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Southern Entrance:	Ohio state line five miles south of Erie (15 miles south of Monroe)
Northern Terminus:	I-75 at Exit 93 west of Clarkston
Length:	78.472 miles
Map:	Route Map of US-24
Notes:	The vast majority of the route (from Toledo, Ohio to Dixie Hwy in Waterford Twp) is known as Telegraph Rd. The road was so named due to the telegraph lines running alongside the road for a great distance more than a century ago. Telegraph Rd was an excellent choice for the lines, as it runs in a straight line for long distances, and as we all know, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line... Michigan's Telegraph Rd is not unique, however, as many other Telegraph Roads exist or once existed around the country.
	US-24 in Michigan exists as an exception to the standard US Highway numbering scheme. Even-numbered US highways were laid out to run east-west, while odd-numbered routes run north-south. Outside Michigan, US-24 is indeed an east-west highway. However, since the route within Michigan runs from Toledo on the south to Clarkston on the north, MDOT has (rightfully) signed this highway as a north-south route.
	Some question has arisen as to the precise northern terminus of US-24 in Oakland Co as the actual "US-24 ENDS" route marker assembly on nbd Dixie Hwy sits northwest of (beyond) the I-75 interchange. What this "ENDS" sign and the corresponding southbound "BEGINS" assembly more accurately indicate is the end of the state trunkline highway and, therefore, state-funded maintenance, rather than the end of the US-24 route. While it is odd for route terminus signage to be configured in this manner, it is very common for state maintenance on a particular roadway to extend for hundreds of yards or even a half-mile beyond what would be considered the terminus for the route designation. In this case, regular state trunkline maintenance (pothole-patching, snow plowing, sign maintenence, etc.) in Oakland Co is performed by the Road Commission for Oakland Co and it is the Road Commission that erected this signage, which includes "END TRUNK LINE MAINT." northbound and "BEGIN TRUNK LINE MAINT." southbound to help precisely delineate this change in maintenance. Similar begin/end trunkline maintenance signage exists elsewhere in Oakland Co, somewhat unique in Michigan.
History:	1926 – As laid out in the initial US Highway system plans, US-24 would have followed what was then designated M-56 (later US-25, now M-125) from Ohio into downtown Monroe, then jogged west to M-10 (now US-24) along Telegraph Rd and northerly along Telegraph toward Pontiac. When the final plans for the US Highway system are approved and set in place, US-24 enters Michigan from Ohio and follows Telegraph Rd—its present routing—through Monroe and northerly through Wayne County past the western edge of Detroit. From 7 Mile Rd northerly, Telegraph Rd is not yet complete, so a temporary routing from there into Pontiac is necessary. Initially, it seems the US-24 designation runs northwesterly along US-16/Grand River Ave to Farmington, then northerly along Orchard Lake Rd into Pontiac. Soon after, though, sources show US-24 turning easterly along 7 Mile Rd from Telegraph Rd to Southfield Rd, then northerly along Southfield Rd, ending at US-10/Woodward Ave in downtown Birmingham.
	1927 (May 15) – The new US Highway designations across the state of Michigan officially become effective today, with US-24 superseding the route of M-10 between the Ohio state line and Dearborn and then northerly along a new trunkline routing into Oakland Co, as noted above.
	1930 – Telegraph Rd from 7 Mile Rd in Detroit to Square Lake Rd near Pontiac is completed and the US-24 designation is transferred to the new highway. The temporarily-posted US-24 route markers along 7 Mile Rd and Southfield Rd are removed.
	1944 – What would become US-24A is completed from the Ohio state line, 5 miles south of Erie, northerly to US-25 at Erie. Initially, this route is designated and signed as US-25A, however.
	c.1946 – The route of US-25A in southern Monroe Co is redesignated US-24A.
	1954 (Mar 24) – The Michigan Senate votes unanimously to name US-25 between Detroit and the Ohio state line as the Clara Barton Memorial Highway to honor the founder of the American Red Cross. This designation includes the portion of US-24/Telegraph Rd that is concurrently designated with US-25 from north of Monroe northeasterly to Brownstown Twp northeast of Flat Rock in southern Wayne Co.
	1956 (Dec 21) – The first 25 mile segment of the US-24A/Detroit–Toledo Expressway from existing US-24A (present-day Exit 2) near Erie and Luna Pier northerly through Monroe Co to Huron River Dr at Rockwood in southern Wayne Co is finally opened to traffic. Interestingly, this segment of freeway will not be officially established as a state trunkline highway route for seven more months! While construction on the Detroit–Toledo Expwy began in 1952 and its projected opening was to have been in 1955, but the primary contractor cited cement shortages and excessive rain which delayed progress and pushed completion back more than a year.       Additionally, as the northerly continuation of the Detroit–Toledo Expwy into Wayne Co would not be completed and opened to traffic for another two years, a temporary routing of US-24A is signed to help connect traffic back to the existing routes of US-24 and US-25. From the nothern end of the completed Detroit–Toledo Expwy at Huron River Dr, US-24A continues northeasterly along a newly-complete section of M-85/Fort St to Allen Rd, then along a "Marked and Maintained" route northerly via Allen Rd to West Rd and westerly along West Rd to the jct of US-24/Telegraph Rd & US-25/Dix–Toledo Hwy north of Flatrock. The sections of Allen and West Rds are not officially assumed into the state trunkline system, rather they remain county roads which are signed as trunklines and maintained by the State Highway Dept until replaced by the permanent trunkline route.
	1957 – The Detroit-Toledo Expressway, designated US-24A, is extended northerly from the M-85/Fort St interchange to West Rd. At the end of the highway at West Rd, the US-24A routing continues west back to US-24/US-25 as before. The former route of US-24A along Allen Rd and West Rd east of the new highway is turned back to local control.
	1958 – By the end of 1958, six more miles of the US-24A/Detroit–Toledo Expwy are completed and opened to traffic in southern Wayne Co, beginning at M-85 (present-day Exit 28) just north of Rockwood and continuing northerly to Sibley Rd at the jct with US-25/Dix–Toledo Hwy. The former route along M-85/Fort Rd between the Detroit–Toledo Expwy and Allen Rd retains its M-85 designation, while the segments along Allen Rd from M-85/Fort Rd to West Rd and via West Rd from Allen Rd to the jct of US-24/Telegraph Rd & US-25/Dix–Toledo Hwy was only a "Marked and Maintained" route, so the county retains jurisdiction and all state trunkline signage is removed and state maintenance ceases.
	1959 (May 22) – A "dedication" of the Detroit–Toledo Expressway occurs, according to reports in the media, signalling the opening of the southernmost 2.14 miles of the freeway in Monroe Co (completed in 1957) to traffic from the US-24A interchange (present-day Exit 2) to the Ohio state line and Ohio's portion linking to Ohio SR-120 (Future I-280) at the Craig Memorial Bridge. The southernmost 2.14 miles of the Detroit–Toledo Expwy would not be officially established as a trunkline route, however, for nearly a year and a half (for reasons unknown at this point).
	1959 (Oct 12) – The first I-75 route markers are erected along what had been designated US-24A from the Ohio state line through Monroe Co and into southern Wayne Co to the northern end of the completed freeway at US-25/Dix–Toledo Hwy & Sibley Rd north of Woodhaven. The State Highway Dept had planned to wait to sign the Detroit–Toledo Expwy as I-75 until the freeway had reached downtown Detroit, but when Ohio authorities signed their completed segment of the freeway in Toledo as I-75, the MSHD decided to post the Interstate markers at this point instead of having I-75 in Ohio unexpectedly turn into US-24A at the Michigan state line, thus causing motorist confusion. This is the first stretch of Interstate highway to signed in Michigan. As such, US-24A ceases to exist at this point.
	1963 – The "TO I-75" designation is added to US-24/Telegraph Rd from Eureka Rd west of Wyandotte to jct M-102/Eight Mile Rd to connect a pair of completed segments of I-75 north and south of Detroit.
	1966 – With the completion of another segment of I-75, the "TO I-75" designation is removed from US-24/Telegraph Rd.
	1970 – With the renumbering of the John C Lodge Expwy from BS I-696 to US-10, the US-10 designation is rerouted onto US-24/Telegraph Rd from Southfield to US-24's northern terminus at Square Lake Rd southwest of downtown Pontiac. Even though the US-10 and US-24 designations are concurrent for US-24's final 8 miles, the US-24 designation is retained and ends at Square Lake Rd while US-10 continues northerly on Telegraph Rd.
	1974 (Winter) – After officially annoucing its impending decommissioning within Michigan the previous September, the State Highway Dept finally removes all US-25 route markers from the route of US-25 within the state. For US-24, this leaves the formerly concurrent segment of US-24/US-25 along Telegraph Rd between Frenchtown Twp north of Monroe and Brownstown Twp north of Flat Rock as just US-24.
	1986 – With the decommissioning of US-10 south of Bay City, the concurrently-designated portion of Telegraph Rd between Southfield and Pontiac becomes just US-24, while the portions of Telegraph Rd and Dixie Hwy from Square Lake Rd at Pontiac to I-75 at Exit 93 near Clarkston is re-designated as an extension of US-24, replacing the US-10 designation. BUS US-10 through downtown Pontiac along Square Lake Rd, Woodward Ave, Wide Track Dr, Saginaw St and Dixie Hwy is re-designated BUS US-24.
	1990 (Oct 8) – The 0.062-mile segment of Relocated Omira Dr immediately north of US-24/Dixie Hwy in the Drayton Plains area northwest of Pontiac is turned back to county control. Prior to constructing the relocated Omira Dr here, the ramps of a partial, at-grade "interchange" between US-24/Dixie Hwy & Scott Lake Rd existed to help move traffic coming to and from Scott Lake Rd to and from northwest-bound Dixie Hwy (traffic to and from Scott Lake to and from southeast-bound Dixie Hwy simply turned right or left at the intersection like normal). The at-grade ramps were constructed in the late-1950s or early-1960s to assist traffic flow at the intersection, but by the late-1980s, it was determined removing them and relocating neaby Omira Dr to intersect US-24/Dixie Hwy at the Scott Lake intersection would be a better solution under current traffic conditions. The State constructs the realigned Omira Dr atop the location of the former ramps and obliterates the original Omira Dr connection to Dixie Hwy and turns the new roadway segment back to county control.
Controlled Access:	No portion of US-24 is freeway or expressway.
NHS:	The entire length of US-24 is part of the National Highway System (NHS). (The segment of US-24 from the Ohio state line to I-275 north of Monroe was added in 2012 with the passage of the MAP-21 funding and authorization bill.)
Business Connections:	CONN US-24 – Erie. From I-75 at Exit 1 south of Erie to US-24/Telegraph Rd. CONN US-24 – Woodhaven. From US-24 at the cnr of Telegraph Rd, Toledo Hwy & West Rd in Brownstown Twp to I-75 at Exit 34. CONN US-24 – Taylor. From US-24/Telegraph Rd just south of Eureka Rd in Taylor to I-75 at Exit 35. BUS US-24 – Pontiac. From US-24 at cnr of Telegraph Rd & Square Lake Rd southwest of Pontiac to US-24 at cnr Telegraph Rd & Dixie Hwy northwest of Pontiac.
Memorial Highways:	The following Memorial Highway designations have been officially assigned to parts of US-24 by the Michigan Legislature: Fallen Soldiers of Iraqi Freedom Memorial Highway – "The portion of US-24 beginning at the border of Michigan and Ohio in Monroe County and continuing north to the intersection of US-24 and M-125 in Monroe County..." From MDOT: "Operation Iraqi Freedom began in March of 2003. According to the United States Department of Defense, there were 4,424 total deaths, including both killed in action and non-hostile." Matt Urban Memorial Bridge – "The bridge on highway US-24 in Monroe county between North Custer Road and South Custer Road..." From MDOT: "Lieutenant Colonel Urban received over a dozen individual decorations for combat from the U.S. Army, including seven Purple Hearts. In 1980, he received the Medal of Honor and four other individual decorations for combat belatedly for his actions in France and Belgium in 1944. In Section 7a of the 'Prominent Military Figures' portion of Arlington National Cemetery's webpage, there is the statement, 'Lt. Col. Matt Urban - World War II infantry officer who earned the distinction as the most decorated soldier in WW II'." Clara Barton Memorial Highway – "The portion of M-125 beginning at the border between Michigan and Ohio in Monroe County and extending north to the intersection with US-24 and the portion of US-24 beginning at the intersection of M-125 and extending north to I-96 in Wayne County..." From MDOT: "Miss Barton was born at North Oxford, Massachusetts in 1821. In 1881 she founded the American Red Cross with headquarters at Dansville, New York. In September of the same year, the first major disaster in which the American Red Cross gave a helping hand was a devastating forest fire in Lapeer, Tuscola and Huron counties in which 125 lives were lost and thousands made homeless without food or shelter. Miss Barton and her little band of earnest assistants gathered blankets, clothing and other necessities for the suffering refugees. Clara Barton died in 1912 at the age of 91." 10th Mountain Division Highway – "Highway US-24 in Wayne County..." From MDOT: "The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division is the only one of its size in the US military to receive intense specialized training for fighting in mountainous and arctic conditions." Corporal Matthew Edwards Memorial Highway – "The portion of US-24 beginning at the intersection of US-24 and Van Born Road in the city of Taylor and continuing south to the intersection of US-24 and Pennsylvania Road..." From MDOT: "Corporal Matthew Edwards was shot and killed while responding to reports of a burglary in progress at an apartment complex on Pine Street at approximately 6:00 am. He and his partner encountered a man in the parking lot fitting the description of the suspect. As Corporal Edwards was speaking to him, the subject suddenly produced a handgun and fatally shot the officer. Corporal Edwards' partner returned fire and wounded the suspect. The suspect was found guilty of first degree premeditated murder in November 2011 and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Corporal Edwards had served with the Taylor Police Department for nearly six years. He is survived by his wife and two children." Julie Plawecki Memorial Highway – "The portion of highway US-24 in Wayne County beginning at the intersection with M-153 and extending north to the intersection with Warren Avenue..." From the Michigan Legislature: "Representative Julie Plawecki was a resident of Dearborn Heights for 20 years and worked in the area as a medical technologist and teacher before being elected as a State Representative for Michigan's 11th House District in 2014. On June 25, 2016, Representative Plawecki died of a heart attack while hiking in Oregon."
Photographs:
Continue on:	US-24 into Ohio - via the AA Roads site.
Weblinks:	US-24 @ Michigan Highway Ends – photos of the termini of US-24 at Dan Garnell's archived Michigan Highway Ends website. End of US highway 24 – The US-24 endpoints page from Dale Sanderson's excellent US Ends.com site. US 24 in Michigan – photos on Robert Mortell's Welcome to Road and Rail Pictures site. Michigan Roads – US-24 – from the Alps' Roads site.

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