Michigan Notes

[Stephane Dumas]

Nice that would be cool if they could keep the 375 and just put caps over it. It would sort of be something similar to the big dig in Boston except they wouldn't have to dig it. It's already there and they might as well get rid of the existing grade portion and convert it to a freeway. Put a cap over it. It'll achieve the same thing and perhaps even better than trying to have a large boulevard move a lot of traffic.

Yeah and as I mentioned in an other post on the forum, it's too bad they didn't thought of a similar concept for I-94 between M-10/Lodge Freeway and I-75/Chrysler Freeway.

[afguy]

MDOT has released their draft 2027-2031 5-year plan. The main highlights for me are that the I-75/8 Mile interchange reconfiguration project will be getting underway in 2031, the I-94 flex lane project on the south side of Ann Arbor between Ann Arbor-Saline Rd and U.S. 23 will start in 2030. This project will include replacement of the Stone School bridge over I-94 and interchange improvements to the State St interchange. The final project that caught my eye was the reconstruction of I-196 between the Grand River and Lane Ave in Grand Rapids which will start in 2031 and 2032.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/-/media/Project/Websites/MDOT/Programs/Planning/Five-Year-Transportation-Program/2027-2031-5YTP.pdf?rev=9467d70f698a4c4d8790ac8d346875e9

[JREwing78]

The Facebook commentary on that 5 year plan showed a surprising number of folks asking for road widening projects; one guy even identified US-2 between Rapid River and St. Ignace as needing 4-laning.

Not that MDOT is even remotely close to expansion mode, but apparently folks are still driving despite economic turbulence.
 

[The Ghostbuster]

It's hard to believe that US 2 was once proposed to be a four-lane freeway from Escanaba to St. Ignace: https://michiganhighways.org/listings/US-002.html. Interstate 98 anyone?

[JREwing78]

It's hard to believe that US 2 was once proposed to be a four-lane freeway from Escanaba to St. Ignace: https://michiganhighways.org/listings/US-002.html. Interstate 98 anyone?

It averages more traffic than I-75 north of St. Ignace. A majority of the U.P.'s population lies within a few miles of US-2, and it carries its fair share of both commuter and recreational traffic. I could certainly see highway planners in the 1960s envisioning US-2 traffic loads continuing to rise as roads south of the Mackinac Bridge improved. 

Indeed, the freeway US-27 (now US-127) made it possible for folks like my uncle to move his family to Gaylord while working in Lansing during the week. The number of "super-commuters" who drive over 100 miles from "up north" downstate for work is rather astonishing. I left Lansing one weekday morning at 4am and was genuinely astonished at the southbound traffic levels on US-127, while northbound was almost completely empty all the way to the Mackinac Bridge.

[Flint1979]

Nice that would be cool if they could keep the 375 and just put caps over it. It would sort of be something similar to the big dig in Boston except they wouldn't have to dig it. It's already there and they might as well get rid of the existing grade portion and convert it to a freeway. Put a cap over it. It'll achieve the same thing and perhaps even better than trying to have a large boulevard move a lot of traffic.

Yeah and as I mentioned in an other post on the forum, it's too bad they didn't thought of a similar concept for I-94 between M-10/Lodge Freeway and I-75/Chrysler Freeway.

Yeah that should be in a tunnel too. New Center and Midtown should be connected too.

[Flint1979]

About a quarter of the U.P.'s population lives in Marquette County.

[JREwing78]

About a quarter of the U.P.'s population lives in Marquette County.

I re-did the math, and "majority" is probably the wrong word to make my point. "Plurality" is a better descriptor. US-2 certainly travels through more population centers than any other U.P. route, and already gets pretty heavy use for a (mostly) 2-lane roadway.

M-28 basically runs through the middle of nowhere except for Marquette and Alger Counties, and by the time one reaches Newberry heading east, most of the traffic it had coming from Marquette has bailed for US-2. That traffic on M-28 would drop further if some of the 20 minute difference between Marquette and St. Ignace could be made up by a rerouted US-2. 

US-41 weaves through its share of "larger" towns, but US-141 is a more direct route to Green Bay and points south for the Keweenaw folks. Sault Ste. Marie and thereabouts have I-75 to connect to larger population centers. 

The point I'm trying to articulate is that US-2 would be the  road one would choose to 4-lane across the U.P. (at least the part east of Iron Mountain). It's the main route anyone west of I-75 would need to take to connect to downstate. It's better positioned to keep open to traffic in bad winter weather (Lake Superior outperforms Lake Michigan in lake effect) and in relatively unchallenging terrain.

[Flint1979]

About a quarter of the U.P.'s population lives in Marquette County.

I re-did the math, and "majority" is probably the wrong word to make my point. "Plurality" is a better descriptor. US-2 certainly travels through more population centers than any other U.P. route, and already gets pretty heavy use for a (mostly) 2-lane roadway.

M-28 basically runs through the middle of nowhere except for Marquette and Alger Counties, and by the time one reaches Newberry heading east, most of the traffic it had coming from Marquette has bailed for US-2. That traffic on M-28 would drop further if some of the 20 minute difference between Marquette and St. Ignace could be made up by a rerouted US-2.

US-41 weaves through its share of "larger" towns, but US-141 is a more direct route to Green Bay and points south for the Keweenaw folks. Sault Ste. Marie and thereabouts have I-75 to connect to larger population centers.

The point I'm trying to articulate is that US-2 would be the  road one would choose to 4-lane across the U.P. (at least the part east of Iron Mountain). It's the main route anyone west of I-75 would need to take to connect to downstate. It's better positioned to keep open to traffic in bad winter weather (Lake Superior outperforms Lake Michigan in lake effect) and in relatively unchallenging terrain.

I remember about 5 years ago my parents were up in Mackinaw City and I drove up there to spend the night. The next day we went into the U.P. and I think hung around St. Ignace for a little bit eating at Clyde's and then moving on. Well they were headed up to Munising and my dad starts out going toward Sault Ste. Marie on I-75, I called him up and said where are you going? Because I was behind him and he told me he was going up to M-28 and then going to cut over, I said do you realize how far out of the way you are going to do that going to Munising? I told him to turn around and follow me. I said when you cross the bridge and want to head west you get on US-2 not taking I-75 to M-28. I told him we'll be on US-2 for about 65 miles then we'll take M-77 up to the Seney Stretch.

According to Google Maps, the route he was about to take only adds on a half hour  and 36 miles I thought it would be longer. But my whole point here is that east of Newberry if you aren't heading to Sault Ste. Marie M-28 is useless at that point.

[JREwing78]

I-75 to M-123 to M-28 is only about 5 miles farther than US-2 to M-77 to M-28, and it's certainly a calmer drive than US-2.

Don't depend on any services between St. Ignace and Newberry, however. Trout Lake burned me on one trip; I basically was on fumes the rest of the way into Newberry, running out of gas just in front of the Eagles Club about a mile from the gas station.

[Flint1979]

I-75 to M-123 to M-28 is only about 5 miles farther than US-2 to M-77 to M-28, and it's certainly a calmer drive than US-2.

Don't depend on any services between St. Ignace and Newberry, however. Trout Lake burned me on one trip; I basically was on fumes the rest of the way into Newberry, running out of gas just in front of the Eagles Club about a mile from the gas station.

I go up to Whitefish Point a lot in the summer when the temperature inland is hot and I know that Whitefish Point is going to be cooler due to Lake Superior acting like a natural air conditioner so I been on M-123 quite often and yeah there isn't much between St. Ignace and Paradise, you get a little action at Trout Lake but not much really, the crossing at Eckerman Corner isn't anything just a four way stop at the intersection of two state highways in the middle of nowhere.

I always try to fill up my gas tank in Gaylord when I'm heading over the bridge. The worst I ever was on fumes was actually in the Lower Peninsula and I did it again a few weeks ago. First time was in 2014 I was heading home from my uncle's birthday party in Higgins Lake and the traffic heading south on I-75 that day was real bad so I started taking another route, I was planning on hooking up with M-76 to get to Standish but got off at exit 202 and started heading south, well that road doesn't go south it goes west swinging you back to M-30 so I'm even further out of my way at this point. I don't know how I did it but I made it to the Beacon and Bridge at M-30 and M-61 and decided to get gas there and I'm not even sure why I waited so long to get gas.

A few weeks ago my buddy was up at Lost Valley Campground which is in Lupton on Sage Lake Road. I had to go up there and pick him up, come back to Saginaw, go back up there and drop him off again and then head back to Saginaw solo. I started out by putting $20 in my gas tank thinking that'll be ok for awhile, I didn't put anymore gas in until I was on my way back and on E. I misjudged how far it was from exit 202 to Lost Valley Campground and as I was leaving the campground it's about 2:00 in the morning and the gas station at M-55 and M-33 was closed for the night so that was out of the question, I was trying to make it 10 more miles back to the Shell station in Alger and had 8 miles left on my range as I pulled into the station and put more gas in. I'll tell ya being low on gas in those parts of Michigan is not suggested.

[bulldog1979]

I-75 to M-123 to M-28 is only about 5 miles farther than US-2 to M-77 to M-28, and it's certainly a calmer drive than US-2.

This is definitely my family's preferred routing between Marquette County and the Mackinac Bridge. Of course, if weather or other needs dictate, we will divert to other options.

[NE2]

1930 plan for numbered county highways in Michigan: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Highway_Magazine/hYnVAAAAMAAJ?gbpv=1&pg=RA1-PA180

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MDOT is now considering whether replacing the Portage Lake Lift Bridge is a better option than just rehabilitating the existing one as they had originally planned. Because it is the only land link to Hancock and Keweenaw County, the state thinks it could reduce disruptions to remove the current bridge and float in a replacement built elsewhere.

https://www.mlive.com/news/2026/08/ambitious-new-plan-would-replace-a-famous-michigan-bridge-the-same-way-it-was-built-in-1959.html

[JREwing78]

MDOT published a press release discussing plans for major repairs and upgrades to the Portage Lake Lift Bridge connecting Hancock (and everything north) to Houghton and the rest of the U.P..
https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/news-outreach/pressreleases/2026/08/20/timeline-for-major-portage-lake-lift-bridge-project-changes-as-planning-continues

Apparently, the folks at MLive read "Hancock" as "half-cocked", and posted a headline making it sound like MDOT is considering completely replacing the Lift Bridge (it is not). It's a deck replacement.

MDOT's discussion is that they are considering replacing the lift span entirely v.s. performing a deck replacement on it. It would be significantly faster than replacing the deck in-place, making it attractive to prevent traffic congestion on the bridge (it carries around 22,000 vehicles per day, about that of a typical rural freeway). It would take a 4 year project and shorten it by at least a year, maybe two. They would build the lift span off-site, then barge it into place (much like how the existing span was put in place in 1959).

Don't worry - the usual idiots are flooding the Facebook comment section, half proclaiming it a waste of money - because stranding 21,000 residents on the north side of the bridge is an awesome plan, not to mention locking 17,000 or so residents out of the only two hospitals in the area. The other half think it should be twinned or have a 2nd span built elsewhere. Where, they don't know...

[Plutonic Panda]

If you haven't heard the Portage Lake Lift Bridge reconstruction is being reassessed:

https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2026/08/20/portage-lake-lift-bridge-project-delayed-reassessment/

[afguy]

MDOT has released more information about the U.S. 131 flex lane project north of Grand Rapids that will start next year. It will cost $59 million and take two years to complete. A public meeting is scheduled for August 25th to provide the public with more details.

MDOT is building a flex route on US-131 from I-96 to Post Drive in Kent County. A flex route uses a lane control system that includes signs, vehicle detectors and electronic message boards to let drivers know when the flex route shoulder, or flex lane, is available for use during peak travel periods.

Flashing lights on the sign indicate the shoulder, or flex lane, is open to traffic.


When lights are off, the flex lane is closed and reverts to a normal freeway shoulder.

https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/projects-studies/us-131-flex-route-kent-county