M-53 (Michigan highway)

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M-53 marker

M-53

Map
M-53 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length120.980 mi[1] (194.698 km)
Existedc. July 1, 1919[2]–present
Major junctions
South end M-3 in Detroit
Major intersections
North end M-25 in Port Austin
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountiesWayne, Macomb, Lapeer, Sanilac, Huron
Highway system
← M-52→ M-54

M-53 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan that connects Detroit to The Thumb region. The highway starts in Detroit at a connection with M-3 and ends in Port Austin, Michigan at M-25. In between, the trunkline passes through the northern suburbs of Metro Detroit, connects to freeways like Interstate 69 (I-69) and provides access to rural farmland. In Macomb County, M-53 follows the Christopher Columbus Freeway and POW/MIA Memorial Freeway, while the remainder of the highway is known as Van Dyke Avenue in the metro area or Van Dyke Road elsewhere. The highway has also been named the Earle Memorial Highway for one of the pioneers of the Good Roads Movement and Michigan's highway system.

When the first state highways were signed in the field in 1919, M-53 was one of them, running from Detroit to

freeway segments. The freeway bypass of Romeo
was started in the 1990s and finished to its current state in 2003.

Route description

Starting at the intersection between Van Dyke Avenue and M-3 (Gratiot Avenue), M-53 runs north-northwesterly along Van Dyke in the city of Detroit. The four-lane roadway passes through residential neighborhoods on the city's east side. About a half mile (0.8 km) north of its start, M-53 meets

divided highway as it continues northward, crossing into Sterling Heights at 14 Mile Road. The highway is bounded by additional commercial and light industrial properties as it intersects Metropolitan Parkway (16 Mile Road).[3][4]

The General Motors Technical Center next to M-53 in Warren

Near 18 Mile Road, M-53 curves to the northeast and separates from Van Dyke Avenue. This separation is marked by an interchange as M-53 also transitions into a full, four-lane

Clinton River before resuming a northward course, passing to the east side of Utica in Shelby Township. M-53 runs about one mile (1.6 km) to the east of Van Dyke Avenue through the area, and north of the 23 Mile Road interchange, it curves northwesterly to draw closer to Van Dyke. The landscape is mostly residential subdivisions with parks and golf courses as the freeway exits Metro Detroit proper.[3][4] There is one last interchange near 28 Mile Road where the freeway meets Van Dyke Road, as it is now called and the Columbus Freeway designation is dropped. M-53 turns northeasterly, running as an expressway, with at-grade intersections for access at the key cross roads instead of full interchanges. The expressway section bypasses Romeo to its east, passing between the city and the Romeo State Airport. The highway is also known as the POW/MIA Memorial Freeway. There are intersections for 30 and 32 Mile roads before the highway curves to the northwest and transitions back to a rural undivided, two-lane, highway near 34 Mile Road. The POW/MIA Freeway designation drops at this point, and M-53 follows Van Dyke Road north and northwesterly through rural northern Macomb County.[3][6]

Southern end of the Christopher Columbus Freeway at the interchange with Van Dyke Road

North of Romeo, the trunkline passes through agricultural areas of The Thumb region of the state. M-53 crosses into

Burnside, M-53 intersects M-90. The two highways run concurrently for about a mile and a half (2.4 km) before separating. M-53 continues northward and crosses into Sanilac County near Marlette.[3][6] In that city, the highway crosses a branch line of the Huron and Eastern Railway (HESR)[5] before continuing through downtown. From Marlette northward, M-53 runs parallel to, and about a mile east of, the Sanilac–Tuscola county line. The highway follows Van Dyke Road through rural farming country past intersections with M-46 and M-81 and across the Cass River before crossing into Huron County.[3][6]

About six miles (9.7 km) into Huron County, the highway turns to the northeast. Near Bad Axe, Van Dyke Road curves again, turning due east into town where it becomes Huron Street. At downtown, M-53 turns north on Port Crescent Street, joining with M-142.[3][6] The two highways cross another branch line of the HESR.[5] Outside of town, the street name changes back to Van Dyke Road, and M-142 separates to the west. M-53 now follows Van Dyke Road, which is paralleled by a HESR line as far north as Kinde. The highway continues further along, meandering toward the northeast as it approaches Port Austin. M-25 merges in from the east at Grindstone Road, and the two highways run together north along Lake Street into town. At the intersection with Spring Street, M-25 turns west to follow the shoreline of Saginaw Bay, and M-53 terminates.[3][6]

M-53 is maintained by MDOT like other state highways in Michigan. As a part of these maintenance responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic that uses the roadways under its jurisdiction. These volumes are expressed using a metric called annual average daily traffic, which is a statistical calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. MDOT's surveys in 2010 showed that the highest traffic levels along M-53 were the 62,594 vehicles daily between the southern end of the freeway and M-59; the lowest counts were the 1,964 vehicles per day north of Kinde.[7] M-53 between M-3 in Detroit and the northern M-142 junction near Bad Axe has been listed on the National Highway System,[8] a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.[9]

History

M-53 was first designated by 1919; it started at Gratiot Avenue in Detroit running north through Centerline, and Utica to eventually end east of Elkton on M-31.[2] An extension in 1926 moved the northern terminus to Port Austin along the former M-19.[10] A new route near Imlay City was opened in 1932,[11][12] with the southern section of the bypass opened in 1937.[13][14] The trunkline was completely paved by 1940 when the last 11 miles (18 km) were paved in Huron and Sanilac counties.[15][16]

The first divided highway section was completed in 1952 in Warren,

I-96.[22][23] Construction started on the Romeo Bypass in 1989.[24][25] Completed in 1992, the bypass extended a two-lane expressway to 34 Mile Road.[26][27] Further construction on the remaining two lanes was started in 2002.[28] When it was finished in 2003, the highway had two remaining intersections but is otherwise a limited-access freeway. The old highway was transferred to local control and removed from the state trunkline highway system.[29][30]

Memorial highway designations

The freeway section of M-53 is officially known as the

Italian American population. This designation was approved by the Michigan Legislature in 1978. The expressway section that bypasses Romeo is known as the POW/MIA Memorial Freeway in honor of American prisoners of war and those who were and are missing in action. The remainder has been named Van Dyke Avenue or Van Dyke Road. That name honors James A. Van Dyke, a prominent attorney in Detroit in the 19th century. Van Dyke was the prosecutor for Wayne County, as well as both city attorney and mayor of Detroit. The street through Detroit was named in his honor, and as the highway was extended northward, the name was carried with it.[31]

The last name applied to M-53 is the Earle Memorial Highway, named in honor of

Michigan State Highway Department, which is now MDOT. When the original legislation creating a highway agency was declared unconstitutional in 1903, he kept the job in an unofficial capacity until the Legislature could rectify the situation. Earle designated that the first mile of state reward road in The Thumb, and residents formed a group to lobby to have the road named in his honor. The State Highway Commissioner Murray Van Wagoner designated M-53 in Earle's memory in April 1939, and the Legislature legislation two years later honoring him, but not officially naming the road. That was corrected in 2001 when the statutes naming various highways in the state were consolidated, and M-53 was officially designated the Earle Memorial Highway.[31]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Detroit
0.0000.000 M-3 (Gratiot Avenue) – Roseville, Downtown Detroit
0.5760.927
Chicago
Exit 218 on I-94
Detroit–Warren city line
4.886–
4.906		7.863–
7.895		 M-102 (8 Mile Road)8 Mile Road is the county line
MacombCenter Line–Warren city line7.890–
7.904		12.698–
12.720		 I-696 – Port Huron, LansingExit 23 on I-696
Sterling Heights12.985–
13.014		20.897–
20.944		Metropolitan Parkway (16 Mile Road)
15.11624.327South end of freeway
15.27924.58915Van Dyke Avenue north, 18 ½ Mile Road west
17.530–
17.580		28.212–
28.292		17
Mt. Clemens, Pontiac
Signed as 17A (east) and 17B (west) northbound
Shelby Charter Township20.58333.1252023 Mile RoadSigned as 20A (east) and 20B (west) northbound
Shelby–Washington township line23.73238.1932326 Mile RoadSigned as 23A (east) and 23B (west) northbound
Washington Township25.03340.28725Van Dyke Avenue – RomeoChannelized intersection; no exit number southbound; no northbound entrance; northern end of freeway and southern end of expressway
28.00545.07030 Mile RoadCross intersection
Romeo30.17648.56432 Mile Road – Downtown RomeoCross intersection
Bruce Township31.14550.12333 Mile Road, McKay RoadNorthbound exit and entrance only
32.00751.510Northern end of expressway
LapeerImlay City44.973–
44.998		72.377–
72.417		 I-69 – Port Huron, FlintExit 168 on I-69
Burnside
59.55895.849
 M-90 east – Brown City		Southern end of M-90 concurrency
Burnside Township61.04498.241
 M-90 west – North Branch		Northern end of M-90 concurrency
SanilacLamotte Township73.691118.594 M-46 – Sandusky, Saginaw
Greenleaf Township86.703139.535
 M-81 west – Caro		Eastern terminus of M-81
HuronBad Axe103.855167.138
 M-142 east (Sand Beach Road) – Harbor Beach		Southern end of M-142 concurrency
Colfax Township105.345169.536
 M-142 west – Elkton		Northern end of M-142 concurrency
LHCT south – Port Hope, Harbor Beach
South end of M-25/LHCT concurrency
120.980194.698
LHCT west / Spring Street – Caseville
North end of M-25/LHCT concurrency
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. ^
    OCLC 15607244
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Google (May 19, 2012). "Overview Map of M-53" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  4. ^
    OCLC 42778335, 786008212
    .
  5. ^ a b c d e Michigan Department of Transportation (January 2011). Michigan's Railroad System (PDF) (Map). Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  6. ^
    OCLC 42778335, 786008212
    .
  7. ^ Bureau of Transportation Planning (2008). "Traffic Monitoring Information System". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  8. ^ Michigan Department of Transportation (April 23, 2006). National Highway System, Michigan (PDF) (Map). Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  9. ^ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  10. ^ Michigan State Highway Department (December 1, 1926). Official Highway Condition Map (Map). [c. 1:823,680]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department.
  11. OCLC 12701053
    .
  12. OCLC 12701053
    .
  13. OCLC 12701143
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  14. OCLC 12701143
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  15. OCLC 12701143
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  16. OCLC 12701143
    .
  17. OCLC 12701120
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  18. OCLC 12701120
    .
  19. OCLC 12701120
    .
  20. OCLC 12701120
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  21. ^ "M-53 Dedication Set". Ironwood Daily Globe. Associated Press. November 5, 1965. p. 7. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  22. OCLC 12701120
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  23. OCLC 12701120
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  24. OCLC 42778335
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  25. OCLC 42778335
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  26. OCLC 42778335, 318947496
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  27. OCLC 42778335, 52515351
    .
  28. OCLC 42778335
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  29. OCLC 42778335
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  30. OCLC 42778335, 53197160
    .
  31. ^
    ISBN 1-886167-24-9
    .

External links

KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/M-53 (Michigan highway)
KML is from Wikidata
  • M-53 at Michigan Highways

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