Interstate 275 (Michigan)

Route map:
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Interstate 275 marker

Interstate 275

Map
I-275 highlighted in red, the segment unrecognized by FHWA in purple
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-75
Maintained by MDOT
Length35.026 mi[1] (56.369 km)
29.97 miles (48.23 km) according to FHWA[2]
ExistedJanuary 14, 1977[3]–present
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
South end I-75 near Monroe
Major intersections
North end I-96 / I-696 / M-5 in Farmington Hills
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountiesMonroe, Wayne, Oakland
Highway system
← M-247→ M-294

Interstate 275 (I-275) is an

Plymouth Township. All other map makers, like the American Automobile Association, Rand McNally and Google Maps
follow MDOT's practice.

A highway roughly parallel to the modern I-275 was included in early planning maps for the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s. As plans developed through the 1960s and into the early 1970s, the freeway was to run from I-75 near Newport north to Novi and connect back to I-75 near

right-of-way
between 1994 and 2000.

Route description

I-275 begins at exit 20 along I-75 in northeastern

Huron River at South Huron Road, adjacent to Willow Metropark.[4][5][6]

Photograph of the road signage at the split
I-275 southbound where it splits from I-96 and meets M-14

In the city of

Plymouth Township, I-275 crosses Schoolcraft Road and another CSX line from Detroit.[6][7]

The interchange with

Davisburg that was to be either I-275 or M-275 was still an active proposal.[3][9] I-275 is shown running concurrently with I-96 through Livonia and Farmington Hills on MDOT maps,[7] and other map makers and mapping service providers such as the American Automobile Association,[10] Rand McNally[11] and Google Maps[4]
label their maps in accordance with MDOT and not FHWA.

Aerial photograph
Mixing Bowl interchange that marks the northern end of I-275

North of the interchange with the Jeffries Freeway, the combined I-96/I-275 curves to the east into Livonia, running parallel to Haggerty Road and continuing through suburban areas. The freeway has interchanges with

Grand River Avenue. Here the ramps start to connect with both directions of M-5, the start of eastbound I-696 or the continuation of westbound I-96. MDOT ends the I-275 designation at this massive interchange.[4][7]

History

Original plans

Black & white map
Planning map for the Detroit area freeways from 1955

A north–south freeway was originally planned as an

Davisburg; I-75 would have bypassed downtown Detroit just as it bypassed downtown Flint and downtown Saginaw to the north, and the auxiliary number (I-275) would have been used on the freeway through downtown Detroit.[14]

The present-day

Plymouth Township by the start of 1975. The segment between US 24 and I-75 in Monroe County was open as well.[16] The second phase was completed in the latter half of 1976, when I-275 was extended north from Schoolcraft Avenue (and the incomplete interchange with the future route of I-96) to the I-96/I-696 interchange in Novi. Then on January 14, 1977, the remaining 23-mile (37 km) section of I-275 between US 24 in Monroe County and M-153 in Canton Township was opened to traffic, completing the current freeway.[3] The final cost to build the I-275 freeway was $145 million (equivalent to $569 million in 2023[17]).[14]

Cancellation of northern segment

The Michigan State Highway Commission canceled the northern section of the highway, originally planned to continue northward from Novi to a point near

Davisburg and Clarkston, on January 26, 1977, after it spent $1.6 million (equivalent to $6.67 million in 2023[17]) the year before purchasing land for the roadway.[9] This northern section was not planned as an Interstate Highway at that time, bearing the designation M-275 instead. Opposition to construction came from various citizens' groups and different levels of local government. Additionally, both The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press opposed the project. The Detroit City Council, led by then-Chairman Carl Levin, opposed the plan. Levin said at the time, "At last I think people are waking up to the dangers of more and more expressways. At some point we've got to say enough. And I think we've reached it."[9] The US Department of the Interior reviewed the state's environmental impact study of the project and stated that the project, "will cause irreparable damages on recreation lands, wetlands, surface waters and wildlife habitat".[9] The total project to link Farmington Hills with Davisburg with the 24-mile (39 km) extension would have cost $69.5 million (equivalent to $273 million in 2023[17]) and saved drivers an estimated eight minutes off travel time around the city of Detroit.[9]

I-96 overlap

The Jeffries Freeway project was in its final stages of construction in 1977, linking the final 10.5 miles (16.9 km) of I-96 at M-39 (Southfield Freeway) with the I-275 freeway.[3] After it was completed, I-96 was routed to run concurrently with I-275 between Novi and Plymouth Township,[18] and the segments of freeway through Farmington and Farmington Hills that were to be part of I-96[12] instead became part of an extended M-102.[18]

At the end of the 1970s, MDOT took part in a FHWA-backed initiative called the Positive Guidance Demonstration Project, and the two agencies audited signage practices in the vicinity of the I-96/M-37 and I-296/US 131 interchange in Walker near Grand Rapids. MDOT determined that usage of the I-296 designation overlapping US 131 was "a potential source of confusion for motorists".[19] FHWA agreed with the department's proposal to eliminate all signage and public map references to the designation in April 1979.[19] MDOT then received formal permission from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on October 13,[20] and from the FHWA on December 3, 1979, to remove the redundant highway designation from signage and most maps.[21]

Following this program, the Reflective Systems Unit at MDOT reviewed the state of two- and three-way concurrencies along the highway system in Michigan. They approached the department's Trunkline Numbering Committee and the district traffic and safety engineers on October 19, 1982, for proposals to reduce or eliminate the various overlapping designations to "avoid driver confusion and save funds".[22] Included on the initial discussion report was the I-96/I-275 concurrency with a request for comments by November 5 of that year.[22] When the unit released its final recommendations on March 17, 1983, no changes were proposed regarding the I-96/I-275 concurrency. Other recommendations, such as removing US 2 and US 10 from overlaps with I-75[23] were implemented in later in 1983[24] and in 1985,[25] respectively.

New extension plan

M-275 marker

M-275

LocationOakland County
HistoryNever built; proposed from c. 1975[26] to c. May 1985[27]

At least one transportation study in the early 1970s identified the highway north of Novi as M-275.

State Transportation Commission ordered MDOT to study alternatives to a freeway in the area, along with the possible widening of I-94 and US 23 and the improvement of local roads to handle increased traffic caused by the absence of an extended I-275 from the state's freeway network.[30]

The canceled highway project was revisited by the State Transportation Commission in 1979 as M-275.[31] The renewed interest came after a vote of local residents showed a desire for the road.[32] The Michigan Department of State Highways and Transportation backed the proposal with the support of local officials around the highway and the highway lobby. The 22-year-old proposal was deemed "necessary" by the department to alleviate highway congestion along other area highways. The US Department of the Interior continued to oppose the highway on environmental grounds. M-275 would have cut through Dodge No. 4 State Park in Oakland County if completed. Another factor that helped sink the project was the rising costs. Estimates in 1979 placed a $100 million (equivalent to $339 million in 2023[17]) price tag on the project.[31]

Despite funding increases for MDOT by the State Legislature, M-275 languished on the drawing boards. New plans in 1983 had addressed several of the environmental concerns by moving interchanges and rerouting around wetlands. These plans even canceled an extension of Northwestern Highway (then M-4, now part of

8 Mile Road, the freeway carried 57,000 vehicles in 1977 and 88,000 vehicles in 1984. This compared to a 1986 projection of 133,000 vehicles daily.[14]

After many years of inactivity, further work began along this same route to relieve traffic congestion in the area,[35] but the resulting highway was designated as a part of M-5 rather than I-275 or M-275. The first section of this freeway extension was opened in October 1994. This extended a freeway from I-275's previous terminus at I-96/I-696 north to 12 Mile Road.[36] A plan enacted by then-Governor John Engler in 1995 angered road officials when funding was diverted from county road commissions to help complete state highway projects like the M-5 (Haggerty Connector) project.[37] In 1999, a second extension of M-5 was completed to 14 Mile Road, but only as an expressway.[38] The final two miles (3.2 km) between 14 Mile Road and Pontiac Trail opened to traffic on November 1, 2002.[39]

Bike trail

Main article: I-275 Metro Trail
Photograph
I-275 Metro Trail in Canton, December 2008

In the mid-1970s, MDOT constructed a bike trail parallel to I-275 in response to the energy crisis.[40] Since 2006, the Michigan Trails & Greenway Alliance and MDOT have been working to improve the bike trail.[40] At the time of the alliance's initial studies, the trail was overgrown with vegetation in locations.[41] Since a grand re-opening in 2011, the bike path has been called the I-275 Metro Trail.[42] In the middle of 2015, MDOT completed reconstruction of the bike trail,[43] resulting in a paved trail from a junction with the Downriver Linked Greenways East–West Trail near South Huron Road in Huron Township northward to 12 Mile Road in Novi.[44]

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Detroit, Toledo
Exit 20 on I-75
2.0703.3312 US 24 (Telegraph Road)
Ash Township5.4548.7775Carleton, South RockwoodConnects to Carleton Rockwood Road
Monroe–Wayne
county line		Ash–Huron township line7.65012.3118Will Carleton Road – Flat Rock
WayneHuron Township10.66417.16211South Huron RoadSigned southbound as exits 11A (east) and 11B (west); north access to Willow Metropark
12.65320.36313Sibley Road – New BostonProvides access to Downriver
John D. Dingell
Drive
17.19727.67617
Detroit Metro Airport
North airport access via Merriman Road; exit 194 on I-94
Ecorse Road – Romulus
Connects to Willow Run Airport
Canton22.01235.42522 US 12 (Michigan Avenue) – Wayne, Ypsilanti
24.98740.21325 M-153 (Ford Road) – Canton, Westland
Plymouth Township
27.55144.33928Ann Arbor Road – Plymouth, Livonia
29.388–
29.949		47.295–
48.198		29
Detroit

 M-14 west – Ann Arbor
Southern end of I-96 concurrency; exit not numbered for southbound traffic; exit numbers follow I-96's numbering from here northward; northern terminus of I-275 at northern I-96 merge point according to FHWA
Livonia31.21750.2391706 Mile Road
32.21451.8431697 Mile RoadSigned as exits 169A (west) and 169B (east) northbound
8 Mile Road (Baseline Road) – Northville
OaklandFarmington Hills35.02656.369165
 I-96 west – Lansing

 I-696 east – Port Huron
M-5 (Grand River Avenue)		Northern end of I-96 concurrency at northern terminus of I-275; exit 1 on I-696
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

  •  
    Michigan Highways portal

References

  1. ^ a b Michigan Department of Transportation (2021). Next Generation PR Finder (Map). Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Adderly, Kevin (January 27, 2016). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as of December 31, 2015". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on May 11, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  3. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Google (May 31, 2016). "Overview Map of I-275" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  5. OCLC 42778335, 900162490
    .
  6. ^ a b c d e Michigan Department of Transportation (January 2011). Michigan's Railroad System (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Detroit Area inset. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  7. ^
    OCLC 42778335, 900162490
    .
  8. Wall Street Journal. Archived
    from the original on April 18, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  9. ^
    OCLC 1645522
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  10. OCLC 49819797
    .
  11. OCLC 773666955
    .
  12. ^
    OCLC 4165975. Retrieved March 3, 2010 – via Wikimedia Commons
    .
  13. ^ Michigan State Highway Department (April 25, 1958). "Recommended Interstate Route Numbering for Michigan". Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. Archived from the original on August 5, 2004. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  14. ^
    OCLC 22646576
    .
  15. OCLC 12701177, 83138602
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  16. OCLC 12701177, 320798754
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  17. ^
    Gross Domestic Product deflator
    figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  18. ^ a b Michigan Department of State Highways and Transportation Planning Section (June 8, 1977). Proposed Trunkline Numbering Changes Related to the Completion of the I-96 Freeway (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan Department of State Highways and Transportation. Retrieved June 3, 2019 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  19. ^ a b Conner, Robert E (April 11, 1979). "Removing I-296 Signs in Grand Rapids". Letter to Donald E. Trull. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved June 3, 2019 – via Wikisource.
  20. ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (October 13, 1979). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 1. Retrieved August 2, 2014 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  21. ^ Merchant, David A. (December 3, 1979). "Removal of I-296 Designation, Grand Rapids". Letter to John P. Woodford. Lansing, Michigan: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved June 3, 2019 – via Wikisource.
  22. ^ a b Kanillopoolos, John J. (October 19, 1982). "Dual and Triple Routing on State Trunklines". Letter to Trunkline Numbering Committee. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 3, 2019 – via Wikisource.
  23. ^ Kanillopoolos, John J. (March 17, 1983). "Dual and Triple Routing on State Trunklines". Letter to Trunkline Numbering Committee. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 3, 2019 – via Wikisource.
  24. ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (October 1, 1983). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Retrieved August 2, 2014 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  25. ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (October 11, 1985). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Retrieved August 2, 2014 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  26. ^ a b Michigan Department of State Highways (1975). Proposed M-275, Oakland County. Lansing: Michigan Department of State Highways.
  27. ^ a b "Road Extension Plans Won't Occur, Planner Predicts". Spinal Column Newsweekly. West Bloomfield, Michigan. May 1, 1985.
  28. OCLC 10117334
    . Retrieved July 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^
    OCLC 10117334
    . Retrieved July 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. OCLC 10117334
    . Retrieved July 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^
    OCLC 1645522
    .
  32. ^ "North–South Corridor? As State Prioritizes Projects, Answer Needed on West Oakland Route". Spinal Column Newsweekly. West Bloomfield, Michigan. May 1, 1985.
  33. OCLC 15217724
    .
  34. OCLC 15217591
    .
  35. OCLC 9793701. Archived
    from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  36. OCLC 137348716
    .
  37. OCLC 27033604
    .
  38. OCLC 137348716
    .
  39. OCLC 137348716
    .
  40. ^ a b Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance. "I-275 Bikeway". Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance. Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  41. ^ Michigan Trails & Greenway Alliance (September 7, 2006). Reviving the I-275 Bikeway: The Potential for Community Enhancement (PDF) (Report). Michigan Trails & Greenway Alliance. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  42. ^ Admin (September 15, 2011). "I-275 Grand Re-Opening". Friends of the I-275 Metro Trail. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  43. ^ Rockford Advertising (2016). "I-275 Metro Trail North". Michigan Trails Magazine. Rockford Advertising. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  44. ^ Rockford Advertising (2016). "I-275 Metro Trail North" (PDF) (Map). Michigan Trails Magazine. Scale not given. Rockford Advertising. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
    Rockford Advertising (2016). "I-275 Metro Trail South" (PDF) (Map). Michigan Trails Magazine. Scale not given. Rockford Advertising. Retrieved July 5, 2016.

External links

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