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M-96 (Michigan highway)
Encyclopedia
M-96 is a state trunkline highway
in the US state of Michigan
that runs between Kalamazoo
and Marshall
. Its termini are both on business loops
of Interstate 94
(I-94); the eastern one coincides with an intersection with I-69
. Between Kalamazoo and Marshall it passes through Comstock, Galesburg
, Augusta
, and Battle Creek
intersecting I-194
/M-66
in Battle Creek and I-94 in Emmett Township.
The highway now known as M-96 was originally part of M-17
. Parts of M-17 that were not used for US Highway 12
(US 12) in 2926 were given the M-96 number. Additional segments of trunkline were added to M-96, one of which was an Alternate US 12 in the years afterwards. Later, US 12 was moved after the completion of I-94 in southern Michigan. Additional US 12 segments were added to M-96 at that time. The last major changes to M-96 rerouted the highway through the Battle Creek area in late 1998.
through a suburban residential area. The highway then follows Michigan Avenue east through Comstock and north of Morrow Lake. At Galesburg, M-96 turns northeast along Augusta Drive to Augusta
, running through rural farmland. It turns eastward again, skirting the Fort Custer State Recreation Area
and the Fort Custer National Cemetery
. In Augusta, M-96 turns to follow Dickman Road to Battle Creek, passing north and east of the W. K. Kellogg Regional Airport on Dickman and Helmer roads.
On the north side of the airport, M-96 runs concurrently
with both BL I-94 and M-37
. M-96 turns south on Helmer Road, separating from the other two trunklines, and then turns east crossing along Columbia Avenue. Here the highway runs along the edge of the city of Battle Creek through more residential areas and crosses the I-194
/M-66
freeway next to the Riverside County Club. Near Brownlee Park, M-96 (Columbia Avenue) merges with BL I-94 (Michigan Avenue). Together BL I-94/M-96 continues along Michigan Avenue to I-94 where BL I-94 ends. M-96 passes the Firekeepers Casino , which is located just east of the ending of BL I-94, between 11 and 12 Mile Roads. M-96 continues along Michigan Avenue through farmland from Emmett
to Marshall
ending at an interchange with I-69
/BL I-94.
M-96 is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation
(MDOT) like other state highways in Michigan. As a part of these maintenance responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic that uses the roadways under its jurisdiction. These volumes are expressed using a metric called annual average daily traffic
, which is a statistical calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. MDOT's surveys in 2010 showed that the highest traffic levels along M-96 were the 22,953 vehicles daily between Capitol Avenue and I-194 in Battle Creek; the lowest counts were the 5,167 vehicles per day at the western terminus in Kalamazoo. The only section of M-96 that has been listed on the National Highway System (NHS), is in the Battle Creek area between the western BL I-94/M-37 junction and the I-94 interchange. The NHS is a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.
A rerouting of trunklines in 1941 lead to the creation of a Business US 12 (BUS US 12). M-96 ran concurrently with BUS US 12 and M-37
was truncated to end at M-96. US 12 was rerouted between Galesburg and Kalamazoo in 1954, and M-96 was extended along the former US 12 routing to end in Kalamazoo. M-96 was rerouted in downtown Battle Creek to one-way streets in 1958, and BUS US 12/M-96 was extended by the end of the decade when the I-94/US 12 freeway was completed in the area. BUS US 12 was redesignated as Business Loop I-94 (BL I-94) in 1960 and M-96 was shortened to end at BL I-94/M-78
running on Capital Avenue. M-37 was reextended in 1961 in Battle Creek to a concurrent routing with M-96 in 1961.
M-89 was extended along the roadway used by M-96 west of Battle Creek to M-37 in 1965, truncating M-96 in the process. M-96 was reextended back to Battle Creek along Dickman Road and Fort Custer Highway from Augusta east in 1971. Several changes in Battle Creek were made to the area trunklines in 1998. M-96 was extended along BL I-94 (Dickman Road) to M-37 (Helmer Road) and along M-37 to Columbia Avenue. At Columbia, M-96 then turned west and M-37 turned east. M-96 rejoined BL I-94 along Michigan Avenue to I-94 and on to Marshall.
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...
in the US state of Michigan
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"....
that runs between Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
and Marshall
Marshall, Michigan
Marshall is a city located in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 7,459. It is the county seat of Calhoun County...
. Its termini are both on business loops
Business routes of Interstate 94
-Benton Harbor – St. Joseph business loop:Interstate 94 Business Loop or BL I-94 is a 10.7 mile Michigan highway looping from the I-94 freeway through the downtowns of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph. It follows a former routing of US 12 through the area. The highway begins at Exit 23 on I-94 in...
of Interstate 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...
(I-94); the eastern one coincides with an intersection with I-69
Interstate 69 in Michigan
Interstate 69 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that currently runs from Indianapolis, Indiana, to the US–Canadian border at Port Huron, Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state south of Coldwater and passes through the cities of Lansing and Flint...
. Between Kalamazoo and Marshall it passes through Comstock, Galesburg
Galesburg, Michigan
Galesburg is a city in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,009 at the 2010 census.Galesburg is on the north side of the Kalamazoo River on the boundary between Comstock Charter Township on the west and Charleston Township on the east, but is politically independent...
, Augusta
Augusta, Michigan
Augusta is a village in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 899 at the 2000 census. The village is mostly within Ross Township, though a small portion extends south into Charleston Township....
, and Battle Creek
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
intersecting I-194
Interstate 194 (Michigan)
Interstate 194 is a three-mile long, north–south freeway between downtown Battle Creek and I-94 in the southern portion of the city. The Michigan Department of Transportation lists its length as long, while the Federal Highway Administration lists it at...
/M-66
M-66 (Michigan highway)
M-66 is a north–south state trunkline highway on the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. It runs from the Indiana state line in the south to Charlevoix in the north. M-66 is the only state highway to traverse almost the entire north–south distance of the LP. It starts as a...
in Battle Creek and I-94 in Emmett Township.
The highway now known as M-96 was originally part of M-17
M-17 (Michigan highway)
M-17 is a long state trunkline highway in the U.S. state of Michigan, connecting the cities of Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor in Washtenaw County. It was once part of a highway that spanned the southern Lower Peninsula of Michigan before the creation of the U.S. Highway System in 1926...
. Parts of M-17 that were not used for US Highway 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...
(US 12) in 2926 were given the M-96 number. Additional segments of trunkline were added to M-96, one of which was an Alternate US 12 in the years afterwards. Later, US 12 was moved after the completion of I-94 in southern Michigan. Additional US 12 segments were added to M-96 at that time. The last major changes to M-96 rerouted the highway through the Battle Creek area in late 1998.
Route description
M-96 starts at an intersection between King Highway and Business Loop I-94 (BL I-94) east of downtown Kalamazoo. From this point, it follows King Highway over and then along the Kalamazoo RiverKalamazoo River
The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to when one includes the South Branch...
through a suburban residential area. The highway then follows Michigan Avenue east through Comstock and north of Morrow Lake. At Galesburg, M-96 turns northeast along Augusta Drive to Augusta
Augusta, Michigan
Augusta is a village in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 899 at the 2000 census. The village is mostly within Ross Township, though a small portion extends south into Charleston Township....
, running through rural farmland. It turns eastward again, skirting the Fort Custer State Recreation Area
Fort Custer Recreation Area
Fort Custer Recreation Area is a state park located between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, Michigan. The area features lakes, the Kalamazoo River, over 25 miles of multi-use trails, second growth oak barrens and dry-mesic southern forests.-History:...
and the Fort Custer National Cemetery
Fort Custer National Cemetery
Fort Custer National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located just outside of the Village of Augusta in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 20,656 interments.- History :...
. In Augusta, M-96 turns to follow Dickman Road to Battle Creek, passing north and east of the W. K. Kellogg Regional Airport on Dickman and Helmer roads.
On the north side of the airport, M-96 runs 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 both BL I-94 and M-37
M-37 (Michigan highway)
M-37 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. The southern terminus is near the border between Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties at exit 92 of Interstate 94 southwest of Battle Creek. The northern terminus is at the Mission Point Light on Old Mission Point in Grand...
. M-96 turns south on Helmer Road, separating from the other two trunklines, and then turns east crossing along Columbia Avenue. Here the highway runs along the edge of the city of Battle Creek through more residential areas and crosses the I-194
Interstate 194 (Michigan)
Interstate 194 is a three-mile long, north–south freeway between downtown Battle Creek and I-94 in the southern portion of the city. The Michigan Department of Transportation lists its length as long, while the Federal Highway Administration lists it at...
/M-66
M-66 (Michigan highway)
M-66 is a north–south state trunkline highway on the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. It runs from the Indiana state line in the south to Charlevoix in the north. M-66 is the only state highway to traverse almost the entire north–south distance of the LP. It starts as a...
freeway next to the Riverside County Club. Near Brownlee Park, M-96 (Columbia Avenue) merges with BL I-94 (Michigan Avenue). Together BL I-94/M-96 continues along Michigan Avenue to I-94 where BL I-94 ends. M-96 passes the Firekeepers Casino , which is located just east of the ending of BL I-94, between 11 and 12 Mile Roads. M-96 continues along Michigan Avenue through farmland from Emmett
Emmett, Michigan
Emmett is a village in St. Clair County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 251 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Emmett Township.-Geography:...
to Marshall
Marshall, Michigan
Marshall is a city located in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 7,459. It is the county seat of Calhoun County...
ending at an interchange with I-69
Interstate 69 in Michigan
Interstate 69 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that currently runs from Indianapolis, Indiana, to the US–Canadian border at Port Huron, Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state south of Coldwater and passes through the cities of Lansing and Flint...
/BL I-94.
M-96 is maintained by 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) like other state highways in Michigan. As a part of these maintenance responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic that uses the roadways under its jurisdiction. These volumes are expressed using a metric called annual average daily traffic
Annual average daily traffic
Average Annual daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning and transportation engineering. It is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a year divided by 365 days. AADT is a useful and simple measurement of how busy the road is...
, which is a statistical calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. MDOT's surveys in 2010 showed that the highest traffic levels along M-96 were the 22,953 vehicles daily between Capitol Avenue and I-194 in Battle Creek; the lowest counts were the 5,167 vehicles per day at the western terminus in Kalamazoo. The only section of M-96 that has been listed on the National Highway System (NHS), is in the Battle Creek area between the western BL I-94/M-37 junction and the I-94 interchange. The NHS is a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.
History
M-96 was formed as a state trunkline in late 1926 from parts of M-17. The section of M-17 between Galesberg and Battle Creek was not utilized for US 12 and became M-96. In 1936, the Alternate US 12 trunkline was designated through the Battle Creek area along a section of highway that had previously been part of US 12. This highway was be added to M-96 three years later in 1939.A rerouting of trunklines in 1941 lead to the creation of a Business US 12 (BUS US 12). M-96 ran concurrently with BUS US 12 and M-37
M-37 (Michigan highway)
M-37 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. The southern terminus is near the border between Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties at exit 92 of Interstate 94 southwest of Battle Creek. The northern terminus is at the Mission Point Light on Old Mission Point in Grand...
was truncated to end at M-96. US 12 was rerouted between Galesburg and Kalamazoo in 1954, and M-96 was extended along the former US 12 routing to end in Kalamazoo. M-96 was rerouted in downtown Battle Creek to one-way streets in 1958, and BUS US 12/M-96 was extended by the end of the decade when the I-94/US 12 freeway was completed in the area. BUS US 12 was redesignated as Business Loop I-94 (BL I-94) in 1960 and M-96 was shortened to end at BL I-94/M-78
M-78 (Michigan highway)
M-78 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. The western terminus is the intersection with M-66 north of Battle Creek in Pennfield Township. The roadway runs through rural farmland and the community of Bellevue as it approaches its eastern terminus at an interchange with...
running on Capital Avenue. M-37 was reextended in 1961 in Battle Creek to a concurrent routing with M-96 in 1961.
M-89 was extended along the roadway used by M-96 west of Battle Creek to M-37 in 1965, truncating M-96 in the process. M-96 was reextended back to Battle Creek along Dickman Road and Fort Custer Highway from Augusta east in 1971. Several changes in Battle Creek were made to the area trunklines in 1998. M-96 was extended along BL I-94 (Dickman Road) to M-37 (Helmer Road) and along M-37 to Columbia Avenue. At Columbia, M-96 then turned west and M-37 turned east. M-96 rejoined BL I-94 along Michigan Avenue to I-94 and on to Marshall.