M-43 (Michigan highway)
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| M-43 |
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| Maintained by MDOT | |||||||||
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| Length: | 136.13 mi[1] (219.08 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1924[1] | ||||||||
| West end: |  BL I-196 in South Haven |
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| Major junctions: |
 M-40 near Gobles
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| East end: |  I-96 near Webberville |
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| Counties: | Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Barry, Eaton, Ingham | ||||||||
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M-43 is a highway in southwestern and central parts of the U.S. state of Michigan from South Haven to Webberville. The route is not a direct path between the two cities as the route heads east from South Haven, through Kalamazoo then north to Woodbury where it turns east and heads into Lansing before heading southeast to junction with I-96 20 miles east of the Capitol.
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[edit] Route description
M-43 begins at an intersection with BL I-196 in South Haven. Known locally as Bailey Avenue, the road heads out of the city to the southwest, quickly intersecting County Route A-2 before running under I-196. From there, the road continues to the southeast through the rural areas of Van Buren County before passing through Bangor. After Bangor, the route heads due east past Glendale before intersecting M-40.
After the junction with M-40, the route then enters Kalamazoo County and has an interchange with US 131 just before entering the city of Kalamazoo. In Kalamazoo, eastbound traffic is routed along Main Street, while westbound traffic travels on Kalamazoo Avenue. After merging back together and crossing the Kalamazoo River, a brief stint as Riverview Drive leads to an intersection with Gull Road where M-43 begins to head northeast out of the city passing in front of the Borgess Medical Center. The road then travels through a rural area for a brief period before entering the community of Richland where it meets up with M-89.
M-43 and M-89 are paired for a mile north of Richland before M-89 heads off to the east while M-43 continues north. After the concurrency ends, M-43 jogs east and then back north to run between Little Long Lake and Gull Lake. It is at this point where M-43 begins its northward trek of its journey. The road continues on a general north-northeast track through the rural areas and beside several lakes in Barry County before meeting up with M-179 and M-37, with which it runs together into Hastings. In Hastings, M-37 leaves town to the south, while M-43 heads north before curving around the east, passing through Woodland. Just after Woodland, the road meets up with M-66 and together they head north to a junction with M-50 which is the original southern terminus of M-43 in 1924.
M-43 then turns east with M-50 and they briefly run together before M-50 diverges to the southeast. Now known as the Grand Ledge Highway, M-43 continues its easterly trek across northern Eaton County before dipping south briefly to travel around the south side of Grand Ledge on the bypass that was constructed in 1959. Just south of town, M-43 has a junction with M-100 and then becomes known as the Saginaw Highway. The route then has a junction with I-69/I-96 in Delta Township before continuing into Lansing.
In Lansing, eastbound traffic is routed onto Saginaw Street, while westbound traffic uses Oakland Avenue. Shortly after entering the city and just before the junction with M-99, the highway travels past Sparrow Hospital. M-43 then crosses the Grand River and passes Marshall Park. The road then passes over US 127 just before the paired one way streets merge back together. After the merge, M-43 heads southeast through East Lansing, passing the main campus of Michigan State University and Spartan Stadium. The road continues on its southeast path, traveling by the Meridian Mall just as it enters Meridian Township. From here the road travels through Williamston before terminating at an interchange with I-96 just south of Webberville at exit 122.[2][3][4]
[edit] History
When M-43 was first commissioned in 1920, it ran from M-11 in Muskegon to M-54 in Casnovia on a direct east to west route. This alignment was far north of where it would end up in the latter part of the century. M-11 would later become Business US 31 through Muskegon and M-54 would later become M-37.
In 1924, the existing highway was assumed into the route of M-46. At the same time a "new" M-43 was created running from M-39 (Michigan highway), present day M-50, at Woodbury north along the present day alignment of M-66 to Stanton where the road then turned east through Ithaca before terminating in St. Charles at M-47, which is now M-52.
In 1926, the road was extended to the southwest to a new terminus in downtown Kalamazoo. From there the road ran north east along the route's present day alignment through Hastings and Woodland where it then met up with the existing portion of M-43 in Woodbury. A few years later, in 1930, the section of highway from Woodbury north to Stanton was replaced by M-14 (present day M-66), and the section that ran east from Stanton became part of the new M-57, which itself would be realigned further north later. The other end of the highway, in Kalamazoo, was also extended during this time, along the present day alignment of M-43, to end at US 31 in South Haven.
In 1936, the road was extended to the east, replacing the routing of M-39 from Woodbury all the way to East Lansing where it intersected US 16 as it existed on Grand River Avenue prior to its decommissioning. Since then, the route has existed in nearly the same format with minor changes in city areas, including one way pairings to alleviate traffic congestion in Lansing and Kalamazoo. In 1959, a new bypass was opened just south of Grand Ledge and M-43 was routed onto this, while the old alignment through town became Business M-43.[1]
[edit] Major intersections
| County | Location | Mile[4][5] | Roads | Notes |
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| Van Buren | South Haven | 0.00 | BL I-196 |
Western terminus |
| 0.77 |  A-2Blue Star Memorial Highway |
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| 1.09 |  I-196Gerald R. Ford Fwy |
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| Almena Township | 22.55 | M-40 |
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| Kalamazoo | Oshtemo Township | 33.66 |  US 131 |
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| Kalamazoo | 37.30 |   BL I-94/M-43  BUS US 131 |
M-43 runs concurrent with BL I-94 through downtown | |
| 38.44 | BL I-94/M-43 |
Eastern terminus of concurrency | ||
| Richland | 46.96 |  M-89 |
Western terminus of concurrency | |
| Richland Township | 47.96 | M-89 |
Eastern terminus of concurrency | |
| Barry | Rutland Township | 69.06 |  M-179 |
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| 69.39 |  M-37 |
Western terminus of concurrency | ||
| Hastings | 71.68 | M-37 |
Eastern terminus of concurrency | |
| Woodland Township | 86.86 |  M-66 |
Western terminus of concurrency | |
| 89.26 | M-66/M-43 M-50/M-43 |
Eastern terminus of concurrency with M-66. Western terminus of concurrency with M-50. | ||
| Eaton | Sunfield Township | 90.56 | M-50 |
Eastern terminus of concurrency |
| Grand Ledge | 106.72 |  M-100 |
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| Delta Township | 110.34 |  I-69/I-96 BL I-69/M-43 |
Interchange at exit 94. M-43 and BL I-69 duplexed through Lansing. | |
| Ingham | Lansing | 116.55 |  BL I-96 |
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| 118.39 |  US 127 |
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| 118.67 | BL I-69/M-43 |
Eastern terminus of concurrency | ||
| Leroy Township | 134.02 |  M-52 |
Western terminus of concurrency | |
| Webberville | 136.13 | I-96/M-52/M-43 |
Eastern terminus of concurrency with M-52. Eastern terminus of route. |
| Legend | |||||
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| Crossing, no access | Concurrency terminus | Deleted | Unconstructed | Closed | |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Bessert, Christopher J.. Michigan Highways: Highways 40 through 49. Michigan Highways. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ^ Google Maps. Google Maps. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ^ Michigan Department of Transportation. Official 2007 Department of Transportation Map [map], 2007 edition.
- ^ a b Control Section/Physical Reference Atlas. Michigan Department of Transportation (2001). Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ^ MiGDL - Center for Geographic Information - Geographic Data Library. Michigan Department of Information Technology (May 2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
