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| Southern Terminus: | Indiana state line (connection w/Indiana SR-15), 3 miles south of Mottville |
| Northern Terminus: | US-12/W Chicago Rd in downtown Mottville |
| Length: | 3.055 miles |
| Maps: | Route Map of M-103 |
| Notes: | From the 1930s through the 50s, US-131 ventured southerly from Constantine to US-112 (now US-12) near White Pigeon, then headed westerly via US-112 to Mottville, then southwesterly via present-day M-103 to end at the Indiana state line. At that time, M-103 began at the eastern jct of US-112 & US-131 near White Pigeon and continued southerly to a connection with IN SR-13. US-131 and M-103 were later swapped to their present-day routings. |
| In "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, MSHD staff interestingly seemed to have overlooked the mere existence of M-103. The route of M-103 is not depicted on the maps, either to be retained in the system as-is or to be jurisdictionally transferred to the county. As US-112 (present-day US-12) was proposed to be rerouted onto a new freeway alignment to the north with no direct connection to the existing M-103, it can be assumed the highway department planners were anticipating M-103 would be fully transferred to local control. | |
| History: | Note: The first seven items in this section are for state trunkline highway routes other then M-103. |
| 1913 (Oct 2) – The first state trunkline highway in the greater White Pigeon area in southwestern Saint Joseph Co is established along Kalamazoo St from the northern limits of White Piegon northerly toward Three Rivers and designated T.L. 13 (Trunk Line 13). At this point, M-103 is still almost 20 years from coming into existence. | |
| 1916 (Jan 13) – The second state trunkline highway around White Piegon is established along present-day US-12/Chicago Rd from the eastern limits of White Piegon easterly toward Sturgis and designated T.L. 23 (Trunk Line 23). | |
| 1919 (July 18) – M-13 (formerly T.L. 13) running northerly from White Pigeon along Kalamazoo St is cancelled as a state trunkline and relocated one mile to the west along present-day US-131 heading northerly toward Constantine. The segment of Chicago Rd from downtown White Pigeon westerly to the new M-13 route west of town becomes part of the M-13 route, with M-23 still starting in White Pigeon and heading easterly toward Sturgis. | |
| 1920 (Aug 10) – The routes of M-13 and M-23 are jointly extended westerly from White Pigeon to Mottville along Chicago Rd (present-day US-12), then southwesterly from Mottville along present-day M-103 to the Indiana state line where both routes now terminate. | |
| 1925 (Sept 1) – M-23 is removed from the route of M-13 from Mottville southerly to the Indiana state line and directly westerly over a new state trunkline highway route along present-day US-12 through Union to Five Points, then westery and southerly along present-day Old M-205 to the Indiana state line north of Elkhart, Ind. | |
| 1926 (Nov) – US-131 and US-112 are officially commissioned, at the same time as the rest of the US Highway System, to run along the routes of M-13 and M-23, respectively. | |
| 1927 (May) – The new US Highways make their signed debut along the state trunklines of Michigan. US-131 route markers are erected along what had formerly been designated M-13 from the Indiana State Line south of Mottville northerly to a point southeast of Traverse City. (The remainder of the former M-13 from there northerly to Petoskey becomes M-131 for the time being.) US-112 route markers are erected along what had been designated M-23 from the Indiana state line in Cass Co easterly through Mottville and White Pigeon on the way toward Coldwater and Detroit. | |
| BEGIN HISTORY OF M-103: |
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| 1930 (Nov 32) – A new, 7.0-mile long state trunkline highway route is officially established as a state trunkline route from the jct of US-23 & M-55 (present-day jct of M-65 & M-55) three miles north of downtown Whittemore, northerly to the community of Hale where it terminates at Main St (Esmond Rd) downtown. The route designation shown on official State Highway Dept determination maps indicates this route was initially designated M-103. | |
| 1931 – Within the first several months of the existence of the trunkline from M-55 to Hale in western Iosco Co, it was officially redesignated from M-103 to M-65 and shows up on official highway maps as such by July. It is not presently known if it had been signed in the field as M-103 prior to this point or not. | |
| 1932 (Oct 29) – A new, 3.2-mile long state trunkline route is established (along the present-day route of US-131) from the jct of US-112 (present-day US-12) & US-131 one mile west of downtown White Pigeon, southerly and southwesterly to a terminus at the Indiana state line and designated M-103. At the state line, the new M-103 connects with Indiana SR-13, which was extended to the state line from the south the prior year. While the first ⅓ mile of the highway north from the Indiana state line is surfaced this year, the remainder of M-103 to US-112 would not be completed for two years, however. | |
| 1934 – The remainder of M-103 is completed and opened to traffic in its entirety. | |
| 1958 – Michigan State Highway Commissioner John C Mackie petitions the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO, the present-day AASHTO) to swap the US-131 and M-103 routes between US-112 (present-day US-12) and the Indiana state line, which is granted. Mackie notes he will also the State of Indiana to redesignate its short segment of IN SR-13 between the Indiana East-West Toll Road and the Michigan state line as a southerly continuation of US-131, although it's not known if this actually occurred. | |
| 1959 (Jan 12) – The routes of M-103 and US-131 south of US-12 are swapped with each other in southwestern Saint Joseph Co. Formerly, US-131 turned westerly via US-112 on the west edge of White Pigeon (at jct M-103) to Mottville before turning southerly to the Indiana state line, where it terminated at a connection with IN SR-15. Now, US-131 continues due southerly through the US-112 intersection to a terminus at the state line at a connection with IN SR-13 and M-103 now begins at US-112 in Mottville and continues southerly to the state line, connecting with IN SR-15. | |
| 1989–90 – A new US-12 bridge spanning the Saint Joseph River at Mottville on the Cass/Saint Joseph Co line is completed immediately to the south of the historic, multi-span camelback bridge that has carried US-12 (and its predecessor US-112 since 1926 and M-23 before that) across the river since 1922. While the new bridge seems to have opened to traffic in 1989, the entire project at Mottville isn't complete until 1990. As US-12 is shifted slightly south, it now intersects M-103 in downtown Mottville 66 feet south of its previous intersection, thereby decreasing the length of M-103 by 66 feet. | |
| Controlled Access: | No portion of M-103 is freeway or expressway. |
| NHS: | No portion of M-103 is on the National Highway System (NHS). |
| Memorial Highway: | At present, no portion of M-103 has been designated as part of a Memorial Highway. |
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| Weblinks: |
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