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| Western Terminus: | Wisconsin state line, 2.3 miles south of downtown Norway. |
| Eastern Terminus: | US-2 in downtown Norway (cnr Brown St & 7th Ave). |
| Length: |  2.322 miles |
| Map: |  Route Map of US-8 |
| Notes: | In addition to being one of the state's shorter state-maintained highways, US-8 is also Michigan's shortest mainline US Highway. |
| US-8 was originally
designated to begin at Powers, Michigan and head westerly into Wisconsin.
Many early official Michigan Dept of State Highways sources show
the department had intended to route US-8 over the Menominee River
via a crossing at Faithorn in Menominee Co, then run generally easterly
to a junction with US-2 at
Hermansville. (It is unclear whether the MSHD would have co-signed US-2 and
US-8 together from Hermansville to Powers, as per the federal designation.)
While a 1927 Rand McNally highway map of Michigan does show US-8
along this route, an H.M. Gousha map from the next year shows US-8
entering the state from the Niagara, Wisconsin area via present-day US-141 and
ending at US-2 between Quinnisec
and Iron Mountain, with US-8 still proposed to run to Hermansville
in the future. By 1929, US-8 had been transferred to its present
corridor into Norway. The proposed highway alignment via Faithorn to Hermansville lasted at least until c.1960. In 1960, planners in the State Highway Dept's Office of Planning, Programming Division prepared maps showing long-term state trunkline routing upgrades, relocations and freeway conversions. The US-8 corridor via Faithorn to Hermansville was conspicuously missing. Thus, it can be assumed that around this time, Michigan transportation officials had finally given up on this routing for US-8. Presently, MDOT has no plans to construct a new highway along the long-proposed corridor and US-8 will stay put at Norway. It should be noted, however, that at present the Wisconsin Department of Transportation still officially lists the proposed US-8 realignment easterly from Pembine to the Michigan state line as a "mapped corridor." Of course if MDOT refuses to construct the road, WisDOT will take no action on their side of the river. |
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| History: | 1926 – The newly-designated US-8 is earmarked to enter Michigan from Wisconsin via present-day US-141 and will end at US-2 just east of Iron Mountain. As noted above, a proposed alignment would bring US-8 into Michigan at Faithorn and proceed easterly to US-2 at Hermansville. |
| 1927 (May 15) – The new US Highway designations across the state of Michigan officially become effective today, with US-8 travelling along present-day US-141 from Niagara, Wisconsin across the Menominee River and terminating at US-2 (formerly M-12) between Iron Mountain and Quinnesec. |
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| 1928-29 – By early 1929, US-8 has been realigned to its present corridor into Norway from the south, with US-141 being added along the short highway segment from Niagara, Wisconsin to US-2 east of Iron Mountain. | |
| 1966 – A new highway bridge over the Menominee River and Piers Gorge leading into Wisconsin is completed and the highway is realigned slightly. Also, it is assumed the plans to route US-8 into Michigan via Faithorn and Hermansville have been officially abandoned. | |
| Controlled-Access: | No portion of US-8 is freeway or expressway. |
| NHS: | No portion of US-8 in Michigan is on the National Highway System (NHS). |
| Memorial Highway: | At present, no portion of US-8 has been designated as part of a Memorial Highway. |
| Continue on: | US-8
into Wisconsin |
| Photographs: | |
| Weblinks: |
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