US Highway 23 (US 23) is a north–south highway that runs from Jacksonville, Florida, to Mackinaw City, Michigan. In Michigan, it is a major, 362-mile-long (583 km) highway that runs through the Lower Peninsula. This highway is a freeway from the Michigan–Ohio state line near Lambertville to Standish, and it follows the Lake Huron shoreline from Standish to its northern end. US 23 serves the cities of Ann Arbor and Flint and acts as a freeway bypass of the Metro Detroit area. The highway runs through rural areas of the state with farmland or woodlands, but some parts pass through urban areas in Ann Arbor, Flint, and the Tri-Cities. Between Flint and Standish, the highway shares a section with Interstate 75 (I-75), which carries about 70,000 vehicles each day.
The first roads along US 23 were parts of two Indian trails. In the early 1900s, four auto trail names were used for roads that later became part of US 23. These roads were included in the state highway system in 1919. In 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was created, and US 23 replaced older route names. Since its creation, the highway has been moved and realigned several times. In the 1930s and 1940s, a new route along Lake Huron replaced an older inland path in northern Michigan. Starting in the early 1950s, sections in the southeastern and central Lower Peninsula were upgraded to freeways, bypassing major cities. These improvements were completed by the end of the 1960s. Later, a new bridge over the Saginaw River at Zilwaukee was built to replace a drawbridge that carried I-75 and US 23 over a shipping channel.
Since the 1980s, US 23 has had several memorial or tourist route designations. It has been part of the Lake Huron Circle Tour since 1986. The non-freeway section was named the Sunrise Side Coastal Highway in 2004 as part of the Pure Michigan Byway Program. Since 2009, it has been called the Huron Shores Heritage Route. The highway also carries two memorial designations related to war veterans and one related to local leaders, following a 2001 law change. Two of US 23’s bridges are on MDOT’s historic bridge list, and one is also on the National Register of Historic Places. Future plans for US 23 include extending the freeway north from Standish to a location along the Lake Huron shoreline. A proposed freeway in Flint could also connect US 23 to the south end of I-475.
Route description
US 23 is a highway that is 362.152 miles (582.827 km) long and runs through the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It acts as a bypass to the west of Metro Detroit and as a scenic route along Lake Huron in the northern part of the state. Between Flint and Standish, US 23 travels together with I-75. From Flint to Bay City, the combined highway has between six and eight lanes. Other parts of US 23 have four lanes. Outside of the freeway sections, US 23 has two lanes. Like other main highways in the state, it is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). All of US 23 in Michigan south of the M-32 junction in Alpena is part of the National Highway System, a group of roads important for the country’s economy, defense, and movement. From Standish north, US 23 is also part of the Lake Huron Circle Tour and the Huron Shores Heritage Route, a Pure Michigan Byway.
US 23 enters Michigan on a freeway northwest of Toledo, Ohio, where it travels with US 223. This highway moves north through farmland in western Monroe County near Lambertville. About five miles (8.0 km) north of the Ohio border, US 223 leaves the freeway and turns west onto St. Anthony Road. US 23 continues north on the freeway. South of Dundee, US 23 crosses the River Raisin and connects with M-50 near a Cabela’s store. North of Dundee, the highway passes near an industrial area. Further north, it crosses a line of the Ann Arbor Railroad near Azalia, where the railroad runs east of Milan at the Monroe-Washtenaw county line. North of Milan, the highway crosses a line of the Norfolk Southern Railway.
As US 23 approaches Ann Arbor, the area becomes more suburban with homes and neighborhoods. There are separate connections for US 12 (Michigan Avenue) and I-94 on the southeast side of the city. Between I-94 and Washtenaw Avenue, US 23 is called Business Loop I-94 (BL I-94). This route leaves the freeway and travels west on Washtenaw Avenue into downtown Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan campus. At the same connection, Business US 23 (Bus. US 23) also follows Washtenaw Avenue west. East of US 23, M-17 connects the highway with Ypsilanti. North of this connection, US 23 crosses the Huron River near a local community college and continues north to meet M-14. The two highways merge and travel west along the north side of the city before US 23 turns north and M-14 turns south.
North of Ann Arbor, US 23 runs through woodlands and near lakes. It uses a flex route system that allows traffic to use the inner shoulder during busy times. In Whitmore Lake, US 23 enters Livingston County near the lake that shares the town’s name. East of Brighton, US 23 crosses I-96 and continues north to meet M-59 south of Hartland. The highway turns northeast near Runyon Lake and heads toward Fenton. US 23 passes through Fenton and turns northwest, running between lakes Ponemah and Fenton. As it moves north, the area becomes more rural farmland near Flint.
West of Grand Blanc, US 23 meets I-75, and the two highways merge near Bishop International Airport. They travel along the west side of the Flint metro area. I-75/US 23 connects with I-69 near a railway line. Continuing north through suburban areas, the highway crosses the Flint River. In Mount Morris Township, US 23 meets the northern end of I-475 before connecting with M-57 near Clio. The highest traffic levels on US 23 in Michigan were recorded near the M-57 connection. In 2009, an average of 68,800 vehicles used that section daily. These numbers are called annual average daily traffic (AADT), which is a way to calculate the average number of vehicles on a road each day.
Near Birch Run, US 23 turns northwest next to a large mall. Between here and Saginaw, the highway runs through wooded areas and crosses the Cass River near Bridgeport. I-75/US 23 enters the Tri-Cities (Saginaw, Bay City, and Midland) by bypassing Saginaw to the east. The highway connects with M-46 in Buena Vista Township south of I-675. North of Saginaw, US 23 crosses the Saginaw River on the Zilwaukee Bridge, a type of concrete bridge that had many problems during construction. Past the bridge, I-75/US 23 meets the northern end of I-675 and continues through fields and woods to Bay City. At exit 162, the highway connects with the eastern end of US 10 and the western end of M-25. The next connection is with the Connector M-13 (CONN M-13) highway, which was the previous northern end of US 23’s freeway in Michigan. The connector runs north, and I-75/US 23 turns northwest to bypass Kawkawlin. The highway crosses the Kawkawlin River and Pinconning Creek before connecting with M-13 southwest of Standish. There, US 23 turns east and separates from I-75. US 23 continues as a freeway for about three miles (4.8 km) before ending at the intersection with M-13 south of Standish. The lowest AADT on US 23 in Michigan is the section immediately east of I-75, where traffic drops from 20,763 to 4,466 vehicles daily after US 23 separates from I-75.
US 23 travels north from the end of its freeway along Huron Road through Standish. The highway turns northeast through woodlands after crossing Old M-76. Northeast of that intersection, the highest non-freeway AADT on US 23 was recorded at 16,757 vehicles daily. Running through Omer, the highway crosses the Rifle River and a railway line. Between these crossings, it turns east.
History
Before Michigan became a state, the first land transportation paths were Indian trails. The original Shore Trail ran roughly parallel to the modern-day US 23 route from the Bay City area to Cheboygan. Another part of the current highway followed the Saginaw Trail between Flint and Saginaw.
Later, during the auto trail era, the modern-day US 23 also matched the east branch of the Dixie Highway and part of the Lower Peninsula section of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway. The Dixie Highway was created by William S. Gilbreath after he developed the Lincoln Highway. This highway was designed to connect the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico and to honor 50 years of peace between the North and South after the American Civil War. At the request of Governor Woodbridge N. Ferris, the northern starting point was set at the Straits of Mackinac. The highway had two branches in the Lower Peninsula; the eastern branch followed what later became US 23 north of Standish. The Theodore Roosevelt International Highway was named after former US president Theodore Roosevelt after his death in 1919. This highway ran from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine, through Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. In Michigan, it also followed US 23 north of Standish.
The highway was also part of the East Michigan Pike, created to be a counterpart of the West Michigan Pike on the other side of the Lower Peninsula. The original route of the East Michigan Pike included a section along the coast of The Thumb between Bay City and Port Huron and used the same route as the Dixie Highway north of Bay City. Supporters of this auto trail lost out in terms of name recognition to the Dixie Highway, making the East Michigan Pike one of the failed auto trails. The southern part of what is now US 23 in the state was also part of the auto trail craze. The Top of Michigan Trail was designated in 1917 from the state line north to the Bay City area, before turning inland along other roadways. The name faded shortly after the Michigan State Highway Department (MSHD) assigned the first highway numbers in the state.
The first state highways along the US 23 corridor were numbered M-65 from the Ohio line north to the Flint area and M-10 from Flint north to Mackinaw City by July 1, 1919. When originally designated, M-65 was in two sections: the southern segment ran from the Ohio state line north to the Dundee area; the northern section ran between Ann Arbor and Flint via Brighton and Fenton. The gap between the two segments was removed by the middle of 1926.
US 23 was commissioned on November 11, 1926, with the start of the United States Numbered Highway System. The MSHD removed the M-10 and M-65 designations from the highway at that time. Originally, US 23 entered Michigan from Ohio south of Temperance and ran north to Ypsilanti via Ida and Maybee. Once the highway reached Ann Arbor, it followed roads that preceded the modern-day freeway up to Flint. From Flint to Saginaw, US 23 ran alongside US 10. On the way north to Bay City, the highway ran on the west side of the Saginaw River before turning north to the Standish area. From Standish to Mackinaw City, US 23 initially took a more inland route through the northeastern Lower Peninsula.
Starting in 1929, MSHD began updating the route that US 23 followed through the Lower Peninsula. Late that year, the routing was moved to the east side of the Saginaw River, and M-47 was extended along the former course on the west side of the river. During 1930, changes realigned the highway's route through the southeast corner of the state. Near Ida, US 23 was rerouted along M-50 to Dundee and north through Milan to Ann Arbor, bypassing Maybee and Whittaker. US 23 was moved from its inland routing between Omer and Tawas City via Whittemore to follow a shoreline alignment by way of Au Gres along Saginaw Bay around 1932; the former route through Twining and Whittemore became an extension of M-65, and the section from Whittemore east to Tawas City was added to M-55 as part of these changes.
In 1932, US 23 was moved closer to the lakeshore between Spruce and Alpena; the former routing was redesignated M-171. The highway was also moved to a route closer to the lakeshore between Tawas City and Oscoda, with part of the old inland route taking the designation Old US 23. A few years later in 1936, US 23 replaced M-72 between Oscoda and Harrisville and followed a new roadway north to the Spruce area. The M-171 designation was removed from its original routing and applied to the 1932 routing of US 23 via Mikado and Lincoln. In the middle of 1937, US 27 was extended concurrently along US 23 between Cheboygan and Mackinaw City. Around the end of the decade, US 23's routing was moved to follow the lakeshore between Alpena and Rogers City. M-65 was extended northwards from Lachine through Posen to terminate over the former US 23 routing.
US 23 was moved to its current lakeshore routing between Rogers City and Cheboygan in 1940, and M-33 was extended westerly from Onaway to Afton and north to Cheboygan over the former US 23 roadway while M-68 was extended eastward through Onaway to Rogers City. In early 1941, a bridge across the Saginaw River connecting Salzburg and Lafayette avenues in Bay City was added to the route of US 23 in the city; at the same time, the former routing was redesignated Bus. US 23. The highway was also realigned between Hartland and Fenton in 1941. By 1945, the northernmost segment of M-65 in downtown Rogers City was redesignated Bus. US 23, and M-65 was truncated to its junction with US 23 southeast of town, removing the concurrency that existed since 1940. North of Dundee, a more direct alignment to Azalia was added to US 23, turning the former routing back to local control in late 1947 or early 1948; at the same time, the last gravel section of the highway was paved near Hammond Bay in northwestern Presque Isle County.
One of the first pieces of what would later become part of US 23's freeway route was completed in late 1951 or early 1952, when a two-lane bypass was built around the eastern side of Milan. Two years later, a similar bypass was built from Bridgeport to M-81 on the east side of Saginaw, with the old route becoming a Bus. US 23 designation. Both bypasses would later be upgraded to four-lane freeways by 1961, with the Saginaw one later incorporated into the route of I-75. When the Mackinac Bridge opened on November 1, 1957, US 23, US 27, and US 31 were extended along the access roadways to the foot of the bridge.
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Future
Officials in the Flint area have suggested building a new section of freeway to connect I-475 directly to US 23. If completed, this extension would include a new freeway that would run through Fenton and Cook roads before linking to US 23 at Baldwin Road. Plans for this connection have existed since the late 1990s, but they were put on hold indefinitely in 2011.
Memorial highway designations and tourist routes
Most of US 23, along with US 2 in the Upper Peninsula, has been named the United Spanish War Veterans Memorial Highway. This name was given through Public Act 207 of 1945, with similar laws for US 2 passed in 1949. Signs for the highway were not placed until 1968, when Governor George W. Romney ordered them to be installed.
North of Standish, US 23 is part of the Lake Huron Circle Tour (LHCT). The LHCT was created in May 1986 as part of the larger Great Lakes Circle Tour. This effort was led by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and similar groups in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ontario.
In 2001, the Michigan State Legislature updated the laws that define memorial highways. They added the Veterans of World War I Memorial Highway to the list. This highway runs along I-75/US 23 between Saginaw and Bay City. The name was included in Public Act 142. This law also changed the name of another highway segment between Saginaw and Bay City. The Roberts-Linton Highway, named in 1931 for local leaders who supported building a highway along the Saginaw River, was originally applied to the older route between Saginaw and Bay City (now part of M-13). After the 2001 update, the name was moved to the US 23 freeway.
In May 2004, the highway north of Standish was named the Sunrise Side Coastal Highway. This is a scenic highway designation now part of the Pure Michigan Byway Program. Since 2009, the local group managing the byway has used the name Huron Shores Heritage Route for this area. By the end of 2011, the Northeast Michigan Council of Governments (NEMCOG) was working to fund a tourist promotion called "Telling Stories of the Sunrise Coast" through the US 23 Heritage Route Interpretive Program. Earlier efforts by NEMCOG included printed materials, logos, and other marketing activities.
Historic bridges
MDOT keeps a list of historic bridges in the state. Along US 23, the department has identified two bridges. The bridge over the Ocqueoc River in Ocqueoc Township, Presque Isle County, was built in 1937. This 106-foot-long (32 m) bridge is one of the last three deck truss bridges in the state. The roadway on the bridge is 38 feet (11.6 m) wide and has two lanes for traffic. The bridge was rebuilt in 1994.
The second bridge is the Cheboygan Bascule Bridge in Cheboygan. This bascule bridge was built in 1940 over the Cheboygan River. It was the last of its kind before World War II. It was constructed as a "two-leaf bridge" in a location where a single-leaf bridge could have been used instead. Construction was delayed because the contractor died, but the bridge was completed in December 1940. It replaced an iron swing bridge built in 1877. The bridge is 155 feet (47 m) long, with two 42-foot (13 m) spans on either side of a central 70-foot (21 m) span. The roadway is 40 feet (12 m) wide and has four lanes for vehicles. Pedestrian sidewalks are located on both sides of the roadway. When the bridge opens to allow river traffic, boats have a 60-foot-wide (18 m) channel for navigation. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 2000, and rebuilt in 2003.