Interstate 69 (I-69) is a highway in the Interstate Highway System that will connect the Mexican border in Texas to the Canadian border near Port Huron, Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state highway that enters the state south of Coldwater and passes through Lansing and Flint in the Lower Peninsula. The highway runs north to south from the Indiana-Michigan border to the Lansing area, then turns east to west after traveling alongside I-96. It continues to Port Huron, ending in the middle of the twin-span Blue Water Bridge while traveling alongside I-94 at the border. Four business loops are connected to I-69 in the state, linking the highway to nearby cities.
Earlier roads that were used before I-69 included M-29, US Highway 27 (US 27), M-78, and M-21. I-69 was not included on the original Interstate Highway System maps from the mid-1950s but was added in 1958 along a shorter route. Michigan built parts of the highway in the 1960s, and the state received more Interstate miles in 1968 to extend I-69 north and east to Flint. Additional extensions in 1973 and 1987 created the modern highway. The first section of I-69 in Michigan opened in 1967, and the final section was completed in 1992, finishing Michigan’s Interstate System. US 27 once traveled alongside I-69 from the Indiana-Michigan border north to the Lansing area, but this connection was removed in 2002.
Route description
I-69 is part of the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and movement of people. The freeway averages 91,100 vehicles daily between I-475 and M-54 in Flint and 14,085 vehicles between M-53 and Capac Road near the Lapeer–St. Clair county line, which were the highest and lowest traffic counts in 2012. I-69 carries the Lake Huron Circle Tour in the Port Huron area and the I-69 Recreational Heritage Route from the Indiana state line north to the Calhoun–Eaton county line. In Michigan, I-69 is mostly a four-lane freeway, except in the Lansing and Flint metro areas, where it has six lanes, and in Port Huron, where it has three lanes westbound and three lanes eastbound until eastbound traffic splits into six lanes for local traffic to Port Huron and two lanes for the Blue Water Bridge.
I-69 in Michigan begins at the Indiana state line southeast of Kinderhook, just north of an interchange with the Indiana Toll Road, which connects to I-80 and I-90. The freeway travels north through farmland and woodland in Branch County. A few miles north of the state line, it passes Coldwater Lake State Park and its namesake lake. North of the lake, a welcome center serves northbound traffic. I-69 curves around the east side of Coldwater, connecting to the city's business loop on the south. East of downtown, the freeway intersects the northern end of the business loop at an interchange that also includes US 12 (Chicago Road). Further north, the freeway turns northwest, crosses into Calhoun County, and crosses the St. Joseph River. It then turns northward, bypasses Tekonsha to the west, and intersects M-60.
Curving around Nottawa Lake, I-69 continues north through southern Calhoun County. It passes an interchange marking the southern end of M-227, a highway that connects to Marshall. The freeway crosses the Kalamazoo River and intersects M-96 west of downtown Marshall. North of that interchange, the BL I-94 designation overlaps with I-69. The business loop ends at a cloverleaf interchange northwest of Marshall, which is the first of I-69's two junctions with I-94 in the state. North of I-94, I-69 has one more interchange at N Drive North before entering Eaton County.
In southern Eaton County, the freeway runs parallel to the Battle Creek River north of M-78. Near Olivet, I-69 turns northeast, curving around the north side of town. On the south side of Charlotte, it turns north, passing east of downtown and crossing the former route of US 27, now part of the city's business loop. Further north, I-69 intersects M-50, a bridge over the Battle Creek River, and an interchange with the northern end of the business loop near Fitch H. Beach Airport. North of the airport, I-69 turns northeast again, paralleling Lansing Road, the former route of US 27/M-78. It meets the southern end of M-100 near Potterville and continues into the Lansing–East Lansing metro area. Southwest of the state capital, I-69 crosses over Lansing Road near Lansing Delta Township Assembly, a General Motors factory. Northeast of the complex, I-69 merges into I-96. The combined I-96/I-69 runs north through Lansing's suburbs, intersecting I-496 and BL I-69 for Lansing. The freeway enters Clinton County and turns east to separate from I-96 after crossing the Grand River. As part of a larger interchange with I-96, I-69 crosses BL I-96 (Grand River Avenue) without connections.
After leaving I-96, I-69 changes direction and is signed as east–west. It continues parallel to the Looking Glass River through suburban areas north of Capital Region International Airport. North of East Lansing, I-69 meets US 127 at a cloverleaf interchange. East of that junction, it turns southeast, passing Hawk Hollow Golf Course and Park Lake before meeting the eastern end of BL I-69 just north of Lake Lansing. I-69 then turns northeast, paralleling Lansing Road (Old M-78) to enter Shiawassee County. The freeway travels through Central Michigan farmlands, jogging north of Perry and Bancroft.
At Durand, I-69 meets the southeastern end of M-71 on the northwest side of town. The freeway turns sharply northeast before heading east near Lennon. The interchange with M-13 south of Lennon marks the Shiawassee–Genesee county line. Continuing east, I-69 parallels Miller Road north as far as Swartz Creek, where the two roadways cross. I-69 parallels the Canadian National Railway as it enters the Flint metro area. It intersects Bristol Road near Bishop International Airport and crosses I-75/US 23 southwest of downtown Flint. I-69, the railroad, and Swartz Creek all run parallel into downtown Flint, where the freeway intersects I-475 and M-54 (Dort Highway) before exiting the city's east side.
I-69 runs east out of Flint parallel to the railroad. At Davison, it intersects M-15 before entering Lapeer County. In this area, the freeway travels through farmland in the southern part of The Thumb region. It jogs north around Lake Nepessing, southwest of Lapeer, and continues through farmland to Imlay City, where it meets M-53 before crossing into western St. Clair County. I-69 continues east through an interchange with M-19 at Emmett.
Near Wadhams, I-69 curves north to follow part of the Black River. On the east side of the community, it turns southeast as it enters the western
History
The first major roads used for land travel in what is now the state of Michigan were Indian trails. These trails did not follow the path of today's I-69. In 1913, the Michigan Legislature created the State Trunkline Highway System. At that time, none of the system's roads matched the route of modern-day I-69. In 1919, the Michigan State Highway Department (MSHD) was required to put signs on the highways for the first time. Michigan became the second state after Wisconsin to do this. At that time, two different highways ran along parts of the modern I-69 route. The original M-29 started at the Indiana state line and went north to Charlotte before turning toward Lansing. The second highway, M-21, ran from Flint east to Goodells, a town near Port Huron. By 1924, M-21 was extended to Port Huron.
On November 11, 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was approved by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO). This system replaced M-29 with US 27 from the Indiana state line to Lansing. By the end of 1927, M-78 was extended from Charlotte north and east of Lansing to a point near Pittsburg, which is north of the modern I-69. In 1929, the part of M-78 from Dewitt to Pittsburg was renamed M-104, and M-78 was rerouted through East Lansing to Haslett. By 1936, M-78 was extended from Haslett to Flint, ending at M-21. In 1938, the first part of the Blue Water Bridge opened between Port Huron and Point Edward, Ontario.
The first planning maps from 1947 for what later became the Interstate Highway System did not include a highway along I-69’s route. Instead, a highway connecting South Bend, Indiana, with Kalamazoo was planned. This highway was included in the 1955 plan for the "National System of Interstate and Defense Highways" and was numbered I-67 in August 1957. By June 1958, this highway was moved east and renamed I-69, connecting Indianapolis, Indiana, with Marshall. No plans connected I-69 to Lansing, Flint, or Port Huron at that time. Around the same time, a section of M-146 near Port Huron was converted into a road leading to the Blue Water Bridge.
By mid-1960, the first part of the freeway along M-78 opened in the Lennon area. The next year, the freeway was extended southwest to Durand. In 1961, the MSHD proposed building the part of US 27 south of Lansing as an electronic highway through a bid with General Motors. However, testing for this type of road was done at Ohio State University instead.
By early 1962, M-78 was a freeway from Perry, where it met M-47, to Swartz Creek near Flint. On December 12, 1962, I-96 was completed around Lansing, and M-78 was rerouted to follow it. A year later, I-496 was partially opened in Lansing, and M-78 was rerouted again to follow it. The old route through downtown Lansing was renamed Business M-78 (Bus. M-78). Around the same time, I-94 was extended along the Blue Water Bridge approach road.
In 1966, the first part of the M-21 freeway was built from Wadhams to Port Huron. The next year, the M-78 freeway was extended east to I-75/US 10/US 23 in Flint. On October 11, 1967, the first section of I-69/US 27 opened between the Indiana state line and Tekonsha. By the end of 1967, the freeway extended north to I-94 northwest of Marshall. In 1968, the MSHD requested more Interstate Highway mileage under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968, including an extension of I-69 from Marshall to Port Huron. This extension was approved as far as I-75/US 23 in Flint on December 13, 1968.
In 1969, a section of M-78 freeway east of Flint was completed. That same year, I-475 was named the David Dunbar Buick Freeway after the founder of Buick Motor Company in Flint. The same law, House Concurrent Resolution 22 of 1969, named the M-78 freeway through Flint after Louis Chevrolet. In 1970, the I-496 freeway was completed, and the Bus. M-78 designation was removed in Lansing. A freeway segment between Flint and Lapeer opened in 1971. M-21 was rerouted along M-13 to the new freeway, where it joined the M-78 designation from M-13 east. The section of M-21 between M-13 and Bus. M-54 was renamed M-56. In 1973, the M-78 designation was replaced by I-69 after a temporary I-69 (Temp. I-69) designation was extended from Charlotte through Lansing to Perry. On September 4, 1973, Congress officially extended I-69 to end at I-475 on the east side of Flint. This extension, and all later ones, was not funded by the Interstate Highway fund.
In 1980, a Flint-area politician wanted to honor the United Auto Workers (UAW) by naming a highway after them. As a result, the David Dunbar Buick Freeway name was moved from I-475 to I-69. In 1984, the name "David Dunbar Buick Freeway" was restored to I-475, and the name "Chevrolet-Buick Freeway" was applied to all of I-69 in Genesee County. In 2004, the I-
Business loops
In Michigan, I-69 has four business loops. Each loop is named Business Loop I-69 (BL I-69). These highways connect the main freeway to the downtown areas of nearby cities. They use old paths from earlier highways (US 27, M-78, and M-21) and other connecting roads. The cities served by these loops are Coldwater, Charlotte, Lansing, and Port Huron.