page_title: M-553 (Michigan highway)
section_title: Future
hierarchical_section_title: M-553 (Michigan highway) / Future
caption_attribution_description: English: Glass' Curve on M-553 in Marquette, Michigan
context_page_description: M-553 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. It connects M-35 near Gwinn with the Marquette Bypass, an expressway carrying US Highway 41 and M-28 in Marquette. M-553 connects Marquette with Sawyer International Airport at the unincorporated community of K.I. Sawyer AFB, the former site of a US Air Force base, in the Sands Plains area of Marquette County. The intersection with County Road 480 in Sands Township, known locally as the Crossroads, is the site of several businesses. North of this location, M-553 runs through some hilly terrain around a local ski hill.
  The trunkline was originally County Road 553 in Marquette County. CR 553 dates back to the 1930s, was fully paved in the 1940s, and a segment of the roadway was relocated in the 1950s. During the early 1990s, the City of Marquette extended one of their streets, McClellan Avenue, southward to connect to CR 553. The county road was transferred from the Marquette County Road Commission to the jurisdiction of the Michigan Department of Transportation on October 1, 1998. MDOT assigned most of the former county road the M-553 designation after the transfer was complete.
context_section_description: In 2012, MDOT identified a section of M-553 known as Glass' Corner as one of the more dangerous stretches of highway in the state. Short sight distances and the end of a southbound uphill passing lane immediately before the curve have resulted in serious accidents. In the short term, the department announced additional signage to warn motorists approaching this section. An audit also recommended the installation of street lighting by Sands Township. Another intermediate-term proposal is to reduce the speed limit from 55 to 50 mph (89 to 80 km/h), an action that would require the involvement of the Michigan State Police. MDOT is seeking funding for a project to straighten some of the curves and decrease the roadway's grade. Work was expected to cost $5 million and be completed by 2017 at the time. No progress at funding the Glass' Corner project has been made, and it is not listed in MDOT's 2016–2021 five-year transportation plan nor the draft for the 2017–2022 plan.
caption: Looking northbound heading downhill into Glass' Corner
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