Interstate 69 in Michigan

Infobox road
state=MI
type=I
route=69
maint=

---

length_mi=201.39
length_round=2
length_ref=Cite web |author=Bessert, Christopher J. |work= Michigan Highways |url=http://www.michiganhighways.org/listings/MichHwys60-69.html#I-069 |title= Michigan Highways: Highways 60 through 69 |date= 2008-01-01 |accessdate=2008-05-06]
direction_a=South
direction_b=North
terminus_a=Jct|state=IN|I|69 at Indiana state line
junction=Jct|state=MI|I|94 near Marshall
Jct|state=MI|I|96 near Lansing
Jct|state=MI|I|496 near Lansing
Jct|state=MI|I|75 in Flint
Jct|state=MI|I|475 in Flint
Jct|state=MI|I|94 near Port Huron
terminus_b=Jct|state=ON|Hwy|402 at Canadian border on Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron
previous_type=M
previous_route=68
next_type=M
next_route=69In the U.S. state of Michigan, Interstate 69 passes through the large cities of Lansing and Flint. At Lansing, it changes direction from north-south to east-west. In Flint, I-69 is also known as the Chevrolet-Buick Freeway, as a tribute to the Flint automotive industry. A convert|30|mi|km|0|sing=on|lk=on stretch of I-69 between Flint and Perry is designated as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway. Until 2002, US 27 was cosigned with I-69 from the state line north to the Lansing area.

Route description

I-69 starts in Michigan at the state line just south of Kinderhook. This is just north of an interchange with the Indiana Toll Road. I-69 runs north passing through Coldwater and Marshall. Near Olivet, I-69 begins to turn in a northeasterly direction passing through the Lansing metropolitan area. Here I-69 is cosigned on with I-96, the only such palindromic pairing in the entire Interstate Highway System. In addition, it is the only jointly named highway to hit a Canadian Border Crossing. I-69 is signed east-west from Lansing through Flint to Port Huron. At the eastern terminus, I-69 joins I-94 to cross the Blue Water Bridges at the Canadian border over the St. Clair River.

I-69 is currently the only mainline Interstate highway in Michigan that's outside of the Metro Detroit area.

History

The earliest freeway portion of I-69 is a stretch built in three stages from 1959 to 1961 running from near Perry to Swartz Creek as the M-78 freeway. Another stretch of current I-69 alignment was built in 1966 as part of M-21 near Port Huron. The M-78 freeway was extended eastward passing through Flint and ending at Lapeer in 1971. The M-78 portion of the extended freeway ended in Flint and the stretch of the freeway from the Genesee/Shiawassee County line to Lapeer was designated M-21.

Temporary Interstate 69 between Charlotte and Morrice was a divided highway originally designated as part of M-78. I-69 also replaced part of M-21 east of Flint. The convert|12|mi|km|0|sing=on stretch of I-69 between Charlotte and I-96 was opened in October 1992. It completed Michigan's original state-wide Interstate Highway System, although plans for a northern stretch of I-275 outside Detroit were abandoned because of local opposition.

Exit list

References

External links

* [http://www.state-ends.com/michigan/i69/ I-69 @ Michigan Ends]