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Highways 200 through 229M-201 | M-203 | M-204 | Former M-205 | Former M-206 | Former M-208 | Former M-209 | Former M-210 | M-211 | M-212 | M-216 | M-217 | M-221 | M-222 | US-223 | M-227 | Jump to Bottom | |||||||||||||
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Southern Terminus: | M-22 in the southern portion of the village Northport | ||||||||||||
| Northern Terminus: | Northern village limit of Northport | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 1.466 miles | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of M-201 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | Although it appears that M-201 was created to serve Leelanau State Park north of Northport, the highway was in existence for many decades before the state park was created in the early 1970s. In the end, M-201 does provide one easily-followed route through the maze of streets in downtown Northport, handy for tourists heading for the state park and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. | |||||||||||||
 While the route followed by M-201 through Northport has been a state trunkline highway route since 1924, it wasn't until 1948–49 that it received its own route designation. Prior to 1948, what is now M-201 was considered by the State Highway Department to be part of the route of M-22, resulting in a "three-legged" route at Northport. While not overly common, such "three-legged" types of routes did occur in the state trunkline system from the 1920s and into the 1950s. The M-201 designation was applied to the "third" leg of M-22 at Northport due to numerous reports of confusion by tourists and visitors unfamiliar with the area. As what is now M-201 was also posted as M-22, some non-locals would get turned around and believe they were headed to Leland or Suttons Bay from the three-way junction on the south side of Northport but, instead, were actually headed through town to a trunkline terminus seemingly "in the middle of nowhere." M-201 was signed through Northport in May 1949. |
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| While M-201 was not designated with its own route number until 1948 and signed as such the next year, the "History" section for the route below includes the entire history of the physical trunkline route which is now known as M-201. |
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| History: | 1924 (Oct 15) – The entire length of present-day M-201 in Northport, at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, is established as a state trunkline route. However, as detailed in the "Notes" section above, the route is designated and signed as a "third-leg" of M-22. | |||||||||||||
| 1948 – The "Northport Leg" of M-22 first appears with M-201 route markers on internal State Highway Dept maps. While it won't be signed in the field as M-201 until the following spring, as it is shown on State Highway Dept maps, albeit internal ones, 1948 will be considered the date M-201 is commissioned as a route. |
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1949 (Apr 1)  – The State Highway Dept replaces all M-22 signs on the route through Northport with M-201 route markers to alleviate confusion amongst tourists and visitors unfamiliar with the area. This mitigates the complexity of having one state state route leading southerly, northerly and southwesterly away from the same intersection. M-201 also makes its marked debut on the April 15, 1949 edition of the Official Michigan Highway map. |
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| Freeway/Expwy: | No portion of M-201 is freeway or expressway. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | • M-201 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of M-201 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. | |||||||||||||
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Southern Terminus: | US-41 on the west side of Hancock, at cnr Quincy St & Lincoln Ave | ||||||||||||
| Northern Terminus: | US-41/M-26 northeast of downtown Calumet | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 17.944 miles | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of M-203 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | Located in the Keweenaw Peninsula, M-203 serves as an access route to F.J. McLain State Park from both Hancock and Calumet. | |||||||||||||
| Although it would seem to be well-suited, M-203 is not a part of the Lake Superior Circle Tour, which generally follows the state highway closest to the lake in question. In this area, the "mainline" of the Lake Superior Circle Tour follows US-41 northeasterly from Houghton/Hancock through Calumet/Laurium and into Keweenaw Co. A short "loop" tour, signed with white-on-brown signs, does exist through downtown Calument, with a portion of a loop route following M-203. | ||||||||||||||
| History: | 1933 (Jul 12)– A new 9.0-mile long state trunkline spur route is determined in Houghton Co, designated M-203 and beginning at US-41 in Hancock at the cnr of Quincy St & Lincoln Ave heading northerly along the east/north side of the Portage Lake Ship Canal, terminating at the canal's entrance into Lake Superior at the site of present-day F.J. McLain State Park. While the state park was established in 1930, development on state park facilities did not initially take place and the location was treated as more of an undeveloped local park by area residents in the beginning. | |||||||||||||
| 1939 (Jul 13)– As just one of many trunkline routes which are unilaterally cancelled today, either in part or in their entirety, by State Highway Commissioner Murray D VanWagoner due to low traffic volumes, all of M-203 is cancelled as a state trunkline and is sheduled to be turned back to local control. The 9.0 miles of M-203 are just 4¼% of the 212 miles of total trunkline mileage VanWagoner has deemed to be unworthy of trunkline status due to lack of traffic. The reasons for the low volumes of traffic likely have something to do with the Dept of Conservation's lack of progress in developing F.J. McLain State Park at the terminus of the route, although the Houghton Co Road Commission objects strenously to this, stating that on some weekends, several thousand vehicles a day can be counted using M-203 to head toward the not-yet-fully-developed state park. While Houghton Co doesn't officially refuse to take back the 9.0 miles of M-203, several other counties—including neighboring Baraga Co as well as Dickinson, Delta, Missaukee, Tuscola and Kalamazoo—do not accept the trunklines which have been forced uon them. Houghton Co does not choose to join the protest out of fear that its lucrative state trunkline maintenance contracts might be cancelled as a punitive mesure if it does. Ironically, the Dept of Conservation had started making upgrades to the state park in recent years, thus likely causing additional traffic to travel to the park in the near future. | ||||||||||||||
| 1940 (Apr 14) – The cancellation of M-203 between Hancock and the F.J. McLain State Park site garners a great deal of community interest, including a Calumet Chamber of Commerce meeting held at the Centennial Hotel which dealt with not only the retention/reinstatment of M-203 but also efforts to bring about improvements to the state park, both as an effort to bring additional tourists to the area as well as a reason to justify the existence of the trunkline route. | ||||||||||||||
| 1940 (Nov 12) – A little more than a year after M-203 is cancelled in its entirety, the original 9-mile route is re-assumed into the state trunkline system from Houghton to the ship canal mouth and an additional 8 miles are tacked onto the route, taking the highway easterly past Bear Lake and on to Calumet, where it now terminates at US-41/M-26 on the northeast corner of that community. Simultaneously, F.J. McLain State Park is now shown on the Michigan Official State Highway Map issued by the State Highway Dept and additional improvements are scheduled to be made at the park in 1941—whether or not this has anything to do with the reinstatement of M-203 as a state trunkline route or if local pressure or even negative experiences from the attempted turnbacks of other trunkline routes factored into the decision is not entirely clear. | ||||||||||||||
| 1945 (Aug) – The last remaining unpaved portion of M-203, ironically the original 1933–1939 state trunkline portion from Hancock to F.J. McLain State Park, is paved and M-203 is now hard-surfaced in its entirety. The segment of M-203 from the state park easterly to Calumet which was added to the route when it was reinstated in 1940 was already hard-surfaced, which had been completed by Houghton Co in 1939 while that portion was still a county-maintained road. | ||||||||||||||
| 1949 (Nov 10) – The route of M-203 at its northern end is shortened by one city block when US-41/M-26 is realigned at Calumet. The former route is transferred to local control. | ||||||||||||||
| 1963 (Oct 16) – The 2.2 miles of M-203 through the F.J. McLain State Park and through a sharp curve at the Portage Lake Ship Canal mouth is turned back to local control and a new 1.887-mile realignment is officially assumed into the trunkline system, bypassing the state park and cutting off the sharp corner. Most of the former route of M-203 is abandoned or obliterated in this process. | ||||||||||||||
| 1972 (Sept 14) – A realignment of M-203 from Bear Lake (near F.J. McLain State Park) easterly to Bear Lake Rd cuts off two 90° turns in the highway. The east-west section of the former route from Bear Lake to Bear Lake Rd is abandoned as a public road, while the north-south portion along Bear Lake Rd is turned back to local control. | ||||||||||||||
| Freeway/Expwy: | No portion of M-203 is freeway or expressway. | |||||||||||||
| Circle Tour: |  Lake Superior Circle Tour LOOP: At Calumet, from Sixth St to the northern terminus of M-203 at US-41/M-26. |
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| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | • M-203 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of M-203 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. | |||||||||||||
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Western Terminus: | M-22 two miles south of Leland | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Terminus: | M-22 on the north side of Suttons Bay | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 7.220 miles | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of M-204 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | One of two state highways which cross the Leelanau Peninsula in an east-west fashion. The other is M-72. | |||||||||||||
| A Michigan State Highway Dept map dating from the time of M-204's debut seems to indicate this highway was initially assigned the designation of M-304. Whether this was an error on the map is unclear, as the first 1934 issue of the Official Michigan Highway Map clearly shows the new trunkline as M-204. | ||||||||||||||
| History: | 1933 (Jul 12) – A new 7.6-mile long "cross-peninsular" trunkline route is officially established as a state highway route in Leelanau Co from M-22 south of Leland to M-22 in Suttons Bay via present-day Duck Lake Rd. | |||||||||||||
| 1939 (Jul 13) – A 0.6-mile slight realignment of M-204 from the community of Lake Leelanau easterly across the narrows of the town's namesake occurs with the old road being obliterated in the process. | ||||||||||||||
1956 – Two small realignments between Lake Leelanau and Suttons Bay:
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| 1970 (Jul 1)– All of M-204 from Hoeft Rd less than a mile east of M-22 at Duck Lake Corner (south of Leland) easterly to the bridge over the Lake Leelanau Narrows in the community of Lake Leelanau is officially cancelled as state trunkline, replaced by a newly-established realignment with gentler curves and a better cross-section. Some of the former route survives the reconstruction in Lake Leelanau between Plamon Rd and St Mary's St and is turned back to local control as Main St/Old M-204, while the remainder of the route is either obliterated by the new alignment or is abandoned as a public roadway. The project, which began in 1968, is due to this stretch of highway receiving a "critically deficient" rating in the 1963 "Sufficency Ratings of Michigan Highways" report being deficient in surface, base and safety rating. | ||||||||||||||
| Freeway/Expwy: | No portion of M-204 is freeway or expressway. | |||||||||||||
| Pure Michigan Byway: |  Leelanau Scenic Heritage Route – The Leelanau Scenic Heritage Route was officially designated a Michigan Scenic Heritage Route by the state legislature in 2002. |
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| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | • M-204 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of M-204 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. | |||||||||||||
| • M-204/Lake Leelanau Narrows Bridge – archived from MDOT, "The bridge exemplifies the impact of Depression-era programs, which not only provided work for the unemployed, but also created long-lasting improvements serving other purposes, such as tourism." | ||||||||||||||
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Former Southern Terminus: | Indiana state line (connection w/IN SR-19) southeast of Adamsville | ||||||||||||
| Former Northern Terminus: | US-12 two miles east of Adamsville | |||||||||||||
| Former Length: | 1.736 miles | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of Former M-205 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | While what would later become M-205 was part of the state trunkline system as of September 1925, it was initially designated as part of US-112, which dipped into Indiana at this point in southern Cass Co. As initially designated, US-112 began in downtown Detroit at US-12 and proceeded west-southwesterly across the southernmost Lower Peninsula to Cass Co, where it disappeared into Indiana, terminating in Elkhart. After the western terminus of US-112 seemingly wavered between Elkhart, Ind., South Bend, Ind., and even Rolling Prairie and La Porte, Ind. for a few years, the Indiana portion of US-112 was, oddly, redesignated as US-112S meaning US-112 became US-112S at the state line in the mid-1930s. Meanwhile, plans for a new trunkline westerly from this point were being made and in 1933 a routing was determined beginning at the 90-degree corner in Former M-205 at Cassopolis Rd & Redfield St and proceeding northwesterly, mostly cross-country, toward Niles, designated M-151. In 1935, this route was abandoned and the present-day alignment of US-12 between Former M-205 and Niles was determined for M-151, with US-112 still turning southerly into Indiana. Later in the year, M-151 would give way to a rerouted US-112 into Niles. | |||||||||||||
| History: | 1935 – The route of M-151 from present-day Former M-205 westerly through Edwardsburg and into Niles is redesignated as US-112, with that designation continuing westerly with M-60 to US-12 at New Buffalo. The former route of US-112 from what had formerly been designated M-151 (present-day US-12) westerly and southerly to the Indiana state line and a connection with the newly-extended IN SR-19 is designated as M-205. | |||||||||||||
| 1953 (Nov 6) – The 90-degree turn in "Allenton" at the corner of Cassopolis Rd & Redfield St is bypassed by a new gentler curve, shortening the route by a few hundredths of a mile. The former route is turned back to local control. | ||||||||||||||
| 2002 (Oct 10) – With the completion and opening of the new M-217/Michiana Parkway from US-12 near Union southerly to the Indiana state line and a connection with Elkhart Co Rd 17, also named Michiana Parkway at this point, MDOT and the Cass Co Road Commission swap roads, with MDOT assuming control of the new M-217 and handing back M-205 to the road commission, thus ending the 67-year history of M-205. | ||||||||||||||
| Freeway/Expwy: | No portion of M-205 was freeway or expressway. | |||||||||||||
| Continue on: | SR-19 into Indiana – via the Indiana Highway Ends website | |||||||||||||
| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | ||||||||||||||
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PLEASE NOTE: The Former M-206 route information can be found on its own page: Former M-206 Route Listing. | |||||||||||||
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PLEASE NOTE: The Former M-208 route information can be found on its own page: Former M-208 Route Listing. | |||||||||||||
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PLEASE NOTE: The Former M-209 route information can be found on its own page: Former M-209 Route Listing. | |||||||||||||
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PLEASE NOTE: The Former M-210 route information can be found on its own page: Former M-210 Route Listing. | |||||||||||||
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Southern Terminus: | M-68 in downtown Onaway at cnr Main & State Sts | ||||||||||||
| Northern Terminus: | Main park entrance to Onaway State Park (cnr Bonz Beach Hwy & N. M-212) | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 5.147 miles | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of M-211 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | M-211 serves to provide access to Onaway State Park from Onaway | |||||||||||||
| History: | 1934 – As noted in the "Notes" section above, the Onaway-to-Onaway State Park highway had been designated M-95 from 1921 until the arrival of US-45 in Michigan in mid-1934. When the M-95 designation was moved to replace the existing M-45 routing in the central U.P., the highway here was given the M-211 designation. | |||||||||||||
| 1959 – By 1959, all of M-211 is hard-surfaced throughout. | ||||||||||||||
| Freeway/Expwy: | No portion of M-211 is freeway or expressway. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | • M-211 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of M-211 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. | |||||||||||||
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Southern Terminus: | Cnr 2nd St & Main St in Aloha, at the entrance of Aloha State Park | ||||||||||||
| Northern Terminus: | M-33, 0.7 miles east of Aloha | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 0.727 mile | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of M-212 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | M-212 has the distinct honor of being the shortest state highway in the state of Michigan, beating out what was formerly the second shortest, Former M-168, by only two-tenths mile. M-212 even beats out Michigan's shortest Business Connection, BUS M-32 in Hillman, which comes in at 0.738 miles, only about eleven-thousandths of a mile longer! While M-212 is less than ¾ mile in length, it is by far not the shortest state highway in the U.S. Some states have highways as short as one city block, or even several hundred feet. For Michigan, though, it is the shortest. | |||||||||||||
| This highway provides access from M-33 to both the small community of Aloha, as well as to Aloha State Park, at which the highway ends. | ||||||||||||||
| History: | 1931 (June 19) – The State Administrative Board approves the addition of less than one mile of road from US-23 (present-day M-33) into Aloha as part of 30 additional miles of roadway approved to be added to the trunkline sytem. | |||||||||||||
| 1937 (Dec 29) – A new, 0.7-mile long state trunkline spur is designated from US-23 (present-day M-33) east of Aloha westerly into Aloha and the Aloha State Park. No routing changes have taken place in the eight decades since. | ||||||||||||||
| Freeway/Expwy: | No portion of M-212 is freeway or expressway. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | • M-212 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of M-212 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. | |||||||||||||
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Western Terminus: | M-40 in downtown Marcellus at cnr Centre & Main Sts | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Terminus: | US-131 one mile north of Moorepark | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 9.379 miles | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of M-216 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | M-216 serves as a connecting highway between M-40 at Marcellus and US-131. | |||||||||||||
| History: | 1935 (Jan 7) – A new 9.5-mile long state trunkline is designated from M-119 (present-day M-40) in downtown Marcellus easterly to US-131 at Moorepark north of Three Rivers. The new route is designated M-216. | |||||||||||||
| 1938 (Dec 6) – The 0.9-mile segment of M-216 from Knight Rd east of Marcellus easterly to Lewis Lake Rd just across the Cass/St Joseph Co line is cancelled, replaced by a new 0.7-mile long segment of newly-determined trunkline routing, bypassing two sharp curves in the old alignment. Much of the former route is abandoned as a public roadway. | ||||||||||||||
| 1939 – The last portion of gravel-surfaced M-216, from Marcellus easterly to the Cass/St Joseph Co line, is hard-surfaced this year. | ||||||||||||||
| Freeway/Expwy: | No portion of M-216 is freeway or expressway. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | • M-216 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of M-216 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. | |||||||||||||
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Southern Terminus: | Indiana state line at connection w/Elkhart Co Rd 17 near Union in southeastern Cass Co | ||||||||||||
| Northern Terminus: | US-12 near Union | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 1.653 miles | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of M-217 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | The Michiana Parkway is a multi-lane highway built under a coordinated effort between the Cass Co Road Commission and the Elkhart Co (Ind.) Highway Department, connecting the Indiana East-West Toll Road's "Elkhart East" interchange at Co Rd 17 with US-12 near Union, Michigan. The Cass Co Road Commission took out a $2.5 million loan from the State Infrastructure Bank to construct their portion of the roadway. While it began as a County project, prior to its completion, negotiations with MDOT began to transfer the highway to State control as a state trunkline highway. The official transfer of control took place two weeks after the road opened to traffic when Cass Co agreed to assume control of M-205, another shorte state trunkline connector to the west. MDOT also assumed responsibility for and repayment of the State Infrastructure Bank loan used to construct the roadway. | |||||||||||||
| M-217 is known as Michiana Parkway for its entire 1.65 mile length in Michigan. | ||||||||||||||
| History: | 2002 (Sept 25) – The Michiana Parkway from the I-80/I-90/Indiana East-West Tollway northeast of Elkhart, Indiana northerly to US-12 near Union, Michigan is completed and officially opens to traffic. While negotiations with MDOT have been ongoing, the roadway officially opens as a County Primary roadway under the jurisdiction of the Cass Co Road Commission. | |||||||||||||
| 2002 (Oct 10) – The Michigan portion of the new Michiana Parkway—open for two weeks—is transferred from County to State control and designated as M-217. | ||||||||||||||
| Freeway/Expwy: | No portion of M-217 is freeway or expressway. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | • M-217 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of M-217 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. | |||||||||||||
| • Routes in South Bend and Metro Northern Indiana – part of Marc Fannin's Roadfan.com website. | ||||||||||||||
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Southern Terminus: | M-28 two miles south of Brimley | ||||||||||||
| Northern Terminus: | East end of the Lakeshore Dr bridge over the Waiska River, 269.4 feet (0.051 mile) east of Main St in Brimley | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 2.545 miles | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of M-221 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | M-221 serves to provide access to the community of Brimley and to Brimley State Park from M-28. | |||||||||||||
| Until January 1942, what is now M-221 was designated as part of M-28, a major east-west route through the Upper Peninsula. Approaching Brimley from the east, M-28 turned northerly through Brimley via present-day M-221, then turned easterly again via 6 Mile Rd to continue on toward Sault Ste Marie. In early 1942, a new, more-direct routing for M-28 opened along its present-day alignment directly to US-2, 9 miles south of downtown Sault Ste Marie and what is now M-221 was transferred to local control through Brimley along with the rest of the former route of M-28 via 6 Mile Rd. A few years later, M-221 is designated along a portion of that old route of M-28, as noted below: | ||||||||||||||
| As noted in the "Northern Terminus" listing above, this highway ends almost 270 feet east of the cnr of Main St & Lakeshore Dr at the eastern end of the bridge spanning the Waiska River. It is uncertain why the State has jurisdiction of the bridge, although it can be assumed a deal between the State and Chippewa County was made at some point in the past for the state to construct the bridge based on some financial or political considerations. (Ignoring the existence of the bridge, the logical terminus for M-221 would be at the intersection of Main St & Lakeshore Dr.) The 270-foot portion of M-221 on Lakeshore Dr over the Waiska River bridge is not posted as M-221. | ||||||||||||||
| History: | 1945 (June 26) – The north-south portion of the former route of M-28 through Brimley, from M-28 south of the community then northerly to 6 Mile Rd, is re-established as a state trunkline route, transferred to state control and designated M-221. No routing changes have occurred since. | |||||||||||||
| Freeway/Expwy: | No portion of M-221 is freeway or expressway. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | • M-221 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of M-221 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. | |||||||||||||
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Western Terminus: | M-40/M-89 in downtown Allegan at cnr of Cedar & Cutler Sts | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Terminus: | US-131 at Exit 55 west of Martin | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 10.174 miles | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of M-222 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | This highway was designated as M-118 until 1988 when MDOT redesignated it as M-222. The M-118 designation has not been re-used on any other highway to date. This state trunkline route was given a totally different route designation due to the potential for confusion in local road names versus the state highway number. The official roadname of M-118 was 116th St while 118th St ran parallel to it one mile to the north, reportedly causing confusion among those who could not discern the difference between a road name and a highway route designation. The Allegan Co Road Commission requested that MDOT change the designation of M-118 to a different route number, which it did in late summer or early fall of 1988. No specific reasoning behind the choice of "222" for the new designation has been uncovered to date. |
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| History: | 1928 (June 28) – The county road from Allegan northwesterly through Hamilton to Holland, largely paralleling the Pere Marquette Railroad line between those communities, is transferred to state control. Until this time, M-40 enters the City of Allegan from the south, travels through the city before turning easterly via 116th Ave for approximately 10 miles, terminating at US-131 (previously M-13 until the year before) in Martin. The M-40 designation is relocated onto the new Allegan-Hamilton-Holland highway, leaving the Allegan-Martin route without a route number. Thus, the M-118 designation is assigned to this highway. | |||||||||||||
| 1931 (May 19) – Until 1931, state trunklines through the centers of cities were not state-maintained highways. Rather, they were signed and maintained by local road maintenance authorities. When Act 131 of 1931 (the "Dykstra Act") allowed the state to take control of state trunklines in cities. Due to this, the remaining 0.5 mile of M-118 along Monroe St & Grand St from Cedar St to Main St is transferred to state control. | ||||||||||||||
| 1954 (Jan 4) – A realignment for M-118 is established as a state trunkline highway route at Wetheral Lake, 1½ miles west of Martin, with the former route being turned cancelled and turned back to country control. | ||||||||||||||
| 1960 (Sept 27) – The easternmost 0.9 mile of M-118, from the newly assumed US-131 freeway easterly to the former route of US-131 in downtown Martin, is cancelled as a state trunkline route and turned back to local control. The new eastern terminus of M-118 is now at the US-131 freeway. | ||||||||||||||
| 1988 (Aug/Sept) – M-118 is redesignated as M-222 in its entirety, to help reduce confusion between it and 118th Ave running parallel to M-118 one mile to the north. |
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| Freeway/Expwy: | No portion of M-222 is freeway or expressway. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | • M-222 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of M-222 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. | |||||||||||||
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Southern Entrance: | Ohio state line (concurrently w/US-23) southwest of Lambertville | ||||||||||||
| Northern Terminus: | Jct US-127 in northwestern Lenawee Co, north of Addison (just south of the US-127 & US-12 junction) | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 45.572 miles | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of US-223 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | US-223, originally designated as part of US-127 , is Michigan's only two-hundred-series US highway. | |||||||||||||
| While US-223 in Michigan trends more east-west in direction, MDOT has chosen to sign the route as a north-south trunkline. Similarly, the route termini above are given as Northern Terminus and Southern Entrance. Oddly enough, the short remaining segment of US-223 in Ohio, concurrently with US-23 from OH SR-51/Monroe St northerly to the Michigan state line, is close to due north-south, yet Ohio signs the road as east-west! | ||||||||||||||
| In the last half of the 1990s, MDOT studied the possibility of building a freeway in the US-223 corridor as a part of the Toledo-Jackson portion of the larger I-73 project. Many public meetings were held and several potential alignment were proposed, most of which ran far from US-223 due to environmental concerns, insufficient traffic volumes and the many lakes in northwest Lenawee Co. In the end, MDOT decided to suspect further planning on the I-73 project and, instead, use the remaining funds to make actual safety improvements to the roadway itself. | ||||||||||||||
| Although physical route signage in the field has indicated US-223 terminates at US-127 just south of the US-12 & US-127 jct in northwestern Lenawee Co, MDOT records had indicated that US-223 continued concurrently (unsigned) with US-127 northerly to US-12, where it officially terminated. However, internal MDOT mapping data and other records now seem to match the signage in the field, so the termini for US-223 in this listing match the signed termini in the field. | ||||||||||||||
| History: | 1930 (May 26) – The American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO, today's AASHTO) approves a pair of US Highway System changes in Michigan. First, instead of turning southeasterly via Adrian toward Toledo, Ohio, US-127 is approved to continue southerly from US-112 (present-day US-12) in the Somerset area via M-14 through Addison to the Ohio state line. (In Ohio, US-127 is extended to run along the western portion of the state to a new terminus in Cincinnati.) Second, AASHO then approves a new US Highway route designation for the segment of US-127 from US-112 southeasterly through Adrian, Blissfield and Ottawa Lake and into Ohio near Sylvania: US-223. | |||||||||||||
| 1930 (late-Oct) – After receiving AASHO approval for the change six months prior, the route change for US-127 and the debut of US-223 occurs as all M-14 route markers are replaced by US-127 markers and all US-127 markers along its former route from US-112 through Adrian and Blissfield into Ohio are replaced with US-223 signs in late October. The concurrent US-127/M-14 segment between Jackson and Somerset becomes solely US-127. | ||||||||||||||
| 1931 – Until 1931, state trunklines through the centers of cities were not state-maintained highways. Rather, they were signed and maintained by local road maintenance authorities. When Act 131 of 1931 (the "Dykstra Act") allowed the state to take control of state trunklines in cities. Due to this, the remaining portion of US-223 through downtown Adrian is transferred to state control, following (from the west) Maumee St from Scott St easterly to Main St, south one block via Main to Church St, easterly on Church to Center St, southerly via Center to Treat St, where the pre-determined trunkline routing picks back up and leaves Adrian via Treat St and Treat Hwy. | ||||||||||||||
1935 – A pair of state trunkline changes this year:
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| 1942 (Jan 28) – A new 1.267-mile segment of state trunkline highway along Cadmus Rd from US-223 at Treat Hwy westerly to M-52/Adrian Hwy is determined and the US-223 routing is transferred onto it. At M-52, US-223 now turns northerly with M-52 into downtown Adrian where it meets up with its former routing. The former route of US-223 via Church, Center, Beecher & Treat Sts and Treat Hwy is redesignated as BUS US-223. | ||||||||||||||
| 1943 (Feb 26) – Winter St from US-223/Church St southerly for a bit more than one block to US-223/M-52/Main St in downtown Adrian is determined as a state trunkline highway and the US-223 route is moved onto it, acting as a "cut-off" of sorts. The US-223 route along Main St from Winter St to Church St remains designated M-52, while the portion of Church St from M-52/Main St westerly to Winter St now becomes a short westerly extension of the BUS US-223 routing. | ||||||||||||||
| 1949 (Nov 10) – A 0.1-mile long state trunkline establishment is made along US-223 in downtown Blissfield. The reason for this establishment is not clear, however. | ||||||||||||||
| 1955 (Dec 19) – A new southwestern bypass of Adrian consisting of 2.885 miles of new trunkline highway on new alignment is completed and opened to traffic. Beginning at the southern jct of US-223 & M-52 south of the city and proceeding northwesterly back to existing US-223 west of town, the new bypass is a two-lane highway on four-lane limited-access right-of-way with a quasi-interchange at M-34. The previous (1942–56) iteration of BUS US-223 is decommissioned (with the exception of the one block of Church St between M-52/Main St and Winter St) allowing the 1942–56 routing of US-223 through Adrian to become a new BUS US-223 routing. | ||||||||||||||
| 1956 (Mar 26) – The US-223 Adrian Bypass opened in mid-December 1955 is officially determined as a state trunkline highway route. Simultaneously, the former (1942–1956) iteration of BUS US-223 is officially turned back to local control, although it hasn't been signed for over three months since the new BUS US-223 was officially commissioned along the former route of US-223 through downtown Adrian. | ||||||||||||||
| 1957 (June 24) – The proposed northwesterly extension of US-223 from US-112 to Albion, as designated in January 1935, is officially cancelled as a proposed state trunkline routing. It will remain forever unbuilt. | ||||||||||||||
| 1965 (Aug 6) – Both the State Highway Dept's Chief Planning Engineer and the State Highway Commission's Director for Engineering & Chief Engineer sign off on a reccomendation for a reconfiguing of the western end of M-151 where it meets US-223. The reconfiguration would change the through movement of the junction so that it favors the US-223 sbd (ebd)–to–M-151 ebd and M-151 wbd–to–US-223 nbd (wbd) movements. Traffic on US-223 nbd from Ottawa Lake would need to stop before turning left at M-151 to continue northerly (westerly) along US-223. While the recommendation has been made, it will be another decade before the necessary trunkline abandonments and establishments are made and 12 years until actual construction takes place! | ||||||||||||||
| 1966 (Feb 2) – Michigan State Highway director Howard E Hill officially proposes a 49-mile freeway connecting US-23 north of Sylvania, Ohio with Jackson. The proposed 49-mile long freeway will run 35½ miles along the US-223 corridor past Blissfield and Adrian to Addison, then northerly for 13½ miles in the US-127 corridor to a connection with the southern end of the existing US-127 freeway bypass of Jackson. The new freeway is proposed to be under contract within six years, pending legislative approval of increases in gas and weight taxes to raise the needed additional revenue for this project and others. (In the end, this proposal would never come to fruition.) | ||||||||||||||
| 1977 (July 6) – At its regular meeting in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, the U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee of the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approves a request from the Michigan Dept of State Highways & Transportation and the Ohio Dept of Transportation to relocate the route of US-223 from northwest of Toledo, Ohio to northwest of Ottawa Lake, Michigan and placing it onto the existing route of US-23 northerly from Ohio into Michigan, then continuing westerly via M-151 back to the existing route of US-223. | ||||||||||||||
| 1977 (Nov 17) – Work begins in Febuary 1976 and continues for almost two years to upgrade the remaining portion of M-151 which has not been turned back to local control in southwestern Monroe Co, converting what had been one of the narrowest state highways in Michigan—just 16 feet wide—into a modern highway with a 24-foot-wide paved surface on a much improved and re-engineered alignment. Also removed is the previous connection between US-223 and M-151 northwest of Ottawa Lake, replaced by a sweeping curve to seemlessly join US-223 heading northwesterly with the former M-151 running easterly toward US-23. US-223 is now routed over what had been designated M-151, thereby "retiring" the M-151 designation in Michigan, and now meets US-23 at Exit 5. From there, US-223 now continues southerly with US-23 into Ohio near Sylvania. The former route of US-223 is retained as an unsigned state trunkline designated OLD US-223. | ||||||||||||||
| 1981 (Sept 21) – Nearly six years after the abandonments and establishments to allow for US-223 to feed directly into M-151 north of Ottawa Lake in southwestern Monroe Co are given and nearly four years after the actual work was completed (and the M-151 route makers were removed!), the final establishments for both routes are finally effected. There is no indication why the final establishments took until now to be implemented. | ||||||||||||||
| Freeway: | Concurrently with US-23 from the southern entrance at the Ohio state line to Exit 5. | |||||||||||||
| Expressway: | The "Adrian Bypass" from M-52 south of Adrian to the western jct with BUS US-223 west of the city. | |||||||||||||
| NHS: | Entire route. | |||||||||||||
| Business Connection: | BUS US-223 – Adrian. From jct US-223 & M-52 south of the city to US-223 west of the city. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | • US-223 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of US-223 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. | |||||||||||||
| • Adrian Downtown: Trunkline Routing History map – A map showing ALL of the state trunkline routes through Adrian since 1915, including the various changes from 2010. Includes EVERY state trunkline designation on each segment of highway, including the dates of determinatio or designation. | ||||||||||||||
| • I-73 Corridor Feasibility Website – archived from MDOT. | ||||||||||||||
| • High Priority Corridor 5 (I-73/74) – archived from AARoads. Details the entire High Priority Corridor 5 as designated by ISTEA. | ||||||||||||||
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Southern Terminus: | I-69 at Exit 32 between Tekonsha and Marshall | ||||||||||||
| Northern Terminus: | BL I-94/Michigan Ave on the west side of Marshall | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 6.833 miles | |||||||||||||
| Map: | Route Map of M-227 | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | One of the jurisdictional transfers occurring as part of the short-lovedRationalization process in the late-1990s was the assumption of more than 50 miles of formerly county roads and city streets in Calhoun Co into the state trunkline highway system. The actual transfers took place October 31, 1998. In the Marshall area, a brand-new route was established and given the number M-227, obviously in reference to its incorporation of a portion of Old US-27. The new M-227 begins at I-69 and continues easterly along F Dr South, then turns north to follow Old US-27 into Marshall, where it then turns west to follow Industrial Dr to West Rd, then north to end at BL I-94/Michigan Ave. Only the portion of M-227 along Old US-27 was once a part of the state highway system as, obviously, US-27 until 1968. | |||||||||||||
| History: | 1998 (Oct 31) – As one of several state trunkline transfers in the Rationalization program, a new highway is transferred to state control and designated M-227, beginning at I-69 Exit 32 and proceeding easterly via F Dr South to Old US-27/17 Mile Rd, northerly via Old 27 into Marshall where it becomes Kalamazoo St, then westerly via Industrial St, northerly via West St, terminating at BL I-94/Michigan Ave on the west side of town. | |||||||||||||
| 2001 (Jan) – During the second week of January, M-227 route markers are erected along the route of the new highway. | ||||||||||||||
| Freeway/Expwy: | No portion of M-227 is freeway or expressway. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs: | ||||||||||||||
| Weblinks: | • M-227 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of M-227 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. | |||||||||||||
M-201 | M-203 | M-204 | Former M-205 | Former M-206 | Former M-208 | Former M-209 | Former M-210 | M-211 | M-212 | M-216 | M-217 | M-221 | M-222 | US-223 | M-227 | Up to Top |
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