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On to Next Route: M-94 |
| Western Entrance: | From Indiana at the state line south of New Buffalo in Berrien Co. |
| Eastern Terminus: | Ontario provincial boundary on the Blue Water Bridges (concurrently with I-69) connecting Port Huron, Michigan with Point Edward and Sarnia, Ontario. |
| Length: | 275.381 miles |
| Maps: | Route Map of I-94 |
| Notes: | Proclaimed as the first border-to-border Interstate in the United States when it was completed from Saint Joseph on Lake Michigan through Detroit at the end of 1960. |
| I-94 is sometimes referred to as "Michigan's Main Street" along with I-75, since I-94 is the longest east-west Interstate in Michigan while I-75 is the longest north-south running Interstate. | |
| Since many segments of I-94 were built before the Interstate Highway Act was signed into law in 1956, it has begun showing its age. While newer overpasses and reconstructed driving surfaces may be of some help, the lack of left shoulders in some areas and the sheer lack of any right-of-way within which to add much-needed extra lanes is very hard to overcome. These areas have included the Edsel Ford Frwy through Detroit and sections around Ann Arbor, Jackson and Kalamazoo. A drive along these segments, however, is an interesting glimpse into the history of freeways in Michigan! In recent years, much of I-94 through the Kalamazoo area has been modernized and widened (with additional upgrades planned) and preliminary work for similar improvements through Jackson is now underway. | |
As noted above, parts of I-94 are showing their age and on no other segment is this more true than the Edsel Ford Freeway through Detroit. MDOT has been preparing for a complete reconstruction of the Edsel Ford through the city for many years, although serious planning and design still await funding and programming in a future Five-Year Plan. The current proposal is to rebuild I-94 from the bottom up to modern-day Interstate standards, expanding the six-lane freeway (with no left shoulders and several left-hand exits) to an 8-10 lane configuration with continuous or semi-continuous service drives, like many of Metro Detroit's more modern freeways. Such a massive undertaking—in terms of construction and money necessary—is likely within the next decade as the freeway continues to age and as traffic volumes continue to build. More information from MDOT below:
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| "State Trunkline Needs, 1960–1980," a set of maps prepared by the State Highway Dept's Office of Planning, Programming Division in 1960 showing possible additions, upgrades and improvements to the state trunkline system over the ensuing twenty years. However, as segments of I-94 had been recently constructed, were currently being constructed or aldready in the design process at that time, the maps show the entire I-94 corridor almost exactly as it was eventually configured. The primary difference between the maps and what was eventually constructed deal mainly with a few interchanges (either ones which were never built or additional ones which were constructed) and concurrent route designations, such as US-12 remaining co-signed with I-94 between New Buffalo and Detroit or US-25 between Mount Clemens and Port Huron. | |
| History: |             NOTE: This history section for I-94 includes the history of any earlier route segments which were eventually incorporated into the route of I-94, including portions of US-12, M-17, M-29, US-112, BYP US-112, M-112, and M-146. Look for the route marker symbols denoting the original designation being referred to at the beginning of each history entry. As the "Pre I-94" history of this route is actually quite lengthy, you may also choose to jump to the techincal beginning of the history of I-94 proper in 1959. |
| 1927 (June 13) – A local delegation led by Washtenaw Co Road Commission chairman George W. McCalla and engineer A.R. Bailey travel to Lansing to request a three-mile long "cut-off" for the former M-23, now newly designated and signed as US-112 (and potentially also for M-17) around the south side of Ypsilanti. The cut-off route had been previously surveyed by the State Highway Dept, but "not carried out, owing to local conditions," as reported. The local represetatives note to the State Administrative Board such a cut-off would relieve oongestion along Michigan Ave as it leaves Wayne Co and heads into Ypsilanti. The Ad Board referred the suggestion to the road committee for consideration (although it would take the coming of yet another World War to cause such a southern bypass of Ypsilanti to finally come to fruition in a decade-and-a-half). |
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| 1930 (Aug 26) – A meeting between state highway officials and representatives of each county and the major cities from Detroit to Kalamazoo is held to discuss the concept of a "Detroit-Chicago Superhighway" to run from Detroit westerly past Ann Arbor, Jackson, Albion, Marshall, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo en rotue, eventually, to Chicago. Near unanimous support was given for the new "superhighway," although the Battle Creek officials strongly desired the route to pass to the north of their central business district while state highway officials championed a route to the south that would also bypass Camp Custer (today's Fort Custer) and connect with a new trunkline already proposed to enter downtown Kalamazoo from the east. This improved highway is a direct precedessor, in may ways, to the present-day I-94. |
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| 1930 (Dec 2) – A 47.4-mile long state trunkline highway route is officially established as part of the proposed "Detroit-Chicago Superhighway" eventually linking the two cities with a re-engineered "super" highway largely on new alignment. The concept of freeways, as they came to be known later in the 20th Century, had not yet fully coalesced and this proposed route was planned as a 40-foot wide (or wider, in places) concrete highway, engineered to the highest existing standards. The new route "will eventually provide a new route across the State, keeping away from the centers of the larger cities." The first segment of the "Detroit-Chicago Superhighway", as officially established on this date, begins at US-112/Michigan Ave & Wyoming Ave between Detroit and Dearborn and continues westerly along Ford Rd to Canton Center Rd, then continues due westerly along an unconstructed alignment into Washtenaw Co to US-12/Plymouth Rd just northeast of Dixboro. The route then continues due westerly for an additional four miles before curving southwesterly as it crosses the Ann Arbor RR (present-day Great Lakes Central RR) north of Ann Arbor, continuing to US-12/Jackson Rd at Zeeb Rd west of Ann Arbor. The "superhighway" route continues westerly for ¾ mile along US-12/Jackson Rd then westerly for nearly 14 miles to just southwest of Sylvan. There, the route curves west-northwesterly for two miles, crossing existing US-12 and the Michigan Central RR before turning due westerly for an additional mile to the Washtenaw/Jackson Co line. From there, the "superhighway" route continues west on a gently curving alignment passing north of Riley Lake, between Grass and Tims Lakes and south of Goose Lake to the present-day intersection of Sargent Rd & Ann Arbor Rd northeast of Jackson. The highway route then turns southwesterly along present-day BL I-94/Ann Arbor Rd to Michigan Ave and then via Michigan Ave to the eastern Jackson city limit. From the outset, the portion of the "Detroit-Chicago Superhighway" along Ford Rd from US-12/Michigan Ave westerly to Canton Center Rd in Canton Twp and on to US-12 at Dixboro northeast of Ann Arbor is designated M-153, but state highway officials hoped to have Ford Rd designated as a "federal route," likely meaning transferring the US-12 designation from Plymouth Rd to the north onto Ford Rd. West of Ann Arbor, the highway officials plann to move the US-12 designation to the new route as it is completed and opened to traffic. |
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| 1935 (Jan 7) – While the Ford Rd portion of the "Detroit-Chicago Superhighway," signed as M-153, was completed westerly from Canton Center Rd in Wayne Co to Napier Rd on the Washtenaw Co line in 1933 and then on to US-12/Plymouth Rd near Dixboro in Washtenaw Co in 1934, the remaining mileage of the "superhighway" route in Washtenaw Co is cancelled and removed from the state trunkline highway system. The northern bypass of Ann Arbor would return in coming years as the M-14 "North Belt" and the remaining portion of the route established in 1930 would re-emerge on a slightly different alignment as part of US-12 as well. |
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| 1936 (Feb 6–20) – As the originally-proposed route for the "Detroit–Chicago Superhighway" is gradually being abandoned between Ann Arbor and Jackson, a new alignment for US-12 in eastern Jackson Co is officially established as a state trunkline highway route. Beginning at the same location where the "Detroit–Chicago Superhighway" route departed from existing US-12 (at the present-day cnr of E Michigan Ave & Ann Arbor Rd), the newly-established route follows the proposed "Detroit–Chicago Superhighway" route for the first 3½ miles to the Brill Lake area where the new route swings north of Goose Lake then continues easterly to the Washtenaw Co line. This new US-12 routing is established on February 6 while the former "Detroit–Chicago Superhighway" alignment is officially cancelled two weeks later on February 20. (This results in two weeks where the former "superhighway" alignment and the new US-12 northern alignment co-exist, although neither in physically constructed form.) The new route for US-12 in eastern Jackson Co is likely completed and opened to traffic by the end of 1937, as the former route of US-12 through Grass Lake along Michigan Ave is cancelled on Dec 29, 1937. |
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| 1939 (July 13) – In preparation for the opening of the Blue Water Bridge spanning the St Clair River between Port Huron, Michigan and Point Edward, Ontario, the six-tenths of a mile of the bridge approach from M-51/Pine Grove Ave (present-day BL I-69/BL I-94) easterly to the shoreline of the St Clair River is officially established as a state trunkline highway route. No route designation is assigned to the approach roadway which was constructed in 1938 and would be incorporated into the route of I-94 a quarter of a century later. |
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| 1939 (Sept 11) – While the efforts from earlier in the 1930s to create a "Detroit–Chicago Superhighway" seemed to have fizzled out in the middle years of the decade, the concept is revived by State Highway Commissioner Murray D. Van Wagoner during a speech before the Chicago regional planning commission. Van Wagoner envisions a "bee-line route" beginning in Chicago and heading around the end of Lake Michigan to Michigan City, Indiana, then to South Bend before entering Michigan near Niles and then run directly to Ann Arbor, running to the south of the existing M-60 route for the most part and bypassing all the larger population centers. At Ann Arbor, the "superhighway" would follow existing US-112 through Ypsilanti and into Detroit. The highway is reported as being planned as "a minimum of four lanes" throughout. Representatives from some cities along US-12 express concern over the diversion of traffic from their areas. |
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| 1939 (Oct 9) – The Blue Water Bridge linking Port Huron and Point Edward, Ontario is officially dedicated and opened to traffic. |
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| 1941 (Oct 1) – Even though the U.S. was not officially at war—the Attack on Pearl Harbor won't occur for more than two months—a massive bomber plant is constructed at Willow Run, straddling the Washtenaw/Wayne Co line east of Ypsilanti. With the primary supply of labor for the bomber plant living 15–20 miles to the east in the Detroit area, getting workers to the new plant quickly becomes a major headache. (Many workers were unwilling or unable to live in temporary housing constructed at Willow Run during the week, commuting home to Detroit on the weekends. Worker turnover became a problem early on.) Roads and highways connecting Detroit with Willow Run were narrow and not built to handle the amount of traffic they received almost overnight. To get the bomber plant workers to their jobs and allow them to return home each night, the Michigan State Highway Dept, the U.S. War Department and Ford Motor Company—the company that constructed and operated the plant on behalf of the federal government—decide to construct a system of ultra-modern access highways encircling the Willow Run facility and reaching toward Detroit. Work begins on the Willow Run Expressway System on Oct 1. A ceremonial kick-off to start the work on the Willow Run Expressway was held on Sept 10. |
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 1941 (Oct 17) – As work on the Willow Run Expressway System gets underway, the State Highway Dept also begins planning on a new superhighway to connect the Willow Run area with Detroit via what is called the "Detroit Industrial Area," to the south of US-112/Michigan Ave. The first 5.5 mile segment of the planned Detroit Industrial Expressway from US-112/Michigan Ave at Wyoming Ave on the Detroit/Dearborn boundary westerly to Southfield Rd is established as a state trunkline highway route and will feature the designation M-112. |
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1942 (Jan 28) – Three segments of highway which will eventually become part of I-94, two of which are directly contiguous to each other, are officially assumed into the state trunkline highway system:
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| 1942 (June 17) – The U.S. War Department officially authorizes construction of the Detroit Industrial Expwy under the provisions of the Defense Highway Act of 1941. Part of the freeway is already constructed, which illustrates the speed at which improvements were being implemented during wartime. |
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| 1942 (July 1) – The first mile of the Willow Run Expwy is completed and opened to traffic. (The exact limits of this segment are not clear, as information relating to military production efforts is considered sensitive and is often generalized, if not censored altogether. As construction of the Willow Run and Detroit Industrial Expwys are directly related to the Willow Run bomber plant, detailed information on those highways is sometimes difficult to come by.) As the portion of the Willow Run Expwy along Chase Rd through Van Buren Twp in Wayne Co was likely some of the easiest and quickest to construct, it may have been in that area the first mile opened to traffic. |
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| 1942 (Aug 17) – A 6.1-mile long westerly extension of the Willow Run Expressway System from M-17/Ecorse Rd (at the west end of the expressway complex being constructed around the Wilow Run bomber plant) past the south side of Ypsilanti to a jct with US-112/Michigan Ave southwest of Ypsilanti and then further to a ⊤-intersection with US-23/Carpenter Rd southeast of Ann Arbor is officially assumed into the state trunkline highway system, to be designated as a realigned M-17 and BYP US-112, a new route designation, when opened to traffic. |
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1942 (Sept 12–22) – On September 12, the east tri-level ("triple decker") interchange on the Willow Run Expwy is dedicated and opened to traffic. This interchange allows traffic from the new BYP US-112 (later US-112, now US-12) section of the Willow Run Expwy to directly access the Willow Run bomber plant from the north. Then on September 22, news accounts report the entire Willow Run Expressway System is "put into service," implying the entire expressway along Chase Rd from Hannan Rd westerly to Wiard Rd, northerly along Wiard Rd from Chase Rd to M-17/Ecorse Rd, then easterly along M-17/Ecorse Rd to M-56/Belleville Rd, with extensions to the northeast connecting with US-112/Michigan Ave and to the west connecting with M-17/Ecorse Rd heading into Ypsilanti is complete and open to traffic. The new expressway features interchanges at (from east-to-west) at:
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| 1942 (Nov 23) – The first segment of the M-112/Detroit Industrial Expressway is completed and opened to traffic from the eastern end of the Willow Run Expwy at Hannan Rd west of Romulus then east-northeasterly to Middle Belt Rd. The Detroit Industrial Expwy, unlike the Willow Run Expwy to the west, is being constructed to full freeway standards with no intersecting crossroads and interchanges at Wayne Rd (wbd exit, ebd entry) and Middle Belt Rd. An interchange with ramps leading to M-56 at North Line Rd and Huron River Dr west of Romulus is still under construction. |
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| 1943 (Feb 2) – The next segment of the M-112/Detroit Industrial Expwy is opened to traffic from Middle Belt Rd easterly to Southfield Rd, although with two-way traffic using the wbd lanes of the freeway from Inkster Rd eaterly as completion of the ebd lanes is delayed due to winter weather shutting down concrete pouring operations. Access is only via interchanges at M-17/Ecorse Rd (wbd exit to and entry from wbd Ecorse, ebd exit to and entry from ebd Ecorse only), US-24/Telegraph Rd (wbd exit to and entry from sbd Telegraph, ebd exit to and entry from nbd Telegraph only), and at Southfield Rd. |
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| 1943 (Feb 26) – The first 5.8 miles of the M-112/Willow Run Expwy from the west tri-level interchange southerly along Wiard Rd then easterly along Chase Rd to M-56/Belleville Rd are officially established as state trunkline highway mileage, approximately five months after opening to traffic. |
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| 1943 (Spring) – The ebd lanes of the M-112/Detroit Industrial Expwy from Inkster Rd easterly to Southfield Rd are completed and opened to traffic. Two lanes of ebd traffic are now using their own lanes while wbd traffic can now utilize both lanes on the other side of the freeway. |
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| 1944 (Early) – The 6.1-mile long westerly extension of the Willow Run Expressway System from M-17/Ecorse Rd past the south side of Ypsilanti to a ⊤-intersection with US-23/Carpenter Rd southeast of Ann Arbor officially established as a state trunkline highway route in August 1942 is completed and opened to traffic. The new highway is designated as M-17 throughout, with M-17 traffic directed northerly along US-23/Carpenter Rd back to its former alignment at Washtenaw Ave, while the former route of M-17 through downtown Ypsilanti is designated as BUS M-17. In addition, a new BYP US-112 designation is created, departing from US-112/Michigan Ave just east of the Washtenaw/Wayne Co line and continuing southwesterly along the Willow Run Expwy System, joining with M-17 at Ecorse Rd and continuing westerly along the new bypass back to US-112/Michigan Ave southwest of downtown Ypsilanti, while M-17 continues westerly on its own to US-23. |
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| 1943 (Dec 8) – An additional 3¼ miles of the M-112/Detroit Industrial Expwy are completed and opened to traffic from Southfield Rd in Allen Park northeasterly to Greenfield Rd in southern Dearborn. Both east- and westbound lanes of the freeway are opened simultaneously. The final 2¼ miles of the freeway east of this point are under construction and the State Highway Dept announces the War Production Board has granted an extension of the permit to complete the freeway, originally to have expired on December 31, 1943, to June 30, 1944. Material and labor shortages have prevented the Dept from completing the freeway in the original timeframe. |
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| 1944 (July 1) – The last 2¼ miles of the M-112/Detroit Industrial Expwy are completed and opened to traffic from Greenfield Rd in Dearborn northeasterly to US-112/Michigan Ave at Wyoming Ave on the Dearborn/Detroit city limit. Not only does this mark the completion of the Detroit Industrial Expwy, but also represents the maximum extent of M-112 as well. |
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| 1945 (Mar 9, 10:00 am) – A "formal opening" ceremony is held for the $26-million Willow Run/Detroit Industrial Expressway system at the US-112/Michigan Ave & Wyoming Ave interchange on the Detroit/Dearborn boundary, attended by Governor Frank Kelly, State Highway Commissioner Charles M Ziegler and Henry Ford II, Executive Vice President of Ford Motor Co. Ford Motor Co had donated quite a bit of the right-of-way for the overall project, both in the area around the Willow Run bomber plant near Ypsilanti as well as in Dearborn past the Ford Rouge Assembly Plant and other company offices. |
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| 1945 (Aug 2) – Plans for an eventual Detroit–Chicago Expressway linking the two cities are announced in Detroit at a conference of highway officials and civic leaders put on by the Detroit and Chicago auto clubs. While no specific route for the future highway has been determined, but Charles T. Bush, Chicago-Detroit Expressway Commission chair, notes it should cut travel time between the cities by two hours, from seven to five. | |
| 1945 (Oct) – The first right-of-way is acquired for the proposed Detroit Crosstown Expressway (also referred to previously as the McGraw–Harper Expressway, the Harper–McGraw Expressway, and the Crosstown Motorway) in the City of Detroit, easterly from the eastern terminus of the M-112/Detroit Industrial Expwy at Wyoming Ave. |
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| 1946 (January) – A route for the Detroit–Chicago Expressway is "chosen" by the Michigan Automobile Club (present-day AAA Michigan) and the Chicago Automobile Club running westerly from Detroit via the Detroit Industrial and Willow Run Expwys to Ypsilanti, then following the US-12 (present-day I-94) corridor past Ann Arbor, Jackson, Albion, Marshall and Battle Creek to Kalamazoo. There is some disagreement, however, as to the preferred alignment of the proposed expressway between Kalamazoo and Michigan City, Indiana. The three possible routings include continuing the freeway along the US-12 (present-day I-94) corridor past Benton Harbor/Saint Joseph, following US-131 from Kalamazoo to Three Rivers then angling southwesterly to Elkhart, Indiana and continuing westerly to Michigan City via South Bend, or a more direct angling alignment from Kalamazoo to South Bent via Decatur, Dowagiac and Niles. While the two auto clubs have little actual say in both the alignment of such a route or its construction schedule, club leaders publicly claim the freeway "could be completed by 1950"—just four short years in the future! (In reality, Michigan would complete its portion in 1963 while it would take Indiana until 1972 to finally complete their segment.) | |
| 1946 (Apr 16–23) – On April 16, Detroit City Councilman Charles E Dorais introduces an ordinance naming the proposed Crosstown Expressway as the Edsel Ford Expressway, in honor of Edsel Ford, Henry Ford's only child and president of Ford Motor Co from 1919–1943. Edsel Ford had died of cancer three years earlier at the age of 49. One week later on April 23, the Detroit Common Council unanimously approves renaming the Crosstown after Edsel Ford. |
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| 1946 (Dec 4–6) – News reports on December 4 confirm the South Bend and Elkhart areas in northern Indiana are campaigning for the proposed Detroit–Chicago Expressway to be routed from Kalamazoo southwesterly through their region, then westerly toward Chicago. Two days later on December 6, State Highway Commission Charles Ziegler denies the Detroit–Chicago Expressway is being officially considered by the department and believes the Indiana Highway Dept has similarly not considered it as well. He states the major issue holding back construction of such a facility is funding. It will likely cost $100–200 million and take many years to complete. Upgrades to the existing routes of US-12, US-112 and M-60 are being planned at this time, according to Ziegler. | |
| 1949 (Dec 1) – The first 4½ miles of the two-lane "Jackson North Belt" bypass is completed from the existing alignment of US-12 (at present-day jct of I-94 & BL I-94 northeast of Jackson near former Exit 144) then westerly to M-106/Cooper St north of downtown Jackson. While it isn't clear if US-12 is officially routed over this segment then temporarily to the south along M-106/Cooper St at this point, only automobile traffic is allowed at first with trucks being banned from the route which cost $519,000 to construct. |
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| 1949 (Nov 10) – A 4.22-mile long segment of new state trunkline highway route is assumed into the system bypassing Mount Clemens to the east along Snover Rd beginning at US-25/Gratiot Ave just north of M-59/Hall Rd and continuing southerly to Crocker Blvd southeast of downtown Mount Clemens. The segment of two-lane highway may have opened to traffic as early as 1947, however, and as is signed as a relocation of M-29. (It would be assumed into the routing of future I-94 in the early 1960s.) |
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| 1950 (Apr 18) – The 4.401-mile long "Jackson North Belt" from US-12/Ann Arbor Rd northeast of Jackson westerly to M-106/Cooper St north of downtown is officially assumed into the state trunkline highway system. It was opened to traffic 4½ months earlier. |
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| 1951 (June 22) – A 3.86-mile long segment of the relocated US-12 is completed south of Galesburg in Kalamazoo Co. As this new segment of highway does not directly connect back to US-12 west of Galesburg, it is reported that it is not signed as part of the US-12 route at this time. (This segment would be assumed into the route of I-94 later in the decade.) |
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| 1951 (July 9, 12:30 pm) – Eleanor Clay Ford, widow of late Ford Motor Co executive Edsel Ford (and niece of department store owner J. L. Hudson), cuts the ribbon at a ceremony at Wyoming Ave on the Dearborn/Detroit city limit to dedicate and open the first 1.9 miles of the Edsel Ford Expwy in Detroit. Construction on the $12-million segment began in January 1947 and opens to traffic from the eastern end of the M-112/Detroit Industrial Expwy easterly to a temporary terminus at Livernois Ave (present-day Exit 212A). Construction east of Livernois continues toward a link-up with the new John C Lodge Expwy. The Edsel Ford is not assigned a route designation upon opening and is not officially established as a state trunkline highway even though it is being planned and constructed by the State Highway Dept. |
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| 1951 (Dec) – An additional 1¼ mile of the "Jackson North Belt" bypass is completed and opened to traffic from M-106/Cooper St north of downtown westerly to M-50 northwest of the city. When this segment opens, the entire Jackson North Belt is officially signed as US-12, which then travels southerly along M-50 and US-127 along N East St into Jackson to rejoin the existing route of US-12 along W Michigan Ave. The former route of US-12 along Michigan Ave and Ann Arbor Rd from M-50/East St easterly to the beginning of the Jackson North Belt is redesignated as BUS US-12. The truck prohibition on the Jackson North Belt is also lifted as it is now open to all vehicle traffic. |
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| 1952 (Oct 23) – The next ½ mile of the Edsel Ford Expwy in Detroit is completed and opened to traffic from Livernois Rd easterly W Warren Ave, with ebd traffic forced off the new freeway (and wbd traffic allowed to enter) at ramps at 30th St (present-day Exit 212B). |
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| 1953 (Fall) – A 4¾-mile long segment of relocated US-12 from 35th St south of Galesburg (at the western end of the segment completed and opened to local traffic in 1951) westerly to Miller Rd southeast of Kalamazoo is opened to traffic as a two-lane expressway to local traffic only. Through US-12 traffic is maintained on its existing route via Michigan Ave through Galesburg and then into Kalamazoo via King Hwy (present-day M-96). This roadway would be incorporated into the I-94 freeway over the next several years, becoming the westbound lanes of the new facility. |
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| 1953 (Nov 5) – A 10-mile westerly extension of the US-12 "Jackson North Belt" bypass is completed and opened to traffic from M-50 northwest of downtown Jackson westerly to the existing route of US-12 along Michigan Ave west of Parma (at present-day Exit 128). The two-lane limited access expressway utilizes what would become the ebd lanes of I-94 in less than a decade. Interestingly, this segment of highway would not be officially established as a state trunkline route for more than three years while the former route of US-12 along Michigan Ave from Jackson westerly through Parma officially remains as an unsigned state trunkline highway route. |
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| 1953 (Nov 10) – Almost two full years after opening to traffic, the 1.21-mile long segment of the US-12 "Jackson North Belt" between M-106/Cooper St and M-50 on the north side of Jackson is officially established as a state trunkline highway. |
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| 1954 (July 1–Aug 15) – On July 1, the ebd lanes of a one-mile easterly extension of the Edsel Ford Expwy are opened to traffic from West Grand Blvd to US-16/Grand River Ave in Detroit. Six week later on August 15, the wbd lanes of the Edsel Ford from US-16/Grand River Ave to West Grand Blvd are then opened to traffic. The Edsel Ford Expwy is now completed and fully open to traffic for 3½ miles. |
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| 1954 (Sept 7) – The 0.6-mile long "Northline Connector" linking the eastern end of the Willow Run Expwy to Northline Rd southwest of Romulus is turned back to county control. The Northline Connector was completed in 1943 soon after the first segment of the Detroit Industrial Expwy opened from the end of the Willow Run Expwy. | |
| 1954 (Dec 8) – A 2.67-mile long segment of the M-146/Port Huron Bypass is completed and opened to traffic, beginning at US-25/Pine Grove Ave one-tenth of a mile north of Garfield St and continuing southerly through intersections at Garfield and Hancock Sts to ramps leading to and from the Blue Water Bridge, then bending southwesterly to cross the Black River and through an interchange with Water St before turning southerly again to a terminus at M-21/Lapeer Rd. The M-146 designation then runs easterly along Lapeer Rd with M-21 to 24th St where it continues southerly along 24th on its existing alignment. This is the first segment of a proposed westerly US-25 freeway bypass of Port Huron. |
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| 1955 (Jan 18, 3:00 pm) – The next segment of the Edsel Ford Expwy is completed and opened to traffic in Detroit from US-16/Grand River Ave easterly to an interchange with the John C Lodge Expwy in the New Center Area. At the 40-acre, $15.3-million Lodge interchange, ramps are only open for ebd Edsel Ford Expwy traffic to the sbd Lodge Expwy and from both nbd and sbd Lodge Expwy traffic accessing the wbd Edsel Ford Expwy. |
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| 1955 (Jan 26, 8:00 am) – A 2.7-mile long connecting highway linking the recently completed relocation of US-12 southeast of Kalamazoo with the existing route of US-12 along King Hwy east of downtown is completed and opened to traffic as a two-lane controlled-access expressway. (A second set of lanes to make this new connector into a four-lane divided expressway is planned.) With this connection between the relocated and existing US-12 now open, US-12 traffic is finally routed along the Galesburg–Comstock "bypass" running south of Morrow Lake, portions of which were opened to local trffic in 1951 and 1953. The former route of US-12 from the eastern end of the "bypass" (at present-day Exit 88) northwesterly along E Michigan Ave into Galesburg is retained as an unsigned state trunkline for time being, while the segment of E Michigan Ave and King Hwy from Galesburg westerly through Comstock to the western end of the new connector highway is redesignated as a westerly extension of M-96. What had been designated as US-12A along E Michigan Ave between Comstock and Kalamazoo is decommissioned, but remains an unsigned state trunkline highway route for the time being as well. |
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| 1955 (July 9) – The two-lane, undivided segment of the M-17 bypass of Ypsilanti from US-112/Michigan Ave southwest of downtown westerly to US-23/Carpenter Rd is converted to a four-lane divided facility. An interchange is completed and opened to traffic on the site of the former ⊤-intersection at the western end of the M-17 bypass at US-23/Carpenter Rd in preparation for a westerly extension of the highway as the "Ann Arbor South Belt" freeway bypass. |
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| 1955 (Sept 14, Noon) – The Edsel Ford Expwy is extended east from its temporary terminus at the John C Lodge Expwy in Detroit for one mile to a new temporary ending at Russell St, opening to traffic at Noon. |
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| 1956 (Mar 26) – The 7.61-miles of the new US-12 southerly bypass of the Galesburg–Comstock area in Kalamazoo Co, beginning at existing US-12/Michigan Ave (present-day Exit 88) southeast of Galesburg and continuing westerly to Miller Rd southeast of Kalamazoo, is officially established as a state trunkline highway route. This segment was opened as a two-lane highway for local traffic only from US-12/Michigan Ave to 35th St south of Galesburg in 1951 and from 35th St westerly to Miller Rd in 1953, while the US-12 designation was finally applied to this segment in early 1955. The segment of the former route of US-12 along E Michigan Ave from the beginning of the Galesburg–Comstock bypass northwesterly into downtown Galesburg at M-96 is turned back to county and municipal control, as is the former US-12A alignment along E Michigan Ave from M-96 in Comstock westerly to M-43/Riverview Dr in Kalamazoo. |
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| 1956 (Apr 18) – Plans for a proposed Detroit–Chicago Tollroad are officially abandoned. The Michigan Turnpike Authority had been contemplating constructing two facilities in the state: a north-south tollroad from Toledo through Metro Detroit to Saginaw (and, possibly, to the Mackinac Straits) and an east-west tollroad connecting Detroit and Chicago via the US-12 corridor. State Highway Commissioner Charles M. Zeigler, however, is a staunch opponent of tollroads and begins construction of toll-free routes within both corridors, severely limiting the ability of the Authority to construct its own facilities. While the idea of the Authority taking over the segments of freeway already constructed by the State Highway Dept—repaying the state for the money expended on building them—completing the gaps and operating the entire facility as a tollroad, support begins to dwindle and eventually the Detroit–Chicago Tollroad is officially dropped by the Authority in the hopes it will allow their Toledo–Detroit–Saginaw route to come to fruition. | |
| 1956 (Sept 29, Oct 6) – The US-12 "Ann Arbor Southbelt" freeway is completed and opened to traffic... twice. First, the freeway, which still has a few final details yet to be completed, is opened on September 29 between US-23/Carpenter Rd southeast of Ann Arbor westerly to Ann Arbor-Saline Rd to help with traffic for the Univ of Michigan–UCLA football game at Michigan Stadium. Then, after closing later that day, the entire "Ann Arbor Southbelt" from US-23 west to the existing route of US-12 along Jackson Rd (at present-day Exit 172) west of Ann Arbor is officially opened to traffic on October 6 in time for the Michigan–Michigan State football game. The "Ann Arbor Southbelt" was initially planned as a westerly extension of M-17 prior to the major route designation swap to be made official one month later. |
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| 1956 (Oct 15) – New westbound lanes are completed and opened to traffic on the 9-mile portion of the US-12 "Jackson North Belt" bypass from US-127/M-50 northwest of downtown Jackson (present-day Exit 138) westerly to the end of the completed expressway at Michigan Ave west of Parma (present-day Exit 128). The eastbound lanes were completed in 1949. This portion of the bypass route is now a full, four-lane freeway. |
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| 1956 (Oct 22) – One day shy of exactly four years after the completion and opening of the first segment of the Edsel Ford Expressway on the west side of Detroit, the first 7.65 miles of the freeway are officially assumed into the state trunkline highway system from Wyoming Ave on the west to Mount Elliot Ave on the east. (The Edsel Ford is only open as far as Russell St at this time, however.) The reason for the four-year difference between first opening and being established as a state trunkline route is unclear, especially as the State Highway Dept is the lead agency in the construction of the freeway, while the Wayne Co Road Commission is taking care of the building of the John C Lodge Expwy (even though the Lodge is also a state highway as well). |
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| 1956 (Nov 1) – The State Highway Dept makes several major route designation changes in the metropolitan Detroit/Ann Arbor area involving the Willow Run, Detroit Industrial and Edsel Ford Expressways. US-12, which had an eastern terminus at US-16 at the cnr of Plymouth Rd & Grand River Ave on Detroit's westside since it was first designated in 1926, then later concurrently designated with US-16 along Grand River from Plymouth Rd southeasterly into downtown Detroit, is relocated from the Plymouth Rd alignment between Ann Arbor and Detroit and transferred to a new southerly route. Beginning at the western end of the "Ann Arbor Southbelt," US-12 now runs southeasterly and easterly around Ann Arbor to US-23/Carpenter Rd, then continues easterly supplanting the M-17 designation along the Ypsilanti bypass to US-112/Michigan Ave. From there, the BYP US-112 designation on the Ypsilanti bypass is replaced by the mainline US-112 designation and concurrently designated with US-12. (M-17 is removed from the bypass routing and replaces the BUS M-17 route through downtown Ypsilanti while US-112 through the city is redesignated as BUS US-112.) US-12/US-112 continues easterly onto the Willow Run Expwy to the west tri-level interchange where US-112 continues northeasterly via the former BYP US-112 back to Michigan Ave east of Ypsilanti while US-12 turns southerly along the Wiard Rd alignment of the Willow Run Expwy supplanting the M-112 designation before turning easterly again along the Chase Rd alignment of the Willow Run, heading into Wayne Co. US-12 continues easterly replacing M-112 in its entirety along the Willow Run and Detroit Industrial Expwys to US-112/Michigan Ave on the western limits of Detroit. There, the US-12 designation now travels along the Edsel Ford Expwy from its beginning easterly to, according to news reports, a new terminus at US-10/Woodward Ave north of downtown Detroit, after passing under its former alignment along US-16/Grand River Ave along the way. The former route of US-12 from the west side of Ann Arbor through downtown then northeasterly through Dixboro and Plymouth then easterly into Detroit to US-16/Grand River Ave is redesignated as M-14, while the formerly concurrent US-12/US-16 along Grand River Ave in Detroit from Plymouth Rd southeasterly into downtown reverts back to just US-16. (As a result of these route changes, US-12 and its "child" route, US-112, now run concurrently for the first time.) |
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| 1956 (Dec 28, 10:00 am) – While its original completion date was pegged at the end of October 1957, the 4¼-mile "Kalamazoo South Belt" is completed and opened to traffic from Miller Rd southeast of Kalamazoo then southwesterly to US-131/Westnedge Ave (present-day Exit 76) south of downtown ten months early. While the "Kalamazoo South Belt" is a part of the overall US-12 Detroit–Chicago Expressway, since the western end of the completed freeway does not tie directly back into US-12, the mainline US-12 designation for through traffic remains on its existing route following the later route of BL I-94 into downtown Kalamazoo, then westerly out of the city. Interestingly, while an overpass is constructed along the freeway passing over the Pennsylvania RR (now Grand Elk) northeast of the Portage/Kilgore interchange, the Grand Trunk RR and New York Central RR both cross the bypass at-grade west of Sprinkle Rd and west of Lovers Ln, respectively. |
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| 1957 (Jan 21) – The 10-mile segment of the former route of US-12 from the western Jackson city limit westerly through Parma to the western end of the US-12 "Jackson North Belt" bypass is turned back to county control, even though it hasn't borne the US-12 designation since 1949 when the Jackson-to-Parma segment of the bypass was completed and opened to traffic. Simultaneously, the "Jackson North Belt" from Michigan Ave west of Parma easterly to US-127/M-50 on the north side of Jackson is (finally) officially established as a state trunkline highway route, eight years after it first opened to traffic as a two-lane undivided expressway and more than three months after its conversion to a full freeway. |
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| 1957 – The eastbound lanes of the 7.6-mile long segment of US-12 along the "Galesburg–Comstock bypass" from E Michigan Ave southeast of Galesburg (present-day Exit 88) westerly to Miller Rd south of Comstock are completed and opened to traffic, officially converting this segment of highway to a full four-lane freeway along this stretch. Construction on a freeway extension to the east toward Battle Creek is underway. |
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| 1957 (June 1) – A 1.42-mile long eastern extension of the Edsel Ford Expwy in Detroit is completed and opened to traffic from Russell St to Mount Elliot St northeast of downtown. This segment was included in the official state trunkline establishment of the Edsel Ford from the previous October. |
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1957 (June 24) – Two segments of the future I-94 are officially established as state trunkline highway routes on opposite sides of the state today:
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| 1957 (Aug 14) – AASHO, the American Association of State Highway Officials (today's AASHTO) adopts the "Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defence Highways" map which specifies three route designations for the present-day I-94 corridor. From Indiana northeasterly to the Benton Harbor/St Joseph area, the Interstate is proposed to be designated as part of I-94 which is shown running along its present-day routing from Billings, Montana to this point. Here, I-94 continues northerly to Grand Rapids, then southeasterly along present-day I-96 to Detroit. From Benton Harbor/St Joseph, the modern-day I-94 route is given the designation of I-92 past Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Jackson and Ann Arbor to Detroit, where it terminates. From Detroit, today's I-94 is proposed as I-77 running northeasterly to a terminus at Port Huron. Much back-and-forth on the numbering scheme will take place over the next couple years, however. | |
| 1957 (Nov 4) – The US-12 "Ann Arbor South Belt" freeway bypass, opened to traffic in 13 months prior, is officially established as a state trunkline highway route from US-23/Carpenter Rd southeast of Ann Arbor to the existing route of US-12 along Jackson Rd west of the city. |
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| 1958 (June) – Construction on a new interchange and underpass at Belleville Rd along the US-12/Wilow Run Expwy in western Wayne Co is completed, removing the last complete intersection and traffic signal on the original segment of the Willow Run Expwy. |
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| 1958 (July 29) – A 1.8-mile long segment of Michigan Ave west of Jackson between the western city limit and the new M-60 freeway bypass is re-established as a state trunkline highway route after having been turned back to county control a year an a half earlier. This is done as part of a rerouting of the BUS US-12 designation at Jackson, which now continues due westerly from the city along Michigan Ave (instead of turning northerly with US-127/M-50 and terminating at US-12 at present-day Exit 138) to the new M-60 freeway bypass of Jackson, then turns northerly along M-60 to a new terminus at the US-12 & M-60 jct (present-day Exit 136). | |
| 1958 (Oct 3–8) – A 4.6-mile long segment of four-lane divided US-12 freeway is completed and opened to traffic on October 3 from the eastern end of the "Galesburg–Comstock bypass"(at present-day Exit 88) southeast of Galesburg in Kalamazoo Co running easterly immediately to the north of the existing alignment of US-12 along E Michigan Ave to an interchange at Mercury Dr-Climax Rd on the Kalamazoo/Calhoun Co line. US-12 is transferred to this new segment of freeway which is then officially established as a state trunkline route five days later on October 8. At the same time, the 4.05-mile former route of US-12 along E Michigan Ave is turned back to county control, also on October 8. |
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| 1958 (Oct 8) – Also on Oct 8, the 1.96-mile long "Willow Run Bypass" is officially assumed into the state trunkline system and likely opens to traffic around this same time as well. The so-called "Willow Run Bypass" cuts the corner between the US-12/Willow Run Expwy at the 90º turn from the Chase Rd alignment onto the Wiard Rd alignment southwest of Willow Run Airport (present-day Exit 186) and the US-12/US-112 bypass of Ypsilanti (at present-day Exit 185). The new alignment cuts in half the distance US-12 through traffic requires to pass through the Willow Run area. The former route is left over from the original development of the Willow Run Expressway System during World War II when the purpose of the highways in the area was to bring traffic to the Willow Run bomber plant rather than as a through route for traffic between Detroit and Ann Arbor and points west. The former north-south segment of US-12 between present-day Exit 186 and the west tri-level interchange is retained as an unsigned trunkline for the next nine months. |
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| 1958 (Dec 16–29) – An additional 3.3 miles of the Edsel Ford Expwy opens to traffic in Detroit on December 16 from the previous eastern terminus at Mount Elliot St northeast of downtown easterly to Norcross St, including a temporary connector from the end of the freeway up onto Harper Ave, which runs along the north side of the freeway at this point. The temporary connector is put in place to relieve congestion at the Conner St interchange, instead of forcing all ebd traffic to exit the freeway at that one location. The $22.6-million extension is officially established as a state trunkline route two weeks later on Dec 29. |
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| 1959 (Apr 25, June 27) – On April 25, the Michigan State Highway Dept issues a map titled "Recommended Numbering, Interstate Highways in Michigan" in response to the AASHO-issued route numbering map from 1957. It substitutes the I-94 designation along the proposed I-92 route from Benton Harbor/St Joseph past Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Jackson and Ann Arbor to a terminus in Detroit. What was proposed as I-94 via Grand Rapids and Lansing is suggested by the State Highway Dept to become I-67 from Benton Harbor/St Joseph to Grand Rapids and then part of an I-96 route from Muskegon to Detroit. The Detroit-to-Port Huron Interstate is still proposed to be designated as I-77. Two months later on June 27, however, AASHO approves a revised map, although the State Highway Dept's requests have gone unheeded, retaining the I-94/I-92/I-77 designations from its 1957 map along the I-94 corridor. | |
| 1959 (July 28) – The original 2.2-mile long north-south segment of the Willow Run Expwy southeast of Ypsilanti near the Willow Run Airport—the "Wiard Rd segment" from present-day Exit 186 to the west tri-level interchange that was stripped of its US-12 designation when the "Willow Run Bypass" was opened in 1958—is transferred to county control. |
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 1959 (Sept 9) – The Van Buren Co Road Commission is granted permission by the State Highway Dept to begin erecting Red Arrow Highway route markers alongside the existing US-12 markers on its stretch of the highway through its county. It is reportedly the first ever instance of a county being allowed to "pre-sign" a state trunkline highway that is earmarked for transfer from the state to county control. |
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| BEGIN HISTORY OF INTERSTATE 94: |
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| 1959 (Fall) – Originally planned for early spring, the State Highway Dept begins erecting I-94 route markers along the completed portions of the US-12 freeway between Kalamazoo and Detroit as well as along the Edsel Ford Expwy through the city of Detroit. State Highway officials note the route from Detroit westerly to the Indiana state line near New Buffalo will continue to be concurrently designated as both I-94 and US-12 until the freeway is complete, then the US-12 signs will be removed. (Apparently the State Highway Dept and AASHTO have resolived thier differences from earlier in the year with regard to the Interstate designation for this corridor.) |
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1959 (Dec 7, 11:00 am) – December 7, 1959 is a big day in the history of the I-94/US-12 freeway. Three separate segments of new freeway are opened to traffic, while one segment of the freeway is also officially assumed into the trunkline system and one segment of the former route of US-12 is turned back to local control:
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| 1959 (Dec 16) – A 4.9-mile long easterly extension of the I-94/Edsel Ford Expwy is completed and opened to traffic from Norcross St on the east side of Detroit northeasterly along the Harper Ave corridor through the City of Harper Woods to a terminus at M-29/Vernier Rd (present-day M-102) just shy of the Wayne/Macomb Co line. This is the longest single stretch of the Edsel Ford to open at one time and cost $49 million to construct. Simultaneously, the 3.33-mile segment of the Edsel Ford Expwy from Norcross St to the Detroit/Harper Woods city limit is officially established as a state trunkline highway. (An establishment date for the remainder of the Edsel Ford through Harper Woods to M-29/Vernier Rd has not been yet been located.) |
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1960 (Jan 6) – Three I-94-related state trunkline highway establishments or cancellations occur today:
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| 1960 (Mar 25) – A 5.04-mile long segment of the I-94/US-12 freeway in western Jackson Co is officially established as a state trunkline highway route and possibly opens on or about this date as well. The segment runs from M-99/Eaton Rapids Rd (present-day Exit 124) northeast of Albion easterly to the end of the completed freeway west of Parma (at present-day Exit 128). The 4.7-mile long former route of US-12 along Michigan Ave between M-99/Eaton Rapids Rd and the freeway interchange west of Parma is turned back to county control except for the portion subsumed by the new freeway, severing the old road which is now obliterated in that area. |
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| 1960 (July 1) – A lengthy segment of new I-94/US-12 freeway is completed and opened to traffic on this date in Calhoun and western Jackson Cos. Beginning at the Michigan Ave/11 Mile Rd interchange (later Exits 104-105) near Cereso between Battle Creek and Marshall, the new segment of freeway stretches for 20 miles to the western end of the existing freeway at M-99 northeast of Albion. The former route of US-12 between Ceresco and Albion remains an unsigned state trunkline for the time being. |
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1960 (Aug 15) – Six weeks after the remainder of the I-94/US-12 freeway through Calhoun Co is opened to traffic, the official trunkline establishments and jurisdictional transfers associated with the project occur. The 31.42-mile long segment of the I-94/US-12 freeway from the Kalamazoo Co line easterly to the Jackson Co line—including the Battle Creek "south belt" opened to traffic the previous Dec 7, is officially established as a state trunkline route. Two segments of the former route of US-12 are simultaneously turned back to local control while two other segments of new trunkline route are officially assumed into the system as parts of new BL I-94 routings:
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1960 (Aug 15, Sept 15) – A 14½-mile segment of the new I-94/US-12 freeway in Van Buren Co is completed and opened to traffic on August 15 from the eastern end of the completed segment of the freeway at Co Rd 687 at Hartford (present-day Exit 46) easterly to the western end of another completed segment of the freeway at M-119 (present-day M-40) at present-day Exit 60 at Paw Paw. Joining the completed sections of freeway at either end creates an uninterrupted 109-mile long segment of the I-94/US-12 freeway from Hicks Rd between Benton Harbor and Coloma easterly past Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Jackson to BL I-94 northeast of Jackson. Associated with this opening are two official changes to the trunkline system:
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| 1960 (Nov 3) – The 12.3-mile long segment of the I-94/US-12 freeway through central Berrien Co bypassing the twin cities of Benton Harbor and St Joseph and referred to in the local media as the "Golden Belt" is completed and opened to traffic. Beginning at the temporary western end of the freeway at Hicks Rd northeast of Benton Harbor, the new freeway section continues southwesterly past the twin cities to a temporary ending north of Stevensville where traffic from the freeway is shunted directly onto Red Arrow Hwy just southwest of the Red Arrow Hwy interchange (present-day Exit 23). |
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| 1960 (Nov 10) – The first half of the completion of the I-94/US-12 freeway in eastern Jackson Co is completed with two-way traffic using the one side of the freeway while work continues on the other half of the freeway. From the east jct of Jackson's BL I-94 (present-day Mile 144) easterly for 3¾ miles to the Leoni/Grass Lake Twp line ½ mile east of Race Rd, the freeway was constructed on a new alignment to the north of the former (1936–1960) route of US-12. From that point easterly, the existing US-12 was subsumed into the new freeway alignment. This entire section of freeway was to have been completed by this time, however as construction was underway, federal standards and specifications for minimum overpass clearance on Interstate highways were established and the overpasses along this route had not been designed to that new specification. The State Highway Dept decided to lower the freeway by two feet, resulting in only one-half of the freeway being opened at this point. Lowering of the other half of the freeway continues as traffic begins using the completed side. |
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| 1960 (Nov 17) – The former route of US-12 in northern Berrien Co from M-139 in Benton Harbor northeasterly through Coloma and Watervliet to the Van Buren Co line is transferred to county and municipal control. This 6.12-mile long transfer comes two weeks after the segment of the I-94/US-12 freeway bypassing Benton Harbor and St Joseph is opened to traffic. | |
1960 (Nov 28)  – A 1,000-foot extension of the westbound side of the Edsel Ford Expwy in Harper Woods is completed and opened to traffic. The extension mostly consists of a ramp from south/westbound Harper Ave leading down onto a short segment of the freeway as it ducks under the M-29/Veriner Rd overpass (present-day M-102), connecting with the portion of the Edsel Ford opened to traffic nearly 12 months earlier. At this point, eastbound Edsel Ford traffic is still forced off the freeway at M-29/Vernier Rd, while eastbound traffic can enter from either the Harper Ave or M-29/Vernier Rd ramps. |
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1960 (Dec 19, 10:00 am; Dec 30)  – An 18-mile long segment of I-94/US-12 freeway is completed and opened to traffic on December 19 from the Jackson Rd interchange west of Ann Arbor (present-day Exit 172) and the Washtenaw/Jackson Co line between Chelsea and Grass Lake. From the Jackson Rd interchange westerly for 9.85 miles to Fletcher Rd (present-day Exit 162), the new freeway was built on a new alignment to the north of the former route of US-12 along Jackson Rd, while the portion from Fletcher Rd westerly past Chelsea to the Washtenaw/Jackson Co line was a "twinning" of the 1935–39 US-12 alignment. On December 30, the 9.85-mile segment of I-94/US-12 freeway between Jackson Rd west of Ann Arbor and Fletcher Rd is officially established as a state trunkline highway, while the 9.68-mile segment of Jackson Rd (former US-12) between the same to points is turned back to county control. With the completion of this segment of I-94/US-12, state highway officials tout that Michigan has become the first state to complete a border-to-border Interstate highway: from Detroit to St Joseph "on Lake Michigan." |
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| 1960 – Also during 1960, the eastbound lanes of BL I-94 at Kalamazoo from M-96/King Hwy southeasterly to the I-94/US-12 freeway (at Exit 81) are completed and opened to traffic with the original two lanes constructed in 1955–56 now facilitating westbound traffic only. | |
| 1961 (Jan 3) – A very minor state trunkline establishment occurs when the 0.318-mile segment of the I-94/Edsel Ford Expwy from M-29/Vernier Rd (present-day M-102) northerly to the Wayne/Macomb Co line at 8 Mile Rd is officially assumed into the state trunkline system, even though the majority of this short segment won't be opened to traffic until the segment to the north in Macomb Co is completed six years from this point. This newly-established segment does include the 1000-foot portion of the Edsel Ford Expwy opened to westbound traffic from the Harper Ave ramp and under the M-29/Vernier Rd overpass in late November 1960. |
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| 1961 (June) – Even as numerous realignments to the route of US-12 are taking place, the Michigan State Highway Dept petitions the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) to have the US-12 designation removed from its route between New Buffalo and Detroit—nearly the entire length of the route in Michigan!—and moved to supplant the existing US-112 designation between those cities. Approval is granted in June and preparations begin. Public announcement of the change comes on July 28. (More information on this and the rest of US-12's history across the U.S. can be found at the Federal Highway Administration's website.) | |
| 1961 (June 9) – The remaining half of the I-94/US-12 freeway which was still being lowered two feet when the first side opened on Nov 10, 1960 is now completed and opened to traffic from BL I-94 northeast of Jackson (present-day Mile 145) easterly to the Jackson/Washtenaw Co line. This segment is now fully-controlled access, four-lane divided freeway. |
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| 1961 (Sept 9) – The BL I-94 connector from the I-94/US-12 freeway east of Benton Harbor (at present-day Exit 33) westerly along the Main St corridor to M-139 on the eastern limits of Benton Harbor is completed and opened to traffic three weeks ahead of schedule. This completes the full BL I-94 routing through the twin cities of Benton Harbor and St Joseph almost a year after the I-94/US-12 "Golden Belt" freeway bypass of the cities was completed. | |
| 1961 (Oct 4) – The 7.62-mile long portion of the former route of US-12 along Red Arrow Hwy in Berrien Co from the future I-94/US-12 Bridgman interchange (present-day Exit 16) to the Red Arrow Hwy between Stevensville and Shoreham (present-day Exit 23) is officially cancelled as a state trunkline route and turned back to county and municipal control. The parallel segment of the I-94/US-12 freeway, however, would not be open to traffic for another seven weeks. During that interim time, US-12 remains "marked and maintained" along the Red Arrow Hwy alignment. | |
| 1961 (Nov 21) – The I-94/US-12 freeway is completed and opened to traffic in Berrien Co from the end of the completed freeway immediately southwest of the Red Arrow Hwy interchange between Shoreham and Stevensville (present-day Exit 23) southerly for 11.3 miles to the Sawyer interchange (present-day Exit 12). Through traffic uses the ½ mile of Sawyer Rd between the temporary freeway terminus and existing US-12 along Red Arrow Hwy to the west. The segment of freeway opened at this time was originally planned on extending southerly to the US-112 interchange (at present-day Exit 4) near New Buffalo, however a construction contractor's strike halted work on the highway and completion of the remainder of this segment is delayed until 1962. (Upon its opening, US-12 route markers may not have been erected along this stretch of freeway as State Highway Dept officials have been preparing for the removal of the US-12 designation along I-94 for some time. To place US-12 markers only to remove them within 6–8 weeks later may have been deemed unnecessary.) |
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| 1961 (Dec 11) – The 3.7-mile long segment of I-94/US-12 freeway in eastern Jackson Co from BL I-94 northeast of Jackson (present-day Mile 145) easterly to the Leoni/Grass Lake Twp line, completed and opened to traffic in phases in December 1960 and June 1961, is officially established as a state trunkline highway route. Simultaneously, the former route of US-12 along Ann Arbor Rd between those same to points is turned back to county control. |
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| 1962 – While State Highway Dept officials and staff have apparently been using the term "freeway" to describe controlled-access highways since at least 1960, an effort to start using the term as part of the official names of the Detroit-area freeways begins ramping up in 1962. As such, the Edsel Ford Expressway is now officially known as the Edsel Ford Freeway, although many local residents will continue using the term "expressway" both in general terms as well as when referring to specific freeways, for decades to come. | |
| 1962 (Jan 8) – In a major route designation reconfiguration, the route of US-12 in Michigan is drastically altered: After traversing the Detroit–Ann Arbor–Jackson–Battle Creek–Kalamazoo–Benton Harbor/St Joseph–New Buffalo corridor for 36 years and being gradually transitioned onto the Detroit–Chicago Expressway and, later, I-94, Michigan State Highway Dept officials remove the US-12 designation from its existing route between Detroit and New Buffalo and redesignate the entire length of US-112 between those same two points as a new routing for US-12. This affects 98% of the route of US-12 in Michigan (approximately 215 of 219 miles) and results in the decommissioning of the US-112 designation. The 203 miles of freeway between Sawyer in Berrien Co and the John C Lodge Frwy Detroit (present-day Exits 12 and 215, respectively) formerly designated I-94/US-12 now becomes just I-94. The 8.3 miles of Red Arrow Hwy from Pulaski Hwy (formerly US-112) north of New Buffalo and Sawyer Rd at Sawyer, itself signed as US-12 until this time, may now be signed as "TO I-94" until the segment of the I-94 freeway running parallel is completed. |
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| 1962 (Mar 20) – The 2.33 miles of the BL I-94 connector between present-day Exit 34 and M-139 east of Benton Harbor, opened to traffic in Sept 1961, is officially established as a state trunkline route. | |
| 1962 (June 25) – The segment of M-29 bypassing Mount Clemens in Macomb Co from Metropolitan Pkwy northerly to M-59 is closed (or restricted) as construction of the Edsel Ford Frwy along its alignment begins. The existing two-lane M-29 is being incorporated into the new freeway. | |
| 1962 (July 13–20) – A 9-mile long segment of I-94 freeway from the end of the existing freeway at Sawyer in Berrien Co southwesterly to US-12/Pulaski Hwy (formerly US-112) northeast of New Buffalo is completed and opened to traffic on July 13. Originally to have been completed during 1961, this segment was delayed due to a strike by construction contractors. One week later on July 20, the 12.05 mile portion of Red Arrow Hwy (formerly part of US-12) from US-12/Pulaski Hwy (formerly US-112) northeasterly to I-94 at Bridgman (present-day Exit 16) is turned back to local control. On the same date, nearly the entire 39.27-mile long segment of I-94 from US-12/Pulaski Hwy to the Van Buren Co line is officially assumed into the state trunkline highway system, even though portions have been open to traffic since late 1959. | |
| 1963 (Aug 16–22) – A 2.1-mile long extension of I-94 is completed and opened to traffic in Berrien Co from US-12/Pulaski Hwy (present-day Exit 4) to M-239/La Porte Rd (present-day Exit 1) east of New Buffalo on Aug 16. Six days later on Aug 22, the 2.13-mile segment of highway is officially established as a state trunkline highway. I-94 is now complete and open to traffic from M-239 at New Buffalo (present-day Exit 1) to M-102/Vernier Rd in Harper Woods in suburban Detroit. | |
| 1963 (Nov 27) – A major segment of I-94 freeway—one of the longest opened at one time at 33 miles in legnth—is completed and opened to traffic from Metropolitan Pkwy in Harrison Twp (southeast of Mount Clemens in Macomb Co) northeasterly into Saint Clair Co to a terminus at US-25/Gratiot Ave (now BL I-94 at present-day Exit 266 near Marysville). The portion of the new freeway from Shook Rd to William P Rosso Hwy is constructed atop the alignment of M-29, which is now scaled back to end at I-94 at the 23 Mile Rd interchange. (M-29 south of the Shook Rd interchange through St Clair Shores is temporarily redesignated as an extension of M-102.) From 23 Mile Rd (at present-day Exit 243 northeasterly to the end of the completed freeway, the US-25 designation joins with I-94 to run concurrently between Chesterfield Twp and Marysville. Also, US-25/Gratiot Ave is signed as "TO I-94" from Detroit to Mt Clemens to span the gap between completed freeway segments. This new 33-mile long freeway segment cost $22 million to construct. | |
| 1963 (Dec 5) – An additional 0.11 mile of I-94 is officially established as part of the state trunkline system in Port Huron consisting of the Blue Water Bridge from the Saint Clair River shoreline easterly to the international boundary with Canada. This portion of highway was opened to traffic on Oct 9, 1938 and the portion from the Saint Clair River shoreline westerly to Pine Grove Ave had been established on July 1, 1938. |
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| 1963 (Dec 28) – One month after the new freeway is opened to traffic, the 16.71-mile long portion of I-94/US-25 in Saint Clair Co from the Macomb Co line northeasterly to US-25/Gratiot Rd near Marysville is officially established as a state trunkline route. Simultaneously, the 14 miles of the former route of US-25 along Gratiot Ave from the Macomb/Saint Clair Co line northeasterly to I-94 at present-day Exit 266 near Marysville is cancelled as a trunkline route and turned back to county control. | |
| 1964 – M-29 is rerouted in Macomb Co to run concurrently with I-94 from 23 Mile Rd west of New Baltimore southerly to Shook Rd. South of that point, what had been recently redesignated as M-102 the year prior is changed back to M-29. | |
 1964 (Aug 1–Oct 31) – Interchanges along the first 200 miles of I-94 in Michigan are numbered and exit signs featuring the new interchange numbers are posted along the route between New Buffalo and Detroit starting in August and taking three months to complete. The exit numbers are attached to existing freeway signage and consist of white-on-blue arrow-shaped signs. |
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| 1964 (Sept 30) – Two segments of the former route of US-25 in Macomb Co—replaced by the portion of the I-94/US-25 freeway opened to traffic in November 1963 are turned back to county control. The segments consist of 4.15 miles of Gratiot Rd from 23 Mile Rd northeasterly to M-19/New Haven Rd and 0.14 mile of Gratiot Rd from M-19/Main St in Richmond to the Saint Clair Co line. | |
| 1964 (Oct 14–15) – A 7½-mile long segment of I-94/US-25 freeway is completed and opened to traffic on October 14 from the end of the existing freeway at US-25/Gratiot Rd (present-day Exit 266) near Marysville northerly around Port Huron to the Lapeer Connector (formerly signed as M-146), part of the Port Huron West Belt and approach to the Blue Water Bridge. From there, I-94/US-25 replaces M-146 as the designation along the freeway leading across the Black River to the foot of the Blue Water Bridge. The former route of US-25 through
Marysville and Port Huron is redesignated at BUS US-25. Other than the first mile of I-94 from the Indiana state line to M-239 near New Buffalo, the only portion of I-94 not yet complete and open to traffic is from M-102 in Harper Woods to Metropolitan Pkwy near Mount Clemens. The same 7.5-mile stretch of freeway is officially established as a state trunkline route the next day on October 15. |
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| 1964 (Dec 18) – Two segments of I-94 in Macomb Co are established as state trunkline highway routes: The portion opened to traffic a year earlier in November 1963 from the Snover Rd cutoff (just south of M-59 at present-day Exit 240) northeasterly to the Saint Clair Co line and the 4.64-mile section from Masonic Blvd in Saint Clair Shores to Crocker Blvd in Harrison Twp. In addition, 3.2 miles of I-94 are completed and opened to traffic from Metropolitan Pkwy southeast of Mount Clemens toward Saint Clair Shores and Roseville. The westbound side of the freeway opened to traffic to a temporary off-ramp, forcing traffic off onto 14 Mile Rd west of Harper (near the Saint Clair Shores Country Club). From there, "TO I-94" traffic follows 14 Mile Rd west to US-25/Gratiot Ave, then southerly. The eastbound side of I-94 is completed from a temporary ramp at Masonic northeasterly. Eastbound "TO I-94" traffic now turns east from US-25/Gratiot Ave onto Masonic for ½-mile to the temporary I-94 on-ramp. | |
| 1965 (Jan 15) – The last at-grade intersection along the original Willow Run Expwy in western Wayne Co at Hannan Rd is closed to through traffic. The intersection was originally scheduled to close in 1966, but a high accident rate has forced its closer over a year earlier than planned. Several other intersections along the Willow Run Expwy have been eliminated or replaced by interchanges over the last several years and now the original Willow Run is now a fully-controlled access freway. (For more than half decade, I-94 has been routed and signed along a non-freeway segment between the Willow Run area southeast of Ypsilanti and the North Line Rd interchange (near present-day I-275) in Wayne Co.) |
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| 1967 (Feb 2–3) – The final segment of I-94/Edsel Ford Frwy in Macomb Co—from the Wayne Co line northerly to 14 Mile Rd in Saint Clair Shores—is completed and opened to traffic almost three months later than originally planned. Originally scheduled to open on November 12, 1966, construction delays pushed back the opening first to December 12 and then to February 2, 1967 because no right-of-way fencing was installed and an area mothers group voiced concern that children would be drawn to the new freeway slopes with their sleds and toboggans. This segment of the I-94/Edsel Ford Frwy opens with no on- or off-ramps completed and available to traffic. An emergency ramp is finished at 11 Mile Rd for police, fire and ambulance access, however. The remaining interchanges would be complete during August 1967. The 6.07 miles of I-94 from the Wayne Co line to Masonic Blvd is officially established as a state trunkline highway the next day on February 3. The "TO I-94" route markers along US-25/Gratiot Ave are removed. |
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| 1967 (Dec) – An emergency telephone system to aid stranded motorists along the segment of I-94 between Battle Creek and Jackson is installed. 63 pairs of telephones are now in operation, situated on both sides of the freeway at approxiately half-mile intervals. | |
| 1971 (Nov 29) – The final one mile segment of I-94 in Michigan is finally completed and opened to traffic as an 11-mile segment of I-94 is also opened to traffic in Indiana from the Michigan state line southwesterly to the US-421 interchange south of Michigan City. The Michigan State Highway Dept had been prepared to finish this small section of highway eight years earlier in 1963 but postponed its construction schedule until Indiana State Highway Commission decided to finally complete the portion of I-94 connecting with the Michigan state line. Indiana had delayed completing I-94 in their state in preference of routing Detroit-to-Chicago traffic along the Indiana East-West Toll Road instead. | |
| 1972 (June 1)–1974 – The complete reconstruction and partial relocation of the original Willow Run Expressway portion of I-94 from Wiard Rd in eastern Washtenaw Co (just south of the Willow Run complex) easterly to a new interchange being constructed for I-275 in Romulus in western Wayne Co begins. The original narrow four-lane alignment with interchanges inserted at a later date is replaced with a completely reconstructed six-lane freeway with modern interchanges, full shoulders and other modern freeway features. It will take until 1974 for the complete reconstruction to be completed. | |
| 1972 (Nov 2) – Not in Michigan, but the final remaining segment of I-94 in northwest Indiana is completed and opened to traffic, completing the final "missing link" between Detroit and Chicago. | |
| 1972 (Dec 6) – The 1.65-mile segment of I-94 to be opened to traffic in southwest Berrien Co from the Indiana state line to M-239 at Exit 1 is officially established as a state trunkline highway route. This segment opened to traffic a little over a year earlier. | |
| 1973 (July 1) – The Battle Creek-to-Jackson emergency telephone system along I-94 is removed from service. Even though it is generally considered a success, the Federal government has decided to no longer contribute to its operation, prompting the Michigan State Highway Dept to remove the 63 pairs of telephones. | |
| 1973 (Sept 26) – The Michigan State Highway Dept announces that now that I-75 is completed and opened to traffic through Detroit, the US-25 designation in Michigan will be discontinued. Michigan and Ohio transportation officials have been considering decommissioning US-25 in both states since 1969. It will be five more months before all US-25 route markers are removed in Michigan. | |
| 1974 – All white-on-blue exit number signs, originally erected in 1964, are switched over to using the more standard white-on-green signs now being phased in on other freeways across the state during 1974 and 1975. |
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| 1974 (Feb 28) – All US-25 route markers along I-94 in Macomb and Saint Clair Cos have now been removed and I-94 along the formerly-concurrent segment now runs by itself. The former BUS US-25 routing through Port Huron and Marysville is redesignated as part of the new M-25 extension running along the Lake Huron shore from Port Austin to the Port Huron area. | |
| 1974 (Summer) – The inadequate median "curbs" and steel guardrails separating the directions of travel on the I-94/Edsel Ford Frwy through Detroit are replaced by concrete median barriers in a drastic increase of motorist safety. In the process, all street lights are moved from the outside edges of the freeway lanes to new standards erected atop the new concrete median barriers. |
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| 1984 (Dec 14) – The last segment of the M-21 freeway from Lapeer to Wadhams opens, not as M-21, but rather as an extended I-69. At Port Huron, I-69 joins with I-94 at Exit 271 and the two routes run concurrently from that point to the foot the Blue Water Bridge where both I-69 and I-94 terminate together. The easternmost 3 miles of the former M-21 along the Griswold-Oak St pair is designated as BL I-69. | |
| 1986 – The routing of M-25 from I-94 (at Exit 266) near Marysville to I-69/I-94 at the foot of the Blue Water Bridge is redesignated as BL I-94. In addition, BS I-69 is transformed into BL I-69 when it is run concurrently with the new BL I-94 from its former terminus downtown Port Huron to end at I-69/I-94 as well. | |
| 1995–99 – A second Blue Water Bridge span is constructed across the St Clair River at Port Huron to provide a much-needed increase in capacity at this key international border crossing. After the new span is completed, the original (1938) span is closed and completely refurbished; traffic shares the new span at this time. In 1999, the refurbished bridge reopens to traffic, making the Blue Water Bridge crossing the highest-capacity international crossing between the US and Canada. | |
| 1996 (Aug 1) – Due to a bill signed into law on June 25, 1996 (based on a federal bill signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 28, 1995 removing the federal restrictions on speed limits on "federally designated" highways), five segments of freeway, including I-94 from Mount Clemens to Port Huron, were approved as test stretches to be raised to a 70 mph speed. The speed limit on I-94 from Mount Clemens to Port Huron officially increased to 70 on August 1, 1996. | |
| 2016 (July 25) – The West Michigan Pike Historic Byway is officially unveiled at a ceremony in Muskegon's Heritage Park. Running from the Indiana state line south of New Buffalo up Michigan's west coast to Ludington, the Byway runs along the segment of I-94 from US-12 at Exit 4 near New Buffalo northerly to BL I-94/Red Arrow Hwy at Exit 23 north of Stevensville. | |
| Controlled Access: | The entire length of I-94 is constructed as freeway. |
| NHS: | The entire length of I-94 is on the National Highway System (NHS). |
Business Connections: |
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| Circle Tours: |  Lake Michigan Circle Tour: From US-12 at Exit 4 near New Buffalo northerly to BL I-94/Red Arrow Hwy at Exit 23 north of Stevensville. |
 Lake Huron Circle Tour: From M-25 in Port Huron to the connection with Hwy 402 on the Blue Water Bridge leading into Ontario. |
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| Pure Michigan Byway: |  West Michigan Pike Historic Byway: From US-12 at Exit 4 near New Buffalo northerly to BL I-94/Red Arrow Hwy at Exit 23 north of Stevensville. |
| Memorial Highways: | The following Memorial Highway designations have been officially assigned to parts of I-94 by the Michigan Legislature:
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| Continue on: | I-94 into Indiana – via the Indiana Highway Ends website. |
| Photographs: | |
| Weblinks: |
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