M-94 (Michigan highway)

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Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the state trunkline highway in Michigan. For the Interstate Highway, see Interstate 94 in Michigan.

Lake Superior Circle Tour
Major junctions
West end M-553 at K. I. Sawyer
Major intersections
South end US 2 in Manistique
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountiesMarquette, Alger, Schoolcraft
Highway system
←
BL I-94
→ M-95

M-94 is a

Lake Superior Circle Tour during a concurrency with M-28
. M-94 crosses the Siphon Bridge in Manistique, unique for the fact that the bridge roadway is below water level.

M-94 has been realigned several times. It has had its own roadway between the M-28 junctions in

Shingleton. Other changes have flip-flopped M-94 with M-28 between Harvey
and Munising and extended it across the former K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base.

Route description

Hiawatha National Forest road sign on M-28/M-94 in Alger County west of Shingleton

M-94 begins at an intersection with

Shingleton. Until the turn at Shingleton, the route is more decidedly east–west than north–south. Between Shingleton and Manistique, M-94 is more north–south.[3]

South of Shingleton, M-94 runs through forest lands as a part of the

Steuben. South of Crooked Lake, M-94 curves to the east before turning almost due south to the Manistique area.[3] In Manistique, M-94 enters town on North 5th St before turning to follow Deer Street and River Street. On River Street, the trunkline uses the Siphon Bridge to cross the Manistique River and then uses Elk and Maple streets before terminating at US 2 at Lakeshore Drive.[4]

Siphon Bridge

In Manistique, M-94 crosses the Manistique River on the "Siphon Bridge". Built as a part of a raceway flume on the river, the water level actually used to be higher than the road surface. This produced a siphon effect, giving the bridge its nickname. The Manistique Pulp and Paper Company was organized in 1916 and needed a dam on the Manistique River to supply their mill. This dam would have needed to flood a large section of the city. The shallow river banks meant difficulties in any bridge construction. Instead of expensive dikes, a concrete tank was built lengthwise in the river bed. The sides of this tank provided man-made banks higher than the natural banks. The Michigan Works Progress Administration described the bridge as having, "concrete bulkheads, formed by the side spans of the bridge, [that] allow the mill to maintain the water level several feet above the roadbed."[5] The bridge acted as a siphon because the water level was above the roadway,[6] and the structure has been featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not![7]

History

Bridge over the Chocolay River

The December 1927 Michigan State Highway Department Official Highway Service Map shows M-94 routed from

H-15) and southerly to Shingleton.[8] This routing was abandoned on November 7, 1963.[9] It was later extended westward to Harvey in 1939.[10][11] In 1941, the portion of M-94 west from Munising to Harvey was made a part of M-28, and M-94 was extended along its current routing from Munising to US 41.[12][13] M-94 was extended for the last time in 1998 over US 41 and through the old K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base to end at a newly designated M-553.[14][15] In October 2016, heavy rainfall cause the culverts directing the Chocolay River under M-94 in West Branch Township to fail. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) started construction of a 129-foot-long (39 m), concrete, single-span bridge at a cost of $1.8 million on March 6, 2017, and opened the structure to traffic on June 28 of the same year.[16]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
MarquetteK. I. Sawyer0.0000.000 M-553 – Gwinn, Marquette
West Branch Township8.03712.934
 CR 545 north		Southern terminus of northern segment of CR 545
8.53413.734
 CR 545 south		Northern terminus of southern segment of CR 545
Skandia Township10.79217.368
 US 41 north – Marquette		Northern end of US 41 concurrency
11.85819.084
 US 41 south – Escanaba

 CR 541 south		Southern end of US 41 concurrency; northern terminus of CR 541
Dukes
14.73123.707
 CR 533 south		Northern terminus of CR 533
Traunik
Northern terminus of southern segment of H-01
Deerton
Southern terminus of northern segment of H-01
26.94743.367
Trenary
Northern terminus of M-67
Au Train
Southern terminus of H-03
H-05
south		Northern terminus of H-05
LSCT west – Munising
Western end of M-28/LSCT concurrency
Nahma
Van Meer
Eastern end of M-28/LSCT concurrency
Steuben
Northern terminus of CR 437
Thompson Township67.241108.214
 CR 449 south		Northern terminus of CR 449
Manistique85.230137.164
 CR 440 west (State Street)		Eastern terminus of CR 440
85.490137.583
 CR 442 west (Deer Street) – Cooks		Eastern terminus of CR 442
86.983139.986
LMCT – Escanaba, St. Ignace
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 12701195, 79754957
    .
  3. ^
    OCLC 42778335
    .
  4. ^ Google (August 4, 2008). "Overview Map of M-94" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  5. ^ Hunt, Mary & Hunt, Don (2007). "Manistique: Siphon Bridge and Water Tower". Hunt's Guide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Albion, MI: Midwestern Guides. Retrieved September 15, 2006.
  6. Archive.org
    .
  7. ^ Staff (February 13, 2007). "Road & Highway Facts". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  8. OCLC 12701195, 79754957
    .
  9. ^ Michigan Department of Transportation (n.d.). "Alger County" (PDF) (Map). Right-of-Way File Application. Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Sheet 56. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
  10. OCLC 12701143
    .
  11. OCLC 12701143
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  12. OCLC 12701143
    .
  13. OCLC 12701143
    .
  14. ^ Truscott, John (September 24, 1998). "MDOT Accepts Responsibility for 120 Miles of Local Roads" (Press release). Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 15, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  15. OCLC 42778335, 55974644
    . Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  16. ISSN 0898-4964
    . Retrieved June 28, 2017.

External links

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