.gif)
Interstate 275 (Michigan)
Encyclopedia
Interstate 275 in the US state of Michigan
is an Interstate Highway that functions as a western bypass of the Detroit
metropolitan area. The Michigan Department of Transportation
(MDOT) maintains it as a component of the larger state trunkline highway system
. The freeway runs through the western suburbs near Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
. Along its routing, I-275 crosses several area rivers and rail lines. According to the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA), the length is 29.97 miles (48.2 km) while MDOT reports the length at 35.026 miles (56.4 km), a discrepancy due to a disagreement over the northern terminus.
According to the FHWA, I-275 ends at the junction with I-96
and M-14
along the boundary between Livonia
and Plymouth Township
. MDOT considers I-275 to extend north concurrently
with I-96 to the junction with I-696
and M-5
along the boundary between Farmington Hills
and Novi
. Maps from other providers follow MDOT's lead and label the freeway north of M-14 as I-96/I-275. The southern terminus is the interchange with I-75
near Newport, northeast of Monroe
. The original planned section north to I-75 near Davisburg was abandoned because of local opposition shortly after the existing highway was completed in 1977. A later attempt to revive the proposal failed in 1979. Additional plans to complete a state highway, known as M-275 through Oakland County were kept on the drawing boards through the 1980s, but failed to materialize.
. The surrounding area is farmland and residential subdivisions in the adjacent Frenchtown
and Berlin
charter townships near the community of Newport. The freeway angles to the northwest and crosses US Highway 24 (US 24), which is also called Telegraph Road. After this interchange, the freeway turns to the north, running east of Carleton
, crossing the Canadian National Railway
and Conrail Shared Assets lines north of exit 5. At Will Carleton Road, I-275 crosses into Wayne County
. There it continues on a northerly path parallel to a CSX Transportation
line through southern Wayne County. The freeway crosses the Huron River
at South Huron Road, adjacent to Willow Metropark
.
In the city of Romulus
, I-275 begins to take on a more suburban character when it passes the southwestern boundary of the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
. There is access to the south side of the airport signed at Eureka Road and to the north side at I-94
. Between these two interchanges, I-275 begins to run to the northwest, cross over the same CSX line and a Norfolk Southern Railway
line and pass a campus of Wayne County Community College
and the headquarters of the Visteon Corporation, a major auto parts supplier spun off from Ford Motor Corporation. Near these two complexes, the freeway turns north again, running parallel to the east of Haggerty Road. The freeway crosses over another Norfolk Southern Railway
line also used by Amtrak
trains from Chicago
and Pontiac
, US 12
/Michigan Avenue and M-153
/Ford Road in Canton. Michigan Avenue was once the Chicago Road, and before that the Sauk Trail
, an early Indian
trail. Ford Road was named for William Ford, father of Henry Ford
. I-275 crosses the Lower Branch of the River Rouge
north of Michigan Avenue and the Middle Branch between Ford Road and the Jeffries Freeway. It also crosses over the same CSX line a second time.
The interchange with the Jeffries Freeway is where the FHWA considers I-275 to end and also where the freeway crosses over another CSX line from Detroit. This interchange is where I-275 meets I-96
which merges from the east on the Jeffries and turns north concurrently
with I-275. To the west, the M-14
freeway merges and ends. MDOT still considers the freeway north of here part of I-275, and signs it as such. Other map makers and mapping service providers such as Rand McNally
and Google Maps
label their maps in accordance with MDOT and not FHWA. The combined freeway curves to the east into Livonia
continuing through suburban areas before crossing 8 Mile Road into Oakland County
. North of 10 Mile Road, I-96/I-275 crosses Grand River Avenue
. Here the ramps start to connect with both directions of M-5
, the start of eastbound I-696
or the continuation of westbound I-96. MDOT ends the I-275 designation at this massive interchange.
, along a 44.1 miles (71 km) stretch in Monroe, Wayne and Oakland counties. This path is 8 feet (2.4 m) wide and runs at least 30 feet (9 m) from the freeway, fenced off from adjacent landowners. It was not well-maintained originally, but it is being improved. There are 24 access points to the trail located at major cross roads along the route. Since 2006, the Michigan Trails & Greenway Alliance and MDOT have been working to improve the bike trail. At the time of the alliance's initial studies, the trail was overgrown with vegetation in locations. The study focused on areas of needed improvement after meeting with members of the public in the communities surrounding the bike path. In August 2009, MDOT held an open house to discuss construction work planned to improve the trail. Further impacts by MDOT to the bikeway included closures in 2010 during reconstruction projects underway on the I-275 freeway. Access to the bike trail in Wayne County is to be maintained, although the section under South Huron Drive will be closed for 100 days during the project.
. This plan was included in the 1955 General Location of National System of Interstate Highways (Yellow Book), an early proposal for what would become the Interstate Highway System. The Yellow Book contained an inset of the proposed freeways in and around the Detroit area including a north–south freeway east of the current I-275 corridor. The 1958 Numbering Plan for Michigan had this route marked as I-73. William Swanson in MDOT's highway planning unit stated that the original planned route for I-275 would have instead been used for I-75 itself, with the I-275 number applied to I-75 through Detroit.
The present-day freeway was built in stages in the mid 1970s. In 1974, the state highway map of the time showed the highway under construction, but no parts completed. The first four miles (6 km) of the freeway were shown opened to traffic from M-153
/Ford Rd. to Schoolcraft Avenue in 1975. The segment between US 24 and I-75 was open as well. The second phase was completed in the autumn of 1976, when I-275 was extended north from Schoolcraft (and the incomplete interchange with the future route of I-96
/Jeffries Freeway to the I-275/I-96/I-696
interchange in Novi
. Then on January 14, 1977, the remaining 23 miles (37 km) section of I-275 between US 24 in Monroe and M-153/Ford Road in Canton Township was opened to traffic, completing the current freeway. The final cost to build the I-275 freeway was $145 million (equivalent to $ in ).
The Michigan Highway Commission canceled the northern section of the highway on January 26, 1977 after it spent $1.6 million (equivalent to $ in ) the year before purchasing land for the roadway. This northern section was not planned as an Interstate Highway at that time, bearing the designation M-275 instead. Opposition to construction came from various citizen's groups and different levels of local government. Additionally, both the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press
opposed the project. The Detroit City Council, led by then-Chairman Carl Levin
opposed the plan. Levin said at the time, "At last I think people are waking up to the dangers of more and more expressways. At some point we've got to say enough. And I think we've reached it." The US Department of the Interior reviewed the state's environmental impact study of the project and stated the project, "will cause irreparable damages on recreation lands, wetlands, surface waters and wildlife habitat." The total project to link Farmington Hills with Davisburg with the 24 miles (38.6 km) would have cost $69.5 million (equivalent to $ in ) and saved drivers an estimated eight minutes off travel time around the city of Detroit.
The Jeffries Freeway project was in its final stages of construction in 1977, linking the final 10.5 miles (16.9 km) of I-96 at the M-39
/Southfield Freeway with the I-275 freeway. After it was completed, I-96 was routed down I-275. The original plans for I-96 in the Yellow Book routed that highway along a different routing into downtown Detroit, along a path adjacent to Grand River Avenue
.
Despite funding increases for MDOT by the State Legislature, M-275 languished on the drawing boards. New plans in 1983 had addressed several of the environmental concerns by moving interchanges and rerouting around wetlands These plans even cancelled an extension of Northwestern Highway (then M-4, now part of M-10
) to Pontiac Trail and a connection with M-275. A the state increased MDOT's budget by $602 million (equivalent to $ in ), but left the M-275 project off a priority list. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) continued to factor M-275 into regional transportation planning forecasts. SEMCOG's position was that the location population that would be served by the new highway would rival 70 of Michigan's counties combined, yet there was no four-lane highways through the area. Opponents cited urban sprawl
, which SEMCOG dismissed because the population was already in the area of the new highway. By May 1985, MDOT had relinquished ownership of right-of-way in West Bloomfield Township
. Transportation planners at a April 24, 1985 meeting of the West Bloomfield Republicans said that the highway extension "would make sense" but MDOT "is planning no new freeways and no major road construction" at the time. Studies comparing the levels of traffic at various checkpoints along the existing I-275 showed that the freeway was only handling half of its rated capacity. At 8 Mile Road, the freeway carried 57,000 vehicles in 1977 and 88,000 vehicles in 1984. This compared to a 1986 projection of 133,000 vehicles daily.
After many years of inactivity, further work began along this same route, but the resulting highway was designated M-5
rather than I-275 or M-275. The first section of this freeway extension was opened in October 1994. This extended the route from I-275's previous terminus at I-96/I-696 north to 12 Mile Road. A plan enacted by then Governor John Engler
in 1995 angered road officials when funding was diverted from county road commissions to help complete state highway projects like the M-5/Haggerty Connector project. In 1999, a second extension of M-5 was completed to 14 Mile Road, but only as an expressway
. The final two miles (3 km) between 14 Mile Road and Pontiac Trail opened to traffic on November 1, 2002.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
is an Interstate Highway that functions as a western bypass of the Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
metropolitan area. The Michigan Department of Transportation
Michigan Department of Transportation
The Michigan Department of Transportation is a constitutional government agency in the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstate, US and state highways in Michigan with the exception of the Mackinac...
(MDOT) maintains it as a component of the larger state trunkline highway system
Michigan Highway System
The Michigan State Trunkline Highway System is made up of all the highways designated as Interstates, U.S. Highways and State Highways in the US state of Michigan. The system is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation and comprises of trunklines in all 83 counties of Michigan on...
. The freeway runs through the western suburbs near Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , usually called Detroit Metro Airport, Metro Airport locally, or simply DTW, is a major international airport covering in Romulus, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It is Michigan's busiest airport....
. Along its routing, I-275 crosses several area rivers and rail lines. According to the Federal Highway Administration
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...
(FHWA), the length is 29.97 miles (48.2 km) while MDOT reports the length at 35.026 miles (56.4 km), a discrepancy due to a disagreement over the northern terminus.
According to the FHWA, I-275 ends at the junction with I-96
Interstate 96
Interstate 96 is an intrastate Interstate Highway that is entirely within the US state of Michigan. Its western terminus is at an interchange with US Highway 31 and Business US Highway 31 , on the western boundary of Norton Shores southeast of Muskegon. Its eastern terminus is at I-75 near the...
and M-14
M-14 (Michigan highway)
M-14 is a east–west state trunkline highway in the southeastern portion of the US state of Michigan. Entirely freeway, it connects Ann Arbor with Detroit by way of connecting with I-96.-Route description:...
along the boundary between Livonia
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...
and Plymouth Township
Plymouth Township, Michigan
The Charter Township of Plymouth is a charter township of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 27,524 at the 2010 census...
. MDOT considers I-275 to extend north concurrently
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...
with I-96 to the junction with I-696
Interstate 696
Interstate 696 is an intrastate Interstate Highway entirely within the US state of Michigan. I-696 is also known as the Walter P. Reuther Freeway, named for a prominent figure in early automobile factory labor union activity. I-696 is a spur route, partially circling the city of Detroit, but...
and M-5
M-5 (Michigan highway)
M-5 is a highway in the metro Detroit area of the US state of Michigan.-Route description:M-5's eastern terminus is at the junction of Grand River Avenue and Interstate 96 in western Detroit...
along the boundary between Farmington Hills
Farmington Hills, Michigan
Farmington Hills is a community in southeastern Michigan. It is the largest city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 79,740 at the 2010 census...
and Novi
Novi, Michigan
Novi is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,224, an increase over the 2000 census count of 47,386. The city is located approximately northwest of the center of Detroit, and northeast of the center of Ann Arbor. The city is located...
. Maps from other providers follow MDOT's lead and label the freeway north of M-14 as I-96/I-275. The southern terminus is the interchange with I-75
Interstate 75 in Michigan
Interstate 75 is a part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from Miami, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I-75 enters the state from Ohio in the south, just to the north of Toledo. It runs generally north through Detroit, Pontiac and Bay City, crossing the...
near Newport, northeast of Monroe
Monroe, Michigan
Monroe is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,733 at the 2010 census. It is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but both are politically independent. The city is located approximately 14 miles ...
. The original planned section north to I-75 near Davisburg was abandoned because of local opposition shortly after the existing highway was completed in 1977. A later attempt to revive the proposal failed in 1979. Additional plans to complete a state highway, known as M-275 through Oakland County were kept on the drawing boards through the 1980s, but failed to materialize.
Route description
I-275 begins at exit 20 along I-75 in northeastern Monroe CountyMonroe County, Michigan
Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2010 population is 152,021. The largest city and county seat is Monroe. The U.S. Census Bureau defines all of Monroe County as conterminous with the Monroe Metropolitan Area...
. The surrounding area is farmland and residential subdivisions in the adjacent Frenchtown
Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan
Frenchtown Charter Township is a charter township of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,777 at the 2000 census. Frenchtown is the second most populated township in Monroe County after Bedford Township...
and Berlin
Berlin Charter Township, Michigan
Berlin Charter Township is a charter township of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2000 census, the township population was 6,924. Berlin Charter Township was organized from the northern portion of previously established Frenchtown Charter Township, and the township boundaries...
charter townships near the community of Newport. The freeway angles to the northwest and crosses US Highway 24 (US 24), which is also called Telegraph Road. After this interchange, the freeway turns to the north, running east of Carleton
Carleton, Michigan
Carleton is a village in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,562 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Ash Township and is served by Airport Community Schools.-History:...
, crossing the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
and Conrail Shared Assets lines north of exit 5. At Will Carleton Road, I-275 crosses into Wayne County
Wayne County, Michigan
-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...
. There it continues on a northerly path parallel to a CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
line through southern Wayne County. The freeway crosses the Huron River
Huron River (Michigan)
The Huron River is a river in southeastern Michigan, rising out of the Huron Swamp in Indian Springs Metropark in northern Oakland County and flowing into Lake Erie on the boundary between Wayne County and Monroe County...
at South Huron Road, adjacent to Willow Metropark
Willow Metropark
Willow Metropark is a park in the Huron-Clinton system of metro parks. The Huron River runs through the middle of the park and has an 18-hole golf course, a skatepark, a pond, a hike-bike trail, a disc golf course, a children's play area. In the winter, the park has groomed cross country ski...
.
In the city of Romulus
Romulus, Michigan
Romulus is a suburban city of Metro Detroit, located in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 23,989 at the 2010 census, an increase from 22,979 in 2000. Romulus is home to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and a General Motors plant that opened in 1976...
, I-275 begins to take on a more suburban character when it passes the southwestern boundary of the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , usually called Detroit Metro Airport, Metro Airport locally, or simply DTW, is a major international airport covering in Romulus, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It is Michigan's busiest airport....
. There is access to the south side of the airport signed at Eureka Road and to the north side at I-94
Interstate 94 in Michigan
Interstate 94 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Billings, Montana, to the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state south of New Buffalo...
. Between these two interchanges, I-275 begins to run to the northwest, cross over the same CSX line and a Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
line and pass a campus of Wayne County Community College
Wayne County Community College
Wayne County Community College District is a community college district with its headquarters in Downtown Detroit, Michigan...
and the headquarters of the Visteon Corporation, a major auto parts supplier spun off from Ford Motor Corporation. Near these two complexes, the freeway turns north again, running parallel to the east of Haggerty Road. The freeway crosses over another Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
line also used by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
trains from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Pontiac
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
, US 12
U.S. Route 12 in Michigan
US Highway 12 is a US Highway that runs from Aberdeen, Washington to Detroit, Michigan. In the US state of Michigan it runs for . Previous to the creation of Interstate Highways in Michigan, US 12 ran along Michigan Avenue between Kalamazoo and Detroit, a highway corridor now served by I-94...
/Michigan Avenue and M-153
M-153 (Michigan highway)
M-153 is a state trunkline highway in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also known as Ford Road for nearly its entire length, except for its westernmost portion where it splits from Ford Road and junctions with the M-14 freeway...
/Ford Road in Canton. Michigan Avenue was once the Chicago Road, and before that the Sauk Trail
Sauk Trail
Sauk Trail began as a Native American trail running through Illinois, Indiana and Michigan in the United States. From west to east, the trail ran from Rock Island on the Mississippi River to the Illinois River near modern Peru then along the north bank of that river to Joliet, and on to Valparaiso,...
, an early Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
trail. Ford Road was named for William Ford, father of Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
. I-275 crosses the Lower Branch of the River Rouge
River Rouge (Michigan)
The River Rouge, also known as the Rouge River, is a river in the Metro Detroit area of southeastern Michigan. It flows into the Detroit River at Zug Island, which is the boundary between the cities of River Rouge and Detroit....
north of Michigan Avenue and the Middle Branch between Ford Road and the Jeffries Freeway. It also crosses over the same CSX line a second time.
The interchange with the Jeffries Freeway is where the FHWA considers I-275 to end and also where the freeway crosses over another CSX line from Detroit. This interchange is where I-275 meets I-96
Interstate 96
Interstate 96 is an intrastate Interstate Highway that is entirely within the US state of Michigan. Its western terminus is at an interchange with US Highway 31 and Business US Highway 31 , on the western boundary of Norton Shores southeast of Muskegon. Its eastern terminus is at I-75 near the...
which merges from the east on the Jeffries and turns north concurrently
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...
with I-275. To the west, the M-14
M-14 (Michigan highway)
M-14 is a east–west state trunkline highway in the southeastern portion of the US state of Michigan. Entirely freeway, it connects Ann Arbor with Detroit by way of connecting with I-96.-Route description:...
freeway merges and ends. MDOT still considers the freeway north of here part of I-275, and signs it as such. Other map makers and mapping service providers such as Rand McNally
Rand McNally
Rand McNally is an American publisher of maps, atlases, textbooks, and globes for travel, reference, commercial, and educational uses. It also provides online consumer street maps and directions, as well as commercial transportation routing software and mileage data...
and Google Maps
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
label their maps in accordance with MDOT and not FHWA. The combined freeway curves to the east into Livonia
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...
continuing through suburban areas before crossing 8 Mile Road into Oakland County
Oakland County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...
. North of 10 Mile Road, I-96/I-275 crosses Grand River Avenue
Grand River Avenue
US Highway 16 , also called Grand River Avenue for much of its length, is one of the principal pre-Interstate roads in the state of Michigan. Before the creation of the United States Numbered Highway System in 1926, the highway had been designated M-16...
. Here the ramps start to connect with both directions of M-5
M-5 (Michigan highway)
M-5 is a highway in the metro Detroit area of the US state of Michigan.-Route description:M-5's eastern terminus is at the junction of Grand River Avenue and Interstate 96 in western Detroit...
, the start of eastbound I-696
Interstate 696
Interstate 696 is an intrastate Interstate Highway entirely within the US state of Michigan. I-696 is also known as the Walter P. Reuther Freeway, named for a prominent figure in early automobile factory labor union activity. I-696 is a spur route, partially circling the city of Detroit, but...
or the continuation of westbound I-96. MDOT ends the I-275 designation at this massive interchange.
Bike trail
MDOT built a bike trail parallel to I-275 in the mid 1970s. This I-275 Bikeway was constructed as a reply to the 1970s energy crisis1970s energy crisis
The 1970s energy crisis was a period in which the major industrial countries of the world, particularly the United States, faced substantial shortages, both perceived and real, of petroleum...
, along a 44.1 miles (71 km) stretch in Monroe, Wayne and Oakland counties. This path is 8 feet (2.4 m) wide and runs at least 30 feet (9 m) from the freeway, fenced off from adjacent landowners. It was not well-maintained originally, but it is being improved. There are 24 access points to the trail located at major cross roads along the route. Since 2006, the Michigan Trails & Greenway Alliance and MDOT have been working to improve the bike trail. At the time of the alliance's initial studies, the trail was overgrown with vegetation in locations. The study focused on areas of needed improvement after meeting with members of the public in the communities surrounding the bike path. In August 2009, MDOT held an open house to discuss construction work planned to improve the trail. Further impacts by MDOT to the bikeway included closures in 2010 during reconstruction projects underway on the I-275 freeway. Access to the bike trail in Wayne County is to be maintained, although the section under South Huron Drive will be closed for 100 days during the project.
Original plans
A north–south freeway was originally planned as an Interstate Highway allowing through traffic to bypass the city of DetroitDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. This plan was included in the 1955 General Location of National System of Interstate Highways (Yellow Book), an early proposal for what would become the Interstate Highway System. The Yellow Book contained an inset of the proposed freeways in and around the Detroit area including a north–south freeway east of the current I-275 corridor. The 1958 Numbering Plan for Michigan had this route marked as I-73. William Swanson in MDOT's highway planning unit stated that the original planned route for I-275 would have instead been used for I-75 itself, with the I-275 number applied to I-75 through Detroit.
The present-day freeway was built in stages in the mid 1970s. In 1974, the state highway map of the time showed the highway under construction, but no parts completed. The first four miles (6 km) of the freeway were shown opened to traffic from M-153
M-153 (Michigan highway)
M-153 is a state trunkline highway in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also known as Ford Road for nearly its entire length, except for its westernmost portion where it splits from Ford Road and junctions with the M-14 freeway...
/Ford Rd. to Schoolcraft Avenue in 1975. The segment between US 24 and I-75 was open as well. The second phase was completed in the autumn of 1976, when I-275 was extended north from Schoolcraft (and the incomplete interchange with the future route of I-96
Interstate 96
Interstate 96 is an intrastate Interstate Highway that is entirely within the US state of Michigan. Its western terminus is at an interchange with US Highway 31 and Business US Highway 31 , on the western boundary of Norton Shores southeast of Muskegon. Its eastern terminus is at I-75 near the...
/Jeffries Freeway to the I-275/I-96/I-696
Interstate 696
Interstate 696 is an intrastate Interstate Highway entirely within the US state of Michigan. I-696 is also known as the Walter P. Reuther Freeway, named for a prominent figure in early automobile factory labor union activity. I-696 is a spur route, partially circling the city of Detroit, but...
interchange in Novi
Novi, Michigan
Novi is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,224, an increase over the 2000 census count of 47,386. The city is located approximately northwest of the center of Detroit, and northeast of the center of Ann Arbor. The city is located...
. Then on January 14, 1977, the remaining 23 miles (37 km) section of I-275 between US 24 in Monroe and M-153/Ford Road in Canton Township was opened to traffic, completing the current freeway. The final cost to build the I-275 freeway was $145 million (equivalent to $ in ).
The Michigan Highway Commission canceled the northern section of the highway on January 26, 1977 after it spent $1.6 million (equivalent to $ in ) the year before purchasing land for the roadway. This northern section was not planned as an Interstate Highway at that time, bearing the designation M-275 instead. Opposition to construction came from various citizen's groups and different levels of local government. Additionally, both the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
opposed the project. The Detroit City Council, led by then-Chairman Carl Levin
Carl Levin
Carl Milton Levin is a Jewish-American United States Senator from Michigan, serving since 1979. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
opposed the plan. Levin said at the time, "At last I think people are waking up to the dangers of more and more expressways. At some point we've got to say enough. And I think we've reached it." The US Department of the Interior reviewed the state's environmental impact study of the project and stated the project, "will cause irreparable damages on recreation lands, wetlands, surface waters and wildlife habitat." The total project to link Farmington Hills with Davisburg with the 24 miles (38.6 km) would have cost $69.5 million (equivalent to $ in ) and saved drivers an estimated eight minutes off travel time around the city of Detroit.
The Jeffries Freeway project was in its final stages of construction in 1977, linking the final 10.5 miles (16.9 km) of I-96 at the M-39
M-39 (Michigan highway)
M-39 is a state highway in the US state of Michigan that runs from Lincoln Park to Southfield. The southern terminus of M-39 is at the corner of Southfield Road and Lafayette Boulevard in Lincoln Park, one block southeast of the junction of I-75 and two blocks northwest of M-85...
/Southfield Freeway with the I-275 freeway. After it was completed, I-96 was routed down I-275. The original plans for I-96 in the Yellow Book routed that highway along a different routing into downtown Detroit, along a path adjacent to Grand River Avenue
Grand River Avenue
US Highway 16 , also called Grand River Avenue for much of its length, is one of the principal pre-Interstate roads in the state of Michigan. Before the creation of the United States Numbered Highway System in 1926, the highway had been designated M-16...
.
New extension plan
A least one transportation study in the early 1970s identified the highway north of Novi as M-275. The cancelled highway project was revisited by the State Transportation Commission in 1979 as M-275. The renewed interest came after a vote of local residents showed a desire for the road. The Michigan Department of State Highways and Transportation backed the proposal with the support of local officials around the highway and the highway lobby. The 22-year-old proposal was deemed "necessary" by the department to alleviate highway congestion along other area highways. The Department of the Interior continued to oppose the highway on environmental grounds. M-275 would have cut through a state park in Oakland County if completed. Another factor that helped sink the project was the rising costs. Estimates in 1979 placed a $100 million (equivalent to $ in ) price tag on the project.Despite funding increases for MDOT by the State Legislature, M-275 languished on the drawing boards. New plans in 1983 had addressed several of the environmental concerns by moving interchanges and rerouting around wetlands These plans even cancelled an extension of Northwestern Highway (then M-4, now part of M-10
M-10 (Michigan highway)
M-10, is a state trunkline route in the US state of Michigan. The southernmost portion follows Jefferson Avenue in downtown Detroit, and the southern terminus is at the intersection of Jefferson and Randolph Street leading to the entrance to the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel...
) to Pontiac Trail and a connection with M-275. A the state increased MDOT's budget by $602 million (equivalent to $ in ), but left the M-275 project off a priority list. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) continued to factor M-275 into regional transportation planning forecasts. SEMCOG's position was that the location population that would be served by the new highway would rival 70 of Michigan's counties combined, yet there was no four-lane highways through the area. Opponents cited urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
, which SEMCOG dismissed because the population was already in the area of the new highway. By May 1985, MDOT had relinquished ownership of right-of-way in West Bloomfield Township
West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
West Bloomfield Charter Township is an affluent charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan, within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the township had a population of 64,690. As of 2008, West Bloomfield Township was ranked the 8th highest income city in the...
. Transportation planners at a April 24, 1985 meeting of the West Bloomfield Republicans said that the highway extension "would make sense" but MDOT "is planning no new freeways and no major road construction" at the time. Studies comparing the levels of traffic at various checkpoints along the existing I-275 showed that the freeway was only handling half of its rated capacity. At 8 Mile Road, the freeway carried 57,000 vehicles in 1977 and 88,000 vehicles in 1984. This compared to a 1986 projection of 133,000 vehicles daily.
After many years of inactivity, further work began along this same route, but the resulting highway was designated M-5
M-5 (Michigan highway)
M-5 is a highway in the metro Detroit area of the US state of Michigan.-Route description:M-5's eastern terminus is at the junction of Grand River Avenue and Interstate 96 in western Detroit...
rather than I-275 or M-275. The first section of this freeway extension was opened in October 1994. This extended the route from I-275's previous terminus at I-96/I-696 north to 12 Mile Road. A plan enacted by then Governor John Engler
John Engler
John Mathias Engler is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He served as the 46th Governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003....
in 1995 angered road officials when funding was diverted from county road commissions to help complete state highway projects like the M-5/Haggerty Connector project. In 1999, a second extension of M-5 was completed to 14 Mile Road, but only as an expressway
Limited-access road
A limited-access road known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway , including limited or no access to adjacent...
. The final two miles (3 km) between 14 Mile Road and Pontiac Trail opened to traffic on November 1, 2002.