Clinched US-141 today.
Also got to Copper Harbor to the northern end of US-41. Now have clinched US-41 north of the Ohio River.
Oh and whomever thinks US-2 should be an interstate is insane.
Anyone know how the traffic count on M-28 stacks up to US 2? M-28 always felt as though it was the busier (not saying much) of the two highways.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 24, 2020, 09:41:19 PM
Anyone know how the traffic count on M-28 stacks up to US 2? M-28 always felt as though it was the busier (not saying much) of the two highways.
On the eastern end US-2 has by far more traffic than M-28 does. In Marquette, M-28 has more traffic than any point on US-2 in Michigan. On the western end they are about the same. Overall US-2 has more traffic in the rural areas.
I went up to the northern terminus of US-41 about three weeks ago. I loved the new asphalt all the way to the cul-de-sac. It seemed strange to see a Dead End sign and a 55 mph speed limit sign together considering I knew the road was about to end and 55 seemed like kind of a high speed limit. And as I approached the cul-de-sac I saw a deer standing next to the road, I just scared it off into the woods.
And there will never be a need for an Interstate highway across the U.P. not only is it not needed it would destroy the remoteness and beauty of the U.P.
US-2 and M-28 could use more passing lanes west of Escanaba and Marquette. On the eastern ends they're better (2 moreso than 28). But other than that, traffic will likely never justify full 4-laning, let alone a freeway.
Oops. Made an error. I have not clinched US-41 north of the Ohio. I forgot that I have not been on the portion duplexed with US-2 West of Escanaba. I don't think my wife is going to want to take that detour home. 🤪🤪🤪
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 25, 2020, 08:10:17 AM
Oops. Made an error. I have not clinched US-41 north of the Ohio. I forgot that I have not been on the portion duplexed with US-2 West of Escanaba. I don't think my wife is going to want to take that detour home. 🤪🤪🤪
I don't imagine myself doing that either, lol.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 24, 2020, 09:35:59 PM
Oh and whomever thinks US-2 should be an interstate is insane.
Yes!! Those proposals are ridiculous. The UP will never have an Interstate of its own (no, I-75 doesn't really count).
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 25, 2020, 08:10:17 AM
Oops. Made an error. I have not clinched US-41 north of the Ohio. I forgot that I have not been on the portion duplexed with US-2 West of Escanaba. I don't think my wife is going to want to take that detour home. 🤪🤪🤪
That reminds me of when I was county clinching in Wisconsin last month. I had every county around Green Lake County clinched except for Green Lake County and had to take a detour to clinch it. Blackford County, Indiana was like that for me for the longest time too.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 24, 2020, 09:35:59 PM
Oh and whomever thinks US-2 should be an interstate is insane.
If I remember correctly, there is precisely one person who thinks that. And that is the owl who must never be named–who is indeed insane.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 24, 2020, 09:41:19 PM
Anyone know how the traffic count on M-28 stacks up to US 2? M-28 always felt as though it was the busier (not saying much) of the two highways.
US-24181 = Garth - Thompson
5950 = Thompson - Manistique
5674 = Manistique - Gulliver
3388 = Gulliver - Blaney Park
4353 = Blaney Park - Gould City
3996 = Gould City - Engadine
5551 = Engadine - Naubinway
3281 = Naubinway - Hog Island CG
3484 - Hog Island CG - Epoufette
4544 = Epoufette - Manitou Payment Point
3325 = Manitou Payment Point - Brevort
3073 = Brevort - Pointe aux Chenes
4840 = Pointe aux Chenes - Gros Cap
6256 = Gros Cap - Saint Ignace
M-288548 = Harvey - L'Anse Township
4335 = L'Anse Township - Sand River
3594 = Sand River - Au Train
3839 = Au Train - Christmas
5195 = Christmas - Munising
7368 = north side of Munising
8799 = central Munising
7824 = south side of Munising
7565 = Munising - Wagner Falls
5888 = Wagner Falls - Wetmore
3981 = Wetmore - Shingleton
2773 = Shingleton - Seney
2659 = in Seney
2156 = Seney - McMillan
2659 = McMillan - Lakefield Township
4179 = Lakefield Township - Pentland Township
3003 = Pentland Township - Roberts Corner
2732 = Roberts Corner - Luce County Airport
2080 = Luce County Airport - Eckerman
1589 = Eckerman - Strongs Corner
1869 = Strongs Corner - Superior Township
3611 = Superior Township - Dafter
Quote from: kphoger on July 25, 2020, 11:42:36 AM
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 24, 2020, 09:35:59 PM
Oh and whomever thinks US-2 should be an interstate is insane.
If I remember correctly, there is precisely one person who thinks that. And that is the owl who must never be named–who is indeed insane.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 24, 2020, 09:41:19 PM
Anyone know how the traffic count on M-28 stacks up to US 2? M-28 always felt as though it was the busier (not saying much) of the two highways.
US-2
4181 = Garth - Thompson
5950 = Thompson - Manistique
5674 = Manistique - Gulliver
3388 = Gulliver - Blaney Park
4353 = Blaney Park - Gould City
3996 = Gould City - Engadine
5551 = Engadine - Naubinway
3281 = Naubinway - Hog Island CG
3484 - Hog Island CG - Epoufette
4544 = Epoufette - Manitou Payment Point
3325 = Manitou Payment Point - Brevort
3073 = Brevort - Pointe aux Chenes
4840 = Pointe aux Chenes - Gros Cap
6256 = Gros Cap - Saint Ignace
M-28
8548 = Harvey - L'Anse Township
4335 = L'Anse Township - Sand River
3594 = Sand River - Au Train
3839 = Au Train - Christmas
5195 = Christmas - Munising
7368 = north side of Munising
8799 = central Munising
7824 = south side of Munising
7565 = Munising - Wagner Falls
5888 = Wagner Falls - Wetmore
3981 = Wetmore - Shingleton
2773 = Shingleton - Seney
2659 = in Seney
2156 = Seney - McMillan
2659 = McMillan - Lakefield Township
4179 = Lakefield Township - Pentland Township
3003 = Pentland Township - Roberts Corner
2732 = Roberts Corner - Luce County Airport
2080 = Luce County Airport - Eckerman
1589 = Eckerman - Strongs Corner
1869 = Strongs Corner - Superior Township
3611 = Superior Township - Dafter
Where are you getting these traffic counts from? My biggest question is between Harvey and and L'Anse Township considering M-28 never enters L'Anse Township and in between those two locations it goes through Marquette which has traffic counts as high as 30,000 VPD.
So has FritzOwl become the Lord Voldemort of the Roadgeeking World and I missed it?
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 12:11:47 PM
So has FritzOwl become the Lord Voldemort of the Roadgeeking World and I missed it?
I haven't seen it but I am sure he has US-2 as an interstate across the U.P.
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 01:29:03 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 12:11:47 PM
So has FritzOwl become the Lord Voldemort of the Roadgeeking World and I missed it?
I haven't seen it but I am sure he has US-2 as an interstate across the U.P.
I've seen it many times, I think there was even a second at one point...maybe even one to Copper Harbor.
There are some northern Wisconsin interests pressing for a widening of US 2 east of Superior believing it will bring economic gain, but there's only 5,000 AADT across the corridor east of US 53.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 02:22:53 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 01:29:03 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 12:11:47 PM
So has FritzOwl become the Lord Voldemort of the Roadgeeking World and I missed it?
I haven't seen it but I am sure he has US-2 as an interstate across the U.P.
I've seen it many times, I think there was even a second at one point...maybe even one to Copper Harbor.
That doesn't surprise me. I'm laughing hard at the thought of one going to Copper Harbor.
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 03:46:37 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 02:22:53 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 01:29:03 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 12:11:47 PM
So has FritzOwl become the Lord Voldemort of the Roadgeeking World and I missed it?
I haven't seen it but I am sure he has US-2 as an interstate across the U.P.
I've seen it many times, I think there was even a second at one point...maybe even one to Copper Harbor.
That doesn't surprise me. I'm laughing hard at the thought of one going to Copper Harbor.
I'm surprised he hasn't made an Isle Royale-Thunder Bay connector considering he has a connection in his system to North Korea.
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 03:46:37 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 02:22:53 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 01:29:03 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 12:11:47 PM
So has FritzOwl become the Lord Voldemort of the Roadgeeking World and I missed it?
I haven't seen it but I am sure he has US-2 as an interstate across the U.P.
I've seen it many times, I think there was even a second at one point...maybe even one to Copper Harbor.
That doesn't surprise me. I'm laughing hard at the thought of one going to Copper Harbor.
But the bridge across the Portage from Houghton to Hancock would be an engineering wonder! Suspension bridge from the top of the hill to the top of the other hill? Several hundred feet above the water?
I can see one hypothetical way that another UP interstate could happen. If (and this is a big if) Ontario continued its conversion of Highway 17 to Highway 417 west from Arnprior through North Bay, Sudbury, and to the border at Sault Ste Marie, there could be political will to create a UP trade corridor interstate west of there connecting with the US 41 expressway in Wisconsin.
Likely more politics than need, but one could study if the induced demand of an Interstate-grade facility would pull enough traffic off of I-75. Travelers heading southwest could avoid Chicagoland and have improved connections to Minneapolis-St. Paul. Even then it's probably at a minimum on the 200-year plan for all of that.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 04:04:52 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 03:46:37 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 02:22:53 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 01:29:03 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 12:11:47 PM
So has FritzOwl become the Lord Voldemort of the Roadgeeking World and I missed it?
I haven't seen it but I am sure he has US-2 as an interstate across the U.P.
I've seen it many times, I think there was even a second at one point...maybe even one to Copper Harbor.
That doesn't surprise me. I'm laughing hard at the thought of one going to Copper Harbor.
I'm surprised he hasn't made an Isle Royale-Thunder Bay connector considering he has a connection in his system to North Korea.
Just wow that's some funny stuff. I don't even know why anyone would want to drive to some of these locations he has these highways going to. What makes me really laugh is when someone will mention that it's impossible to do something and he'll reply with, "my system fixes that." LMAO.
Quote from: GaryV on July 25, 2020, 04:07:09 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 03:46:37 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 02:22:53 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 01:29:03 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2020, 12:11:47 PM
So has FritzOwl become the Lord Voldemort of the Roadgeeking World and I missed it?
I haven't seen it but I am sure he has US-2 as an interstate across the U.P.
I've seen it many times, I think there was even a second at one point...maybe even one to Copper Harbor.
That doesn't surprise me. I'm laughing hard at the thought of one going to Copper Harbor.
But the bridge across the Portage from Houghton to Hancock would be an engineering wonder! Suspension bridge from the top of the hill to the top of the other hill? Several hundred feet above the water?
It'd be the highest bridge in North America for sure. When I was driving up to Copper Harbor and crossing the Portage Lift Bridge the GPS suggested I use Scott Street in Hancock, that was a nice climb up hill on the way there and down hill on the way back.
I'm planning on taking a week-long trip up to the UP this September so this recent discussion is quite timely for my purposes. I intend on starting my trip up in Duluth and heading east toward Ironwood before spending over a week all over the UP. I plan on clinching all of US 2 in Michigan and US 41, traveling north all the way to Copper Harbor and south to Menominee before heading east all the way to St. Ignace and spending a day on Mackinac Island, hitting what I hope to be a lot of waterfalls and lighthouses and gorgeous vistas of the Great Lakes. I finally am going to drive the length of I-75 from Sault Ste. Marie to the border with Ohio on my way home. I've been to the eastern half of the UP before but only in the span of about a day and a half so I look to explore much more. So I would be interested if anyone had any thoughts or suggestions while exploring this area.
Quote from: tdindy88 on July 25, 2020, 10:04:09 PM
I'm planning on taking a week-long trip up to the UP this September so this recent discussion is quite timely for my purposes. I intend on starting my trip up in Duluth and heading east toward Ironwood before spending over a week all over the UP. I plan on clinching all of US 2 in Michigan and US 41, traveling north all the way to Copper Harbor and south to Menominee before heading east all the way to St. Ignace and spending a day on Mackinac Island, hitting what I hope to be a lot of waterfalls and lighthouses and gorgeous vistas of the Great Lakes. I finally am going to drive the length of I-75 from Sault Ste. Marie to the border with Ohio on my way home. I've been to the eastern half of the UP before but only in the span of about a day and a half so I look to explore much more. So I would be interested if anyone had any thoughts or suggestions while exploring this area.
You're doing the opposite of a trip I'd like to do. I'd like to go from St. Ignace to Duluth. I was in the U.P. at the end of June I was clinching the rest of the counties I needed to clinch every county in Michigan. Those counties were all in the western U.P. I started in Saginaw where I live and once I got across the bridge I headed west on US-2 to M-117 and followed that to M-28 west all the way to Lake Michigamme where I ate dinner at Mt Shasta. After that I headed toward Iron Mountain but wished now that I had headed toward Houghton that first night instead. Going to Iron Mountain got me Florence County in Wisconsin as well but I had trouble finding a good hotel room I was going off of Google reviews and trying to figure out where I should stay. I ended up at an America's Best Value and it was decent not anything special but it was ok for me. The next morning was when I headed towards Copper Harbor and started clinching the counties but it's 3 hours from Iron Mountain to Copper Harbor which is fine because the scenery along the way is beautiful especially the closer to Houghton you get. You'll get some nice Great Lakes views of Lake Michigan along US-2 and of Lake Superior along US-41 and especially M-26 in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Going to the northern terminus of US-41 is fun so you can say you clinched that part of US-41. I took US-41 to Copper Harbor and M-26 between Copper Harbor and Phoenix which is where you will get some nice Lake Superior views. The Brockway Mountain Drive was advertised as a rough road so I skipped that since I didn't want to get halfway up there and change my mind. After Copper Harbor I headed south towards Ontonagon County and then after that I only had Gogebic to go.
Obviously you are going for a different reason than I did but I have more experience on the eastern side of the U.P.
Sault Ste. Marie is nice but is in a rather isolated location and M-134 is nice along the Lake Huron shore going towards Drummond Island. My favorite part of the U.P. is the Tahquamenon Falls area it's where M-123 does it's loop north of M-28 and close to Paradise and Whitefish Point. Pictured Rocks is beautiful as well. There are plenty of areas to see up there in a week.
My husband and I just returned home a few hours ago (to Grand Rapids MI) from a 5-day vacation to the western Upper Peninsula and back. I've lived in Michigan (the Lower Peninsula) my entire life and have been to various parts of the U.P. several times in my life... including a mini road meet in 2010 and a full-fledged 2-day road meet in 2015.
Michigan's Upper Peninsula has so many absolutely beautiful areas... as others have mentioned. I would say that it's highly underrated... especially the western part of the U.P. On the vacation we just returned home from, we stayed in Houghton for two nights and in Marquette for two nights. The highlights of our trip included multiple waterfalls (especially Bond Falls - very impressive), Lake of the Clouds in the Porcupine Mountains, the Keweenaw Peninsula (including Brockway Mountain Drive and Copper Harbor), the Houghton/Hancock area, and of course Marquette. The Houghton/Hancock area is very charming... a college town with an impressive lift bridge over Portage Lake that carries U.S. 41/M-26 to the tip of the peninsula. Marquette is also a nice college town.
We've decided that we need to return to the western U.P. for three separate vacations in the future. A big reason for this is because we felt we crammed a bit too much into it... for the short amounts of time we were in the area... especially Houghton/Hancock. On Thursday (July 23) we drove over 200 miles roundtrip from Houghton down toward Ironwood and up toward Silver City/Ontonagon for Lake of the Clouds... seeing multiple waterfalls along the way. We felt a bit rushed because my husband had a 7 p.m. phone call he needed to be on, and he wanted to be on that call from our hotel room, so we needed to be back in Houghton by 5:30-5:45 in order for us to have time for dinner before his call. It was simply too much territory for one day. In the future, we'll take one trip that focuses just on Houghton/Hancock and the Keweenaw Peninsula and a separate trip that focuses just on Ironwood/Silver City/Lake of the Clouds. We also need to do a separate trip that focuses just on Marquette.
Others have mentioned scenic stretches of U.S. 2 along Lake Michigan and of U.S. 41 along Lake Superior. I wholeheartedly agree; those sections of highway are beautiful. (I've also done M-134 in the eastern U.P. along Lake Huron which is very nice too.)
As far as other things to do in the U.P. are concerned, someone mentioned Tahquamenon Falls which is in the eastern part of the U.P. Very beautiful but a popular tourist destination. There's also the Pictured Rocks boat tours in Munising and the Michigan's largest freshwater spring (Kitch-iti-kipi) in Palms Book State Park near Manistique.
I agree with everyone who said that the U.P. does not need an east-west Interstate. Ridiculous idea.
We stayed in Houghton at a little hotel called the Vault. An old bank building right downtown on US-41. Cool little place and very safe! Just a couple blocks from Keweenaw Brewing Company, which was nice.
When I was driving to Houghton I got off US-41 in Chassell and took Chassell-Painesdale Road to CR-102 and made a left on Sharon Street in Houghton and ate breakfast at McDonald's. Then proceeded to cross the Portage Lift Bridge into Hancock and followed US-41 the rest of the way to it's northern terminus. Turned around and took M-26 along the lakeshore back to Phoenix then US-41 back to Houghton.
It seemed like it took a long time to get up to Copper Harbor though because I stayed in Norway which is about a three hour drive or so. Like I said before I wish I had stayed in Houghton.
Quote from: A.J. Bertin on July 26, 2020, 07:16:16 PM
I agree with everyone who said that the U.P. does not need an east-west Interstate. Ridiculous idea.
US 2 is a decent road with some great lake views, and it moves along nicely with the 65 mph speed limit. Other states should take a cue from the way Michigan sets their limits.
I agree that the UP is underrated, and there's not very many places I'd say that about. I've been twice and can't wait to go back sometime! :)
I was surprised that US-141 still had a 55 mph speed limit between US-2 and M-28. There was little traffic and you don't really go though anything.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 28, 2020, 08:22:36 AM
I was surprised that US-141 still had a 55 mph speed limit between US-2 and M-28. There was little traffic and you don't really go though anything.
Most likely the sight lines. To change to 65, there has to be a new engineering study to redo the passing zones. (Not that anyone actually keeps to 55, not before or after other roads were made 65.)
I also noticed that US-141 is 55 mph when I was going between Iron Mountain and Houghton. M-28 though is 65 mph for most of it's stretch. I was doing 70 mph on US-141 and only passed two other cars the entire time between Crystal Falls and M-28.
Quote from: GaryV on July 28, 2020, 08:25:34 AM
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 28, 2020, 08:22:36 AM
I was surprised that US-141 still had a 55 mph speed limit between US-2 and M-28. There was little traffic and you don't really go though anything.
Most likely the sight lines. To change to 65, there has to be a new engineering study to redo the passing zones. (Not that anyone actually keeps to 55, not before or after other roads were made 65.)
I'll go as fast as 80 mph in those 65 mph zones but usually run at about 70-73 mph. In the 55 mph zones I'll do 62-65 mph. This is coming from a very experienced Michigan driver lol.
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 12:05:59 PM
Where are you getting these traffic counts from? My biggest question is between Harvey and and L'Anse Township considering M-28 never enters L'Anse Township and in between those two locations it goes through Marquette which has traffic counts as high as 30,000 VPD.
https://lrs.state.mi.us/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=1a8bf6b2681d483ca9090ebec5d105ff (https://lrs.state.mi.us/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=1a8bf6b2681d483ca9090ebec5d105ff)
And, regarding L'Anse Township, I misinterpreted Google Maps while labeling that segment in my list. The division point is the turn-off for the Ojibwa Casino Marquette, which is actually in Chocolay Charter Township. Sorry for the confusion.
Quote from: kphoger on July 28, 2020, 03:03:33 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2020, 12:05:59 PM
Where are you getting these traffic counts from? My biggest question is between Harvey and and L'Anse Township considering M-28 never enters L'Anse Township and in between those two locations it goes through Marquette which has traffic counts as high as 30,000 VPD.
https://lrs.state.mi.us/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=1a8bf6b2681d483ca9090ebec5d105ff (https://lrs.state.mi.us/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=1a8bf6b2681d483ca9090ebec5d105ff)
And, regarding L'Anse Township, I misinterpreted Google Maps while labeling that segment in my list. The division point is the turn-off for the Ojibwa Casino Marquette, which is actually in Chocolay Charter Township. Sorry for the confusion.
Oh gee no wonder I was confused. L'Anse is quite a ways west of Marquette in Baraga County.