There are three business routes of Interstate 196 in Michigan. Located in South Haven, Holland and Grand Rapids, these three roadways are former alignments of US Highway 31 (US 31) or M-21, which were the predecessors to Interstate 196 (I-196). As the freeway segments were completed in those communities, the former highway alignments were redesignated as business routes, the first two as business loops, and the latter as a business spur.
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| BL I-196 | |
|---|---|
| Location: | South Haven |
| Length: | 3.572 mi[1] (5.749 km) |
| Existed: | 1963[2]–present |
Business Loop I-196 (BL I-196) is a loop that runs in South Haven for 3.74 miles (6.02 km). It begins at Exit 18 on I-196/US 31 and runs due north along the La Grange Street. It then turns unto Phillips Street and then merging into Broadway Street upon turning east unto Phoenix St where it ends at Exit 20 on I-196. It previously had used the Blue Star Highway for a portion of the route in 1963 until the change to the current alignment in 1972.[2]
| BL I-196 | |
|---|---|
| Location: | Holland |
| Existed: | December 11, 1974[3]–present |
Business Loop I-196 (BL I-196) is a partial business loop that runs in Holland and Zeeland. It has a total length of 7.4 miles (11.9 km) in two segments. The first segment runs from the end of the US 31 concurrency with I-196 Exit 44 and continues for a 2.1 miles (3.4 km) until the end at the US 31 and the A-2/Blue Star Highway and Washington Ave. interchange in the southern reaches of Holland. The other 5.3-mile (8.5 km) section of the loop runs from Chicago Drive at the interchange with US 31 to the interchange with I-196 at Exit 55 just east of Zeeland. The southern section of the loop is freeway and the northern section is an expressway.[3]
The creation of the route occurred back in 1974 when I-196 was completed and routed south of the city of Holland. From that point, the old route of M-21 inside the cities to US 31 was redesignated as a business loop of I-196 with the state taking control of Washington Avenue to the downtown area. Then from downtown looping back up to Chicago Drive, the business loop used the old M-21. This route would not change until the early 1990s when a minor route change was completed. The route inside the downtown area of Holland was scheduled to be turned back to local control in 1998, but never the transfer was not made at the time. This transfer was eventually completed when the City of Holland went into talks with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) in 2004. The following year MDOT gave back the remaining portions of the route except those already listed.[3]
| BS I-196 | |
|---|---|
| Location: | Grand Rapids |
| Length: | 3.388 mi[1] (5.452 km) |
| Existed: | March 12, 1972[4]–present |
Business Spur I-196 (BS I-196) is a business route that serves the Godfrey–Lee Area of Wyoming and into Grand Rapids. It starts at Exit 72 on I-196 and then moves onto the surface street Chicago Drive for the majority of the distance in Wyoming. Upon crossing the Grand Rapids city limits, it turns into Grandville Avenue where it runs until turning onto Franklin Street. The spur then ends at the interchange with US 131. Its total length is 4.15 miles (6.68 km). It can only be accessed from eastbound I-196 on the western end. The first mile (1.6 km) of the route serves the mainly industrial center of Godfrey area of Wyoming upon leaving that section it serves primary as a residential route with businesses lining the street for remaining section of the route.[4]
Its history as a state route started off as M-51. The route used the current roads to connect Grand Rapids to Holland back in 1918. It was again used for a state route following the US Highway system introduction and was named M-21 in 1926. In 1953 the transportation department completed enough of the Grand Rapids Beltline to reroute M-21 to it. The former routing was named BUS M-21. With the completion of I-196 from Holland to Grand Rapids in 1973 the route was renamed Business Spur I-196. In the 1980s two truncations of the trunkline turned the route to its present length.