Interstate 496 partially coincident with U.S. Route 127 in Michigan
Continuing eastward, I-496 passes north of the assembly plant complex and south of the central business district. East of a partial interchange with Walnut Street, the freeway passes the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame, which is located on I-496's southern service drive. The south side of the freeway is adjacent to Cooley Gardens near the confluence of the Grand and Red Cedar rivers. I-496 crosses the Grand River downstream from the confluence and meets the eastern terminus of the Capitol Loop. This interchange with Cedar and Larch streets is also a connection to Business Loop I-96 (BL I-96) and Pennsylvania Avenue. St. Joseph Street ends after the connection to Pennsylvania Avenue. The main freeway crosses a rail line owned by CSX Transportation. I-496 runs parallel to the north side of the rail line while Malcolm X Street follows to the south as far as the Clemens Avenue overpass. The freeway then crosses into East Lansing near the Red Cedar Natural Area.After crossing the city line, I-496 turns southward and merges with US 127. The two highways run concurrently, and they cross a line of the Canadian National Railway. The freeway runs along the western edge of the campus of Michigan State University. South of campus, I-496/US 127 crosses back into Lansing and has an interchange with Jolly Road before entering Delhi Township. About two-thirds of a mile (1.1 km) south of Jolly Road, I-496 meets I-96 and terminates; US 127 continues southward as a freeway toward Jackson.The first section of I-496 was opened in December 1963, and ran from I-96 northerly to M-43/M-78 (Saginaw and Kalamazoo streets) between Lansing and East Lansing. The freeway, comprising the southern two-thirds, was designated I-496/M-78/BL I-96 while the northern portion was on city streets as M-78/BL I-96. Some 50 men completed the work by year's end; they went entirely without vacation time to accomplish the feat. Another section of freeway was opened in 1966, and US 127 was rerouted to follow I-496/M-78. BL I-96 was removed from I-496/US 127/M-78 and routed along the former US 127. The freeway segment north of the Trowbridge Road interchange continuing northward as part of US 127 was opened in 1969. Another section opened at the same time was the western section from I-96 to Lansing Road (then US 27) in 1969. The remaining section between M-99 (then Logan Street, now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) and I-496/US 127 opened on December 18, 1970, completing construction.The freeway underwent a $42.4 million reconstruction (equivalent to $62.9 million in 2021) between April and November 2001 which included the rehabilitation or reconstruction of 35 bridges, 8.5 miles (13.7 km) of freeway, and the addition of a weave-merge lane between Pennsylvania Avenue and US 127. Speed limits were raised along I-496 from 55 to 70 mph (89 to 113 km/h) in 2007 to reflect the speeds motorists were driving during studies conducted by MDOT and the Michigan State Police.
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