page_title: U.S. Route 131
section_title: Freeway conversion
hierarchical_section_title: U.S. Route 131 / History / Freeway conversion
caption_attribution_description: On our way!
context_page_description: US Highway 131 is a north–south United States Highway, of which all but 0.64 of its 269.96 miles are within the state of Michigan. The highway starts in rural Indiana south of the state line as a state road connection to the Indiana Toll Road. As the road crosses into Michigan it becomes a state trunkline highway that connects to the metropolitan areas of Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids before continuing north to its terminus at Petoskey. US 131 runs as a freeway from south of Portage through to Manton in the north. Part of this freeway runs concurrently with Interstate 296 as an unsigned designation through Grand Rapids. US 131 forms an important corridor along the western side of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, running through rural farm and forest lands as well as urban cityscapes. Various names have been applied to the roadway over the years. The oldest, the Mackinaw Trail, originated from an Indian trail in the area while other names honored politicians. An attempt to dedicate the highway to poet James Whitcomb Riley failed to gain official support in Michigan.
  The first state highways along the US 131 corridor were designated as early as 1919.
context_section_description: By the end of 1957, US 131 had been realigned as an expressway from the Three Rivers bypass to Moorepark. The section of freeway in the Grand Rapids area opened near the southern county line north to 28th Street. This latter freeway segment was extended further south to Wayland by the middle of 1958. By the middle of 1960, the freeway was extended to M-118 in Martin, where traffic used M-118 to connect back to the old routing. The southern end of US 131 was moved to another location on the state line. Instead of running concurrently with US 112 between White Pigeon and Mottville, US 131 ran directly south of White Pigeon to the state line. In the process, the M-103 designation was swapped with US 131.
  The MSHD had proposed that the section of US 131 south of Kalamazoo be built as an electronic highway under a bid through General Motors the same year; the testing for such a roadway was ultimately done at Ohio State University instead. Another project, through the end of 1961, extended the freeway south to Plainwell and north into downtown Grand Rapids. This extension was designated as part of Bus. US 131 and opened in December 1961. The opening ceremony for the bridge across the Grand River included the state highway commission and the then-Miss Michigan, pulled by a team of sled dogs, to lead the first traffic over the river.
  Until the early 1960s, US 131 never left the state of Michigan; the southernmost point was always at the Indiana state line. In 1961, the highway designation was extended to its current southern terminus in rural Elkhart County, Indiana at a connection with the Indiana Toll Road at the request of the state of Michigan. The MSHD asked the Indiana State Highway Department (ISHD) to extend US 131 farther to reconnect with US 31 in Indiana near Indianapolis. Michigan State Highway Commissioner John C. Mackie said that officials with the IHSD were "receptive to the idea" of a further addition to Indianapolis which would provide a "great benefit to Michigan's tourist industry".
  On December 17, 1962, the freeway through downtown Grand Rapids was completed, including the section marked as I-296. The business loop was removed from the freeway when US 131 took its place. East Beltline Avenue was renumbered as an extension of M-44, while 28th Street retains the M-11/M-21 designations it had in addition to US 131. I-296/US 131 runs alongside the Grand River between I-96 downtown and I-196 north of town. At the end of I-296, US 131 followed I-196 east to the northern portion of the business loop at Plainfield Avenue and followed Plainfield Avenue back to the remainder of its routing north of Grand Rapids. The other end of the freeway was extended south to M-43 on the west side of Kalamazoo. Traffic there is directed along M-43 into downtown to connect with the remainder of the highway.
  Freeway construction continued through the 1960s. By the end of 1963, the southern section of freeway was extended to Schoolcraft. The following year, a business loop in Kalamazoo was created. The new loop used a freeway stub on the north and M-43 on the south to connect the main highway to the former routing of US 131 along Westnedge and Park avenues downtown. A discontinuous segment of freeway, south of Cadillac into Osceola County, opened in September 1966. The freeway was extended north from the Grand Rapids area through the Comstock Park area in 1966. That year, the former Grand Rapids Speedrome, a local race car track was closed. Located on North Park Street between the North Park Bridge and West River Drive, the track was in operation from 1950 until it was closed for the freeway construction in 1966. The freeway was extended further to M-57 (14 Mile Road) near Cedar Springs in 1969.
  In 1968, the section of expressway near Mancelona was downgraded to a two-lane highway. The original roadway had been left in place when a new parallel carriageway was built in 1956. During the winter months, the original lanes built in the 1920s were closed because the grade of the roadway accumulated additional snow and made it difficult to p
caption: Guide sign mounted to a freeway overpass
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