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 (but the lowest numbers are 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.
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M-203 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the Upper Peninsula. It connects McLain State Park with US 41 on each end in Hancock and Calumet. The southern section of highway on the west side of Hancock runs parallel to the Portage Canal before the highway turns northward parallel to Lake Superior near the state park. The trunkline has existed since commissioning in 1933. At first it was a spur from Hancock northward until it was temporarily decommissioned in 1939. This action was reversed, and the highway was extended northward in 1940. Further changes were made to the routing in 1963. (more...)
Recently selected: M-115 • Black River National Forest Scenic Byway • M-37
Did you know...
- ... that in Midland, M-20 passes The Tridge (pictured), a three-legged bridge?
- ... that cars are forbidden from Mackinac Island, making M-185 the only state highway without them?
- ... that the Leelanau Scenic Heritage Route forks to follow M-22 and M-109 through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore?
- ...that Henry Ford helped stop construction of M-35 in the Upper Peninsula in order to gain admission to the exclusive Huron Mountain Club?
- ... that the Lodge Freeway in the Detroit area is named for John C. Lodge, a former Detroit mayor?
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State Trunkline System, overview of the system
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