M-68 (Michigan highway)

Route map:
This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

M-68 marker

M-68

Map
M-68 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length53.390 mi[1] (85.923 km)
Existed1936[2]–present
Major junctions
West end US 31 at Alanson
Major intersections
East end
Bus. US 23
at Rogers City
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountiesEmmet, Cheboygan, Presque Isle
Highway system
← M-67→ I-69

M-68 is an east–west state trunkline highway located in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The western terminus of the highway begins four miles (6.4 km) east of the Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan and ends a few blocks from Lake Huron in Rogers City. M-68 skirts just south of Indian River and Burt Lake.

The first incarnation of M-68 existed in the Upper Peninsula before being absorbed into M-35. The current designation was created in 1936. A segment of highway once used by US Highway 23 (US 23) was incorporated into the trunkline as a discontinuous section in the early 1940s until it was later connected in 1946.

Route description

M-68 starts in the community of Alanson 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Little Traverse Bay in

Burt Lake. It curves southeasterly along the shoreline of the lake of the same name. The roadway rounds the south end of Burt Lake and approaches the community of Indian River. South of Burt Lake State Park, the trunkline meets Straits Highway, the former routing of US 27 through Indian River. M-68 turns north along Straits Highway through downtown and then turns east toward Interstate 75 (I-75). It is along this section of M-68 that the roadway crosses the Sturgeon River.[3] The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) measured the highest annual average daily traffic (AADT) figures for M-68 along the section of highway west of Indian River. AADT is a measure of the average number of vehicles using a segment of roadway on any given day of the year, and for 2007, MDOT measured it at 9,200 vehicles daily.[4]

After crossing I-75 at exit 310, M-68 heads southeasterly, parallel to the Crumley Creek, out of town. The roadway continues through hilly terrain and crosses the

County-Designated Highway that runs along Black River Road.[3]

M-33/M-68 cross into

Bus. US 23, which runs along Third Street. This intersection marks the end of M-68, four blocks from Lake Huron,[3] 53.390 miles (85.923 km) from its start in Alanson.[1]

History

Previous incarnation

The first highway to bear the M-68 designation was located in the western

Silver City in 1919.[6] This roadway was redesignated by 1927 as a segment of M-35.[7]

Current incarnation

M-68 was designated along a segment of its current roadway in 1936. The roadway connecting Alanson and Indian River was given the M-68 designation, while US 23 was routed between Rogers City and Afton.[2] When US 23 was moved to its current lakeshore routing between Rogers City and Cheboygan in 1940, M-33 was extended westerly from Onaway to Afton and north to Cheboygan over the former US 23 roadway. The Afton–Onaway segment of M-33 and the remainder of the former US 23 east of Onaway was designated as a second segment of M-68 as well.[8][9] The gap between these two segments was eliminated by July 1946.[10]

Two realignments were made to the highways routing. The first bypassed a bridge over the Ocqueoc River in Presque Isle County in 1954. This 50-foot (15 m) bridge was built in 1920 at a cost of $8,849 (equivalent to $101,976 in 2023[11]) in the filled spandrel arch style.[5] A second change in the routing between 1961 and 1962 moved the trunkline to a more direct connection between Indian River and Afton. This change also bypassed the last remaining gravel section of the highway.[12][13]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
LMCT – Petoskey, Mackinaw City
CheboyganIndian River11.28218.157 I-75 – Mackinac Bridge, SaginawExit 310 on I-75
Koehler–Walker township line19.57231.498
 M-33 north – Cheboygan		Western end of M-33 concurrency
F-05 north (Black River Road) – Cheboygan
Southern terminus of F-05
Presque IsleOnaway30.30348.768
 M-33 south – Atlanta		Eastern end of M-33 concurrency
30.69349.396
 M-211 north – Onaway State Park		Southern terminus of M-211
LHCT – Cheboygan, Alpena
53.39085.923
LHCT – Cheboygan, Alpena
Roadway continues northeasterly as Erie Street
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

  •  
    Michigan Highways portal

References

  1. ^ a b c Michigan Department of Transportation (2021). Next Generation PR Finder (Map). Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  2. ^
    OCLC 12701143
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e Google (October 28, 2008). "Overview Map of M-68" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
  4. ^ a b Michigan Department of Transportation (2007). Statewide AADT Map (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  5. ^ a b Staff (May 14, 2002). "Ocqueoc Falls Hwy.–Ocqueoc River". Michigan's Historic Bridges. Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
  6. OCLC 15607244
    . Retrieved December 18, 2016 – via Michigan State University Libraries.
  7. OCLC 12701195, 79754957
    .
  8. OCLC 12701143
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  9. OCLC 12701143
    .
  10. OCLC 12701120, 613361131
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  11. Gross Domestic Product deflator
    figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  12. OCLC 12701120, 51857665
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center. (Includes all changes through July 1, 1961)
  13. OCLC 12701120, 173191490
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.

External links

KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/M-68 (Michigan highway)
KML is from Wikidata
  • M-68 at Michigan Highways

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=M-68_(Michigan_highway)&oldid=1167103045"