M-115 (Michigan highway)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

M-115

Length:

96.76 mi^[1] (155.72 km)

Formed:

1930

South end:

BUS US 127/10 at Clare

Major
junctions:

US 10 near Farwell

M-66/M-61 near Temple
US 131/M-55 at Cadillac
M-37/M-42 at Mesick
US 31 at Benzonia

North end:

M-22 at Frankfort

Michigan highways
< M-114		M-116 >

M-115 is a state highway in the northwestern part of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, taking a generally northwest-to-southeast direction between Frankfort, junction M-22 on Lake Michigan, and an intersection with US 10 to the east of Clare. It meets US 31 in Benzonia, Michigan; US 131 and M-55 near Cadillac; M-37 near Mesick; M-66 at no identifiable town, and US 10 near Farwell. At Farwell, it follows the route of old US 10 through Clare, the route becoming available after a freeway alignment of US 10 was built to connect US 10 to the former US 27 freeway, now US 127. It has no direct access to the US 127 freeway to the east of Clare, access to it better afforded by US 10.

All of M-115 is undivided surface road.

[edit] History

Despite its regional importance M-115 is not an original Michigan state highway. Until 1935, the only stretch of M-115 in place before 1935 was from Beulah to Frankfort, and that had been part of an older M-42 which has now been truncated at Mesick. Beginning in the mid-1930's, construction of M-115 began in order to create a more direct highway from central to northwestern Lower Michigan. By 1938, M-115 from M-66 south of Marion to M-55 in Cadillac was built, and in 1941, M-115 was completed from US 10 west of Farwell to M-66. The next stretch of the highway to be built was from the M-37/M-42 junction near Mesick to US 31 south of Beulah. In 1957, the last portion of M-115 between Cadillac and Mesick was completed. Originally, M-115 went through downtown Cadillac when it was cosigned with US 131 (Mackinaw Trail) to Boon Road, then west on Boon Road before it was later routed to again pass by Lake Cadillac and then pass Mitchell State Park. In the 1960's, M-115 was extended to Clare from west of Farwell when it was cosigned with US 10 and stopping at the intersection with Business US 27 (now BUS US 127). When the US 10 freeway extension was completed to west of Farwell in 1975, M-115 was cosigned with US 10 on the freeway to the US 27 (now US 127) freeway, but M-115 has since been returned to the 2-lane Old US 10 from Clare through Farwell to its original southeastern starting point near the US 10 overpass and continuing northwesterly.