M-22 (Michigan highway)
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| M-22 |
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| Maintained by MDOT | |||||||||
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| Length: | 114.45 mi[1] (184.19 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1920[1] | ||||||||
| South end: |  US 31 near Manistee |
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| Major junctions: |
 M-115 at Frankfort
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| North end: |   US 31/M-37/M-72 in Traverse City |
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| Counties: | Manistee, Benzie, Leelanau, Grand Traverse | ||||||||
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M-22 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 114.5 miles long and traverses Manistee, Benzie, Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties. For most of its length, it closely parallels the Lake Michigan shore. It also passes through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
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[edit] Route description
| Communities Cities listed from south to north |
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The southern terminus is 3 miles northeast of Manistee and the northern terminus is in Traverse City. The road itself comprises numerous turns and hills, making it a moderately popular drive for tourists visiting the area, especially during autumn. The road, which closely follows Lake Michigan, is often referred to as the Midwestern version of the Pacific Coast Highway (California State Route 1), as it possesses the only other western exposure, large scale sandy shoreline in the United States besides the Pacific Ocean. Similar to SR 1 there are many turn-outs, beach towns, lighthouses, overlooks, and close proximity to the water. A portion of this road has been designated a scenic heritage route by the state of Michigan. While M-22's northern terminus is in Traverse City, the route reaches its northern most point in Northport as the route changes direction back south.
[edit] History
In 1929-30, while the M-22 bridge between Big and Little Glen Lakes was being rebuilt, M-22 was designated around the eastern shore of Big Glen Lake, through Burdickville, to east of Glen Arbor with a spur going into Glen Arbor.
Until 1936, M-22's route was on Cherry Bend and Center Rds. in Leelanau County to Suttons Bay. At that time, M-22 was relocated along the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay onto Center Rd. up to Crain Hill Rd. In 1949, M-22 was relocated the rest of the way to Suttons Bay, and the former M-22 on Cherry Bend and Center Rds. became County Rd. 633, and in 1945, the last gravel stretch of M-22 from Leland to Northport was paved.
In Traverse City, M-22 originally started at Front and Union Sts. going west on Front to Elmwood, turning north onto Elmwood, then west on Bay St. to Greilickville. It was relocated onto the newly built Grand View Pkwy in 1952, from Greilickville to Division St. (relocated US 31).
[edit] Cultural references
Broneah Kiteboarding, a company based out of Traverse City, has adopted the M-22 shield as a logo, and sells merchandise such as hooded sweatshirts, T-shirts, and bumper stickers featuring the shield. As such, it has become a popular symbol for the company as well as a cultural symbol for the western Grand Traverse Bay area.[2]
