Portal:Michigan highways
Michigan Highways
The State Trunkline Highway System of the US state of Michigan is a network of roads owned and maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The most prominent of these roads are part of one of three numbered highway systems in Michigan: Interstates Highways, US Highways, and the other State Trunklines. Other systems of roads are operated by the 83 counties in the state as well as each city.
Interstate Highways and US Highways are assigned at the national level. Interstate Highways are numbered in a grid—even-numbered highways are east–west highways (with the lowest numbers along Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico), and odd-numbered highways are north–south highways (with the lowest numbers along the Pacific Ocean). US Highways are also numbered in a grid—even numbered for east–west highways (with the lowest numbers along Canada) and odd numbered for north–south highways (with the lowest numbers along the Atlantic Ocean). For this reason, mainline (two-digit) Interstate Highways in Michigan all have numbers above 69 and mainline US Highways all have numbers below 45. Three-digit Interstate and U.S. Highways, also known as "child routes," are branches off their main one- or two-digit "parents". The Interstate and US Highways are maintained by MDOT. Interstate 75 (I-75) and US Highway 23 (US 23) are the longest examples in the state.
State Trunklines are the other state highways maintained by MDOT. These highways are completely owned and maintained by the state. Michigan highways are properly referred to using the M and never as "Route 28" or "Highway 115", but as M-28 or M-115. The marker used for state trunklines is a diamond with a block-letter "M" at the top. Roads that are maintained by the state but not assigned a state trunkline designation carry an unsigned highway designation.
County-Designated Highways are assigned numbers in a zone system by MDOT, but maintained by the counties. Each zone is indicated by a letter A–H which is followed by a number based on a grid inside that zone. Each county also maintains any other roadway that is not a state trunkline or a city street. The numbering and signing practices vary from county to county, as does the size of each county's system. Numerical designations typically do not carry over from one county to the next; a CDH that crosses county lines keeps its designation in each county however. County road designations are typically abbreviated "CR" or "Co Rd" followed by the number, and CDHs are abbreviated to just their letter and number assignment.
Recognized content - 
US Highway 41 (US 41) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state via the Interstate Bridge between Marinette, Wisconsin, and Menominee, Michigan. The 278.769 miles (448.635 km) of US 41 that lie within Michigan serve as a major conduit. Most of the highway is listed on the National Highway System. Various sections are rural two-lane highway, urbanized four-lane divided expressway and the Copper Country Trail National Scenic Byway. The northernmost community along the highway is Copper Harbor at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The trunkline ends at a cul-de-sac east of Fort Wilkins State Park after serving the Central Upper Peninsula and Copper Country regions of Michigan.
US 41 passes through farm fields and forest lands, and along the Lake Superior shoreline. The highway is included in the Lake Superior Circle Tour and the Lake Michigan Circle Tour and passes through the Hiawatha National Forest and the Keweenaw National Historical Park. Historical landmarks along the trunkline include the Marquette Branch Prison, Peshekee River Bridge and the Quincy Mine. The highway is known for a number of historic bridges such as a lift bridge, the northernmost span in the state and a structure referred to as "one of Michigan's most important vehicular bridges" by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). Seven memorial highway designations have been applied to parts of the trunkline since 1917, one of them named for a Civil War general. (Full article...)
General images
-
Planning map for the Detroit area freeways from 1955 -
Map of the zone system -
M-121 in Jenison -
Exit 254 on I-75 south of Grayling -
Construction along I-96 for the interchange with M-231 in July 2013 (from Michigan State Trunkline Highway System) -
M-553 approaching Glass' Curve south of Marquette -
H-58 west of Grand Marais -
Interstate HighwaysOther freewaysMiscellaneous expressways -
Milemarker used in 1922 for M-14 -
M-39 bridge over the River Rouge in Dearborn -
Dead Man's Curve along the Marquette–Negaunee Road shown in 1917 with its hand-painted centerline, the first in the nation -
Welcome sign along US 8 -
M-87 on November 1, 1956 -
A-2 in Allegan County south of Holland -
Map of the pre-statehood Indian trails -
Junction between M-28 and M-178 south of Munising before 1941 -
Grand River Avenue, once a part of M-16 and later US 16, was originally an Indian trail converted as a plank road before becoming a state highway. -
H-13 during winter
.jpg)
.JPG)
Selected picture
Topics
State Trunkline System, overview of the system
- Interstates Highways in the state
- US Highways in the state
- State Trunklines
- County-Designated Highways in the state
- Pure Michigan Byways, a system of scenic, historical or recreational highways in the state
- Great Lakes Circle Tour
Subcategories
Related portals
WikiProjects
Things to do
Nominations and votes for selected articles and selected pictures are always needed. Anyone can nominate an article, and anyone can vote for an article. You can also recommend items for Did you know?. Improvements to the articles are always welcome as the project works on expanding and nominating the remaining ones for Good Article or Featured Article status.
