M-79 (Michigan highway)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| M-79 | |||||||||||||
| Maintained by MDOT | |||||||||||||
 M-79 highlighted in red |
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| Length: | 24.890 mi[1] (40.06 km) | ||||||||||||
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| Formed: | 1919[2] | ||||||||||||
| West end: |  M-37 southeast of Hastings |
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| Major junctions: |
 M-66 south of Nashville |
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| East end: |   BL I-69 / M-50 in Charlotte |
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| Counties: | Barry, Eaton | ||||||||||||
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M-79 is an east-west state trunkline highway in the central portion of Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The western terminus is about three miles (5 km) southeast of Hastings at the junction with M-37 and the eastern terminus is in downtown Charlotte at the junction with M-50 and BL I-69. It passes through Quimby and Nashville, where there is a junction with M-66. The entire route is undivided surface road.
It has no direct-access interchange with I-69, although a sign for the highway is located on southbound I-69 at exit 61.
The highway was first designated in 1919 between Hastings and Battle Creek. It was later moved to run to Charlotte. A section of M-79 was designated as M-214 in the 1930s. M-214 would later be decommissioned as a highway designation and the M-79 designation was reapplied to the roadway.
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[edit] Route description
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This section requires expansion. |
[edit] History
M-79 was formed as a state trunkline in 1919 along part of its present routing. At the time, it ran between Hastings and Nashville as it does today. From Nashville, the trunkline turned south and west to end at the contemporary M-17 in Battle Creek.[2] By 1927, the southernmost section of M-79 was truncated when M-78 was extended to Battle Creek.[3] In late 1930, the southernmost section is shortened once again as a new M-14 designation replaced M-79 south of Nashville. An eastward extension of M-79 at the same time carries the highway designation to Vermontville.[4][5]
M-79 was extended easterly to Charlotte in 1934 at the same time that the section of the trunkline between Nashville and Vermontville was redesignated M-214. M-79 was rerouted along Assyria and Lawrence roads at the time to connect the sections of M-79 on either side of M-214.[6][7] By 1941, M-214 was shortened to a 3-mile (5 km) connector route in downtown Nashville running between M-79 and M-66.[8] In 1953, M-79 replaced M-214 and the latter designation was retired from the highway system.[9][10] The last section of gravel roadway in Eaton County was paved in 1959 or 1960.[11][12]
[edit] Major intersections
| County | Location | Mile[1] | Roads intersected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barry | Hastings Township | 0.000 | M-37 |
Western terminus |
| Nashville | 9.280 | M-66 north |
Western terminus of M-66 concurrency | |
| Maple Grove Township | 11.572 | M-66 south |
Eastern terminus of M-66 concurrency | |
| Eaton | Charlotte | 24.890 | BL I-69 / M-50 |
Eastern terminus |
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concurrency terminus | Unconstructed | ||||
[edit] References
- ^ a b Michigan Department of Transportation. Control Section/Physical Reference Atlas [map]. (2001) Retrieved on January 25, 2008.
- ^ a b Michigan State Highway Department. State of Michigan: Lower Peninsula [map]. Cartography by MSHD. (1919) Retrieved on March 2, 2008.
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. Official Highway Service Map [map]. Cartography by MSHD. (December 1, 1927)
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. Official Highway Service Map [map]. Cartography by H.M. Gousha. (July 1, 1930)
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. Official Highway Map [map]. Cartography by Rand McNally. (May 15, 1931)
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. Official Highway Map [map]. Cartography by H.M. Gousha. (May 1, 1934)
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. Official Highway Map [map]. Cartography by H.M. Gousha. (September 1, 1934)
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. 1941 Official Michigan Highway Map [map], Summer edition. Cartography by Rand McNally. (July 1, 1941)
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. 1953 Official Highway Map [map]. (April 15, 1953)
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. 1953 Official Highway Map [map]. (October 1, 1953)
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. Official Highway Map [map]. (1958) (Includes all changes through July 1, 1958)
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. Official Highway Map [map]. (1960) (Includes all changes through July 1, 1960)
