT – Grand Haven, Holland, Muskegon | |
Robinson Township | 4.707 | 7.575 | M-231 north to I-96 west – Muskegon | Southern terminus of M-231 | |
Kent | Walker | 20.581 | 33.122 | M-11 – Grandville, Walker | |
Grand Rapids | 24.434 | 39.323 | I-196 – Grand Rapids, Holland | Exit 75 on I-196 | |
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.
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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-3 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the Detroit metropolitan area of the US state of Michigan. For most of its length, the trunkline is known as Gratiot Avenue. The trunkline starts in Downtown Detroit and runs through the city in a northeasterly direction along one of Detroit's five major avenues. The highway passes several historic landmarks and through a historic district. It also connects residential neighborhoods on the city's east side with suburbs in Macomb County and downtown.
Interstate 296 (I-296) is a part of the Interstate Highway System in the US state of Michigan. It is a north–south state trunkline highway that runs for 3.43 miles (5.52 km) entirely within the Grand Rapids area. Its termini are I-196 near downtown Grand Rapids and I-96 on the north side of Grand Rapids in Walker. For most of its length, the Interstate runs concurrently with U.S. Highway 131 (US 131), which continues as a freeway built to Interstate Highway standards north and south of the shorter I-296. The highway was first proposed in the late 1950s and opened in December 1962, but the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has since eliminated all signage for I-296 and removed the designation from their official state map. The designation is therefore unsigned, but still listed on the Interstate Highway System route log maintained by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
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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.
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