# List of Interstate Highways in Michigan

The Interstate Highways in Michigan are the segments of the national Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways that are owned and maintained by the U.S. state of Michigan, totaling about 1,239 miles (1,994 km). The longest of these, Interstate 75 (I-75), is also the longest highway of any kind in the state. On a national level, the standards and numbering for the system are handled by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), while the highways in Michigan are maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA). The Interstates in Michigan have their origins in World War II-era expressways built in the Detroit area. After the system was created in 1956, the state highway department completed its first border-to-border Interstate in 1960. The last highway was completed in 1992, giving Michigan a total of 13 Interstate freeways. The original allotment of mileage to Michigan which would receive federal funding was expanded in 1968, and the United States Congress designated an additional highway in the 1990s that has not yet been built.
There are also 26 current business routes that connect cities bypassed by the Interstates; 22 are business loops that connect on both ends to their parent highway, and four are business spurs that connect on only one end. I-496 had the Capitol Loop as its connection to the Michigan State Capitol in downtown Lansing. Another six business routes have been designated but are either no longer signed or maintained as state highways.

## Description

MDOT is the agency responsible for the day-to-day maintenance and operations of the State Trunkline Highway System, which includes the Interstate Highways in Michigan. These highways are built to Interstate Highway standards, meaning they are all freeways with minimum requirements for full control of access, design speeds of 50 to 70 miles per hour (80 to 113 km/h) depending on type of terrain, a minimum of two travel lanes in each direction, and specific widths of lanes or shoulders; exceptions from these standards have to be approved by the FHWA. The numbering scheme used to designate the Interstates was developed by AASHTO, an organization composed of the various state departments of transportation in the United States.
The Interstate Highway System covers about 1,240 miles (2,000 km) in the state and consists of four primary highways and nine auxiliary highways. There are additional 29 business routes associated with the system in Michigan. The longest segment of Interstate Highway in the state is Interstate 75 (I-75) at just under 396 miles (637 km); the shortest is I-375 at 1.1 miles (1.8 km). The length of I-75, the longest highway of any kind in the state, includes the Mackinac Bridge, which is maintained by the MBA, the only section of state highway not under MDOT jurisdiction. The Mackinac Bridge is one of three monumental bridges in the state used by I-75; the others are the Zilwaukee and International bridges. A fourth, the privately owned Ambassador Bridge connects I-75 and I-96 in Detroit to Canada.

## History

Construction of the first expressways in Michigan predates the Interstate Highway System. During World War II, the Michigan State Highway Department (MSHD) built the Willow Run and Detroit Industrial expressways (now part of I-94) to carry workers from Detroit to the defense plants at Willow Run Airport. The state created the Michigan Turnpike Authority (MTA) in 1951, which proposed the construction of a toll freeway to run north–south in the state. The original termini for the Michigan Turnpike were Bridgeport and Rockwood. Interagency politics stalled progress on any proposed turnpikes while MSHD had three freeways under planning or construction.
The Interstate Highway System was authorized by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, and the state had already designed several freeways for its portion of that system. Seizing the opportunity brought by a 1957 state law, the department sold $700 million in bonds (equivalent to $5.81 billion in 2011) in the late 1950s and early 1960s to finance land purchases and construction of the new freeways. The goal was to connect every city with a population over 50,000 with four-lane freeways that could accommodate rural traffic traveling at 70 mph (110 km/h). The MSHD delayed numbering these freeways as part of the Interstate Highway System until the federal government had finalized the designations to be assigned to Michigan's freeways. The first highway to be signed as an Interstate in Michigan was I-75, which received signage in late 1959, along a section near the Ohio state line that opened to traffic in October 1957. I-94 was the first of the Interstates to be completed border to border in a US state. In 1974, the state implemented mileage-based exit numbers along the Interstates in Michigan.
The MSHD asked for 600 miles (970 km) in additions to the state's Interstate mileage in 1968. Included in these requests were the extension of the Davison Freeway (now M-8), the extension of I-69 from Marshall to Port Huron, and the conversion of the northern sections of US Highway 23 (US 23) and US 131. Of these, the I-69 proposal was approved when the United States Congress extended it to terminate in at I-75 in Flint. The highway was lengthened twice more: to I-475 in 1973 and to Port Huron on February 10, 1987. These last two extensions were classified non-chargeable mileage, or segments not financed through the Interstate Highway fund. The federal government paid 90 percent of the cost of the chargeable mileage originally approved.
The last of Michigan's Interstates to be completed was I-69, the last segment of which opened in 1992. Since then, the United States Congress has designated an additional primary Interstate, I-73 in the state. All studies by MDOT on that highway were cancelled in 2001 over funding concerns. Press reports state there is a "lack of need" for the freeway in the state, and the department has no plans to revive I-73 as of 2011. If built as designated, I-73 would cross into Michigan near Toledo, Ohio, and connect Jackson, Lansing, and Clare to I-75 at Grayling.

## Primary Interstates

| Number | Length (mi) | Length (km) | Southern or western terminus | Northern or eastern terminus | Formed | Removed | Notes |
| I-69 | 202.317 | 325.598 | I-69 at Kinderhook Township | Hwy. 402 at Port Huron | 01967-10-111967 | current | Last Interstate completed in Michigan when finished in 1992; segments named the Chevrolet (or Chevrolet-Buick) Freeway, or the Pearl Harbor or Purple Heart highways |
| I-75 | 395.916 | 637.165 | I-75 at Erie Township | International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie | 01959-10-011959 | current | I-75 is the longest highway of any kind in Michigan and the only highway on both of the Upper & Lower peninsulas. It is the only freeway in the Upper Peninsula and was completed in 1973. Segments are named the Detroit–Toledo, Fisher, Chrysler, American Legion, Prentiss M. Brown and G. Mennon Williams freeways |
| I-94 | 275.398 | 443.210 | I-94 at New Buffalo Township | Hwy. 402 at Port Huron | 01959-11-011959 | current | First Interstate Highway completed between state borders in 1960; sections named the Detroit Industrial or Edsel Ford freeways |
| I-96 | 192.032 | 309.046 | US 31 & Bus. US 31 in Norton Shores | I-75 in Detroit | 01959-11-011959 | current | One section previously known as the Brighton–Farmington Freeway, other sections named the Jeffries and Rosa Parks freeways; completed in 1977 |
* Primary Interstates
* I-69 approaching exit 70
* Looking south along I-75 (Chrysler Freeway) at the Detroit skyline
* Mackinac Bridge and I-75 over the Straits of Mackinac
* I-94 at Park Road near Coloma
* I-96 near its western terminus
* Local-express lanes along I-96 (Jeffries Freeway)
* Twin-span Blue Water Bridge carrying I-69 and I-94

## Auxiliary Interstates

| Number | Length (mi) | Length (km) | Southern or western terminus | Northern or eastern terminus | Formed | Removed | Notes |
| I-194 | 3.374 | 5.430 | I-94 and M-66 in Battle Creek | M-66 in Battle Creek | 01961-01-011961 | current | Called the Sojourner Truth Downtown Parkway, or The Penetrator, I-194 serves as a spur into downtown Battle Creek and was completed in 1966. |
| I-196 | 30.073 | 48.398 | US 31 and BS I-196/Bus. US 31 in Norton Shores | I-96 in Grand Rapids | 01959-01-011959 | 01963-01-011963 | Now the western end of I-96, I-196 was a spur from Grand Rapids to Muskegon completed in 1962. |
| I-196 | 80.629 | 129.760 | I-94/US 31 in Benton Township near Benton Harbor | I-96/M-37 in Grand Rapids | 01963-01-011963 | current | The Gerald R. Ford Freeway was completed in 1974 as a connector from Grand Rapids to I-94 in the Benton Harbor–St. Joseph area. |
| I-275 | 35.026 | 56.369 | I-75 in Frenchtown Township near Newport | I-96, I-696 and M-5 in Novi | 01974-01-011974 | current | Completed in 1977 as a partial western bypass of Detroit. |
| I-296 | 3.189 | 5.132 | I-196 and US 131 in Grand Rapids | I-96 in Walker | 01962-12-171962 | current | Michigan was granted approval to remove signage referring to I-296 on December 3, 1979. The freeway is signed as US 131 and connects I-96 and I-196 near downtown Grand Rapids. |
| I-375 | 1.147 | 1.846 | BS I-375 in Detroit | I-75 in Detroit | 01964-06-121964 | current | I-375 is the southern end of the Walter P. Chrysler Freeway, and as of 2007 it was the shortest signed Interstate in the country, but I-110 in Texas has been signed since then. I-375 is a spur connecting the Detroit Riverfront area to I-75. |
| I-475 | 16.866 | 27.143 | I-75 in Grand Blanc Township | I-75/US 23 in Mount Morris Township | 01973-01-011973 | current | Called the David Dunbar Buick Freeway, or the UAW Freeway, I-475 is a loop into Downtown Flint completed in 1981. |
| I-496 | 11.481 | 18.477 | I-96/I-69 in Delta Township | I-96 and US 127 in Delhi Township | 01963-01-011963 | current | I-496 is the R. E. Olds Freeway, a loop into Downtown Lansing completed in 1970 |
| I-675 | 7.929 | 12.760 | I-75/US 23 in Buena Vista Township | I-75/US 23 in Zilwaukee Township | 01971-01-011971 | current | I-675 is a loop into downtown Saginaw. |
| I-696 | 28.368 | 45.654 | I-96/I-275 and M-5 in Novi | I-94 in St. Clair Shores | 01963-01-011963 | current | Walter P. Reuther Freeway; completed in 1989 |
| Former ||||||||
* Auxiliary Interstates
* I-194/M-66, the Sojourner Truth Downtown Parkway
* I-196 entering downtown Grand Rapids
* Looking south at the I-96/I-275 split
* Unsigned I-296 from across the Grand River
* Northern end of I-375 where it merges into I-75 near Gratiot Avenue in Detroit
* I-496 in Lansing
* I-675 crossing Schaefer Street in Saginaw
* Pedestrian plazas along I-696 in Oak Park
* Satellite image of the junction of I-96, I-275 and I-696

## Proposed Interstates

| Number | Southern or western terminus | Northern or eastern terminus | Notes |
| I-67 | South Bend, IN | Kalamazoo | Proposed designation in 1957 for what was shifted to become I-69 |
| I-67 | Benton Harbor | Grand Rapids | Later proposed in 1958 and 1963 for what became I-196 |
| I-73 | Newport | Novi | Proposed in 1958 for what became I-275 |
| I-73 | Ottawa Lake | Grayling | Designated by Congress in 1991 and 1995, but all future study halted by MDOT; essentially removed from consideration |
| I-77 | Erie | Port Huron | Proposed designation in 1957 for what became I-94 from Detroit to Port Huron and cosigned with I-75 from Detroit to state line |
| I-92 | Benton Harbor | Detroit | Proposed designation in 1957 for what became I-94 from Detroit to Benton Harbor |
| I-94N | Muskegon | Grand Rapids | Proposed designation in 1957 for what became I-196, and now I-96 from Grand Rapids to Muskegon |
| I-98 | Novi | St. Clair Shores | Proposed designation in 1958 for what became I-696 |
| — | Grand Rapids | Mackinaw City | Request from 1968 for a designation along US 131 |
| — | Standish | Cheboygan | Request from 1968 for a designation along US 23 |

## Business routes

| Number | Length (mi) | Length (km) | Southern or western terminus | Northern or eastern terminus | Formed | Removed | Notes |
| BL I-69 | 5.202 | 8.372 | I-69 on the Ovid–Coldwater township line | I-69 in Coldwater | 01967-01-011967 | current | |
| BL I-69 | 4.891 | 7.871 | I-69 on the Carmel–Eaton township line | I-69 in Charlotte | 01974-01-011974 | current | |
| BL I-69 | 14.668 | 23.606 | I-96/I-69 and M-43 in Delta Township | I-69 in Bath Township | 01987-01-011987 | current | Longest business route in the state, serves Lansing and East Lansing |
| BL I-69 | 5.408 | 8.703 | I-94/I-69 in Port Huron Township | I-94/I-69 in Port Huron | 01984-01-011984 | current | |
| BL I-75 | 8.384 | 13.493 | I-75 in Bloomfield Township | I-75 in Auburn Hills | 01963-01-011963 | current | Follows Woodward Avenue through downtown Pontiac |
| BL I-75 | 7.338 | 11.809 | I-75/US 10/US 23 in Buena Vista Township | I-75/US 10/US 23 in Zilwaukee Township | 01961-01-011961 | 01971-01-011971 | Previously served downtown Saginaw |
| BS I-75 | 3.047 | 4.904 | I-75/US 23 and US 10 in Monitor Township | M-25 in Bay City | 01961-01-011961 | current | Previously part of a business loop |
| BL I-75 | 5.525 | 8.892 | I-75 in Horton Township | I-75/M-55 in Ogemaw Township | 01973-01-011973 | current | Replaced Bus. M-76 through West Branch |
| BL I-75 | 6.935 | 11.161 | I-75 and M-18 in Higgins Township | I-75 on the Gerrish–Beaver Creek township line | 01973-01-011973 | current | Serves Roscommon |
| BL I-75 | 5.823 | 9.371 | I-75 in Grayling Township | I-75 and M-93 in Grayling Township | 01961-01-011961 | current | Serves Grayling |
| BL I-75 | 3.391 | 5.457 | I-75 in Bagley Township | I-75 and M-32 in Gaylord | 01986-01-011986 | current | |
| BL I-75 | 3.975 | 6.397 | I-75 and M-68 in Tuscarora Township | I-75 and M-27 in Tuscarora Township | proposed | — | Would serve Indian River if designated |
| BL I-75 | 4.719 | 7.594 | I-75 and US 2 in St. Ignace | I-75 and H-63 in Evergreen Shores | 01960-01-01c. 1960 | current | |
| BS I-75 | 5.867 | 9.442 | I-75 in Sault Ste. Marie | Portage Avenue in Sault Ste. Marie | 01962-01-011962 | current | |
| BL I-94 | 10.705 | 17.228 | I-94 in Lincoln Township | I-94/US 31 in Benton Township | 01960-11-021960 | current | Serves Benton Harbor and St. Joseph |
| BS I-94 | 2.885 | 4.643 | M-96 in Kalamazoo | I-94 in Comstock Township | 01962-01-011962 | current | Previously a full business loop, truncated in 2019 after Kalamazoo accepted jurisdiction of much of the routing; some portions retained as unsigned highway |
| BL I-94 | 14.052 | 22.615 | I-94 in Battle Creek | I-94 and M-96 in Emmett Township | 01962-01-011962 | current | |
| BL I-94 | 5.707 | 9.185 | I-94 and I-69 in Marshall Township | I-94 in Marengo Township | 01962-01-011962 | current | Serves Marshall |
| BL I-94 | 4.520 | 7.274 | I-94 in Sheridan Township | I-94 in Parma Township | 01962-01-011962 | current | Serves Albion |
| BL I-94 | 10.274 | 16.534 | I-94 in Blackman Township | I-94 in Leoni Township | 01962-01-011962 | current | Serves Jackson |
| BL I-94 | 8.436 | 13.576 | I-94 in Ann Arbor | I-94 and US 23 in Pittsfield Township | 01962-01-011962 | current | |
| BL I-94 | 8.536 | 13.737 | I-94 in Kimball Township | I-94/I-69 in Port Huron | 01986-01-011986 | current | |
| BS I-96 | 6.160 | 9.914 | Carferry docks in Muskegon | I-96, US 31 and Bus. US 31 in Norton Shores | 01963-10-211963 | 01984-01-011984 | Replaced BS I-196 |
| BS I-96 | 1.292 | 2.079 | Grand River Avenue in Portland | I-96 in Portland | 01978-09-181978 | 02007-10-312007 | |
| BL I-96 | 13.545 | 21.799 | I-96 in Watertown Township | I-96 in Lansing | 01962-01-011962 | current | |
| BL I-96 | 5.415 | 8.715 | I-96 in Howell Township | I-96 in Genoa Township | 01962-01-011962 | current | Serves Howell |
| BL I-96 | 4.365 | 7.025 | M-5 in Farmington Hills | M-5 in Farmington Hills | 01962-01-011962 | current | Now an unsigned highway along Grand River Avenue serving Farmington |
| BS I-96 | 7.033 | 11.319 | I-96 and M-5 in Detroit | Cass and Grand River avenues in Detroit | 01962-01-011962 | 02016-05-012016 | Was last an unsigned trunkline along Grand River Avenue in Detroit, replaced by an extension of M-5 |
| BS I-196 | 6.160 | 9.914 | Carferry docks in Muskegon | I-196, US 31 and Bus. US 31 in Norton Shores | 01962-12-121962 | 01963-10-211963 | Replaced by BS I-96 |
| BL I-196 | 3.572 | 5.749 | I-196/US 31 and M-140 in South Haven Township | I-196/US 31 in South Haven | 01963-01-011963 | current | |
| BL I-196 | 11.508 | 18.520 | I-196/US 31 in Laketown Township | I-196 in Zeeland Township | 01974-01-011974 | current | Serves Holland |
| BS I-196 | 2.433 | 3.916 | I-196 in Wyoming | Granville Avenue & Clyde Park Avenue on the Wyoming–Grand Rapids city line | 01974-01-011974 | current | Previously extended into Grand Rapids and terminated at US 131 before December 2017 |
| BS I-375 | 0.167 | 0.269 | M-3 and M-10 in Detroit | I-375 in Detroit | 01963-01-011963 | current | Unsigned along Jefferson Avenue |
| Capitol Loop | 2.381 | 3.832 | I-496 and M-99 in Lansing | I-496 and BL I-96 in Lansing | 01989-01-011989 | 02024-01-012024 | Also designated Connector 496 or Capitol Loop I-496 by MDOT |
| BS I-696 | 18.562 | 29.873 | I-696 and US 24 in Southfield | Jefferson Avenue in Detroit | 01961-01-01c. 1961 | 01970-01-011970 | Previous designation for the John C. Lodge Freeway, now M-10 |
| Former Proposed and unbuilt ||||||||