| M-5 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by MDOT | ||||
| Length: | 20.86 mi[1] (33.57 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1977[1] – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: | Pontiac Trail in Commerce Township. | |||
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I-96 / I-275 / I-696 in Novi M-39 in Detroit |
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| East end: | I-96 in Detroit | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Wayne & Oakland | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Michigan State Trunkline Highway System
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M-5 is a 21-mile (34 km) highway in the metro Detroit area of the US state of Michigan.
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M-5's eastern terminus is at the junction of Grand River Avenue and Interstate 96 in western Detroit (I-96 exit 185). M-5's northern terminus is at its junction with Pontiac Trail in Commerce Township, a rapidly-developing area of Oakland County.
From 1926 until 1939, M-5 was used as the designation along what is now M-129. Single digit designations are removed at this time, reserved for a future "superhighway" system that later became Michigan's Interstates.
Originally constructed as part of old US 16 (and later I-96), the Brighton-Farmington Expressway ran from U.S. 23 near Brighton parallel to Grand River Avenue, following an existing southern bypass of Farmington to a junction with Grand River west of Middle Belt Road. Initial plans called to extend I-96 to downtown Detroit along Grand River Avenue, which was given the designation Business Spur I-96. These plans were scrapped due to the level of development along Grand River, and I-96 would be rerouted to the south.
When I-96 was completed in 1977, the Business Spur I-96 designation was removed from Grand River Avenue. Rather than revert to its original c.1917 designation of M-16, the Michigan Department of Transportation selected M-5 as the new route designation, following a trend established in 1970 and 1973, when odd single-digit routes M-1 and M-3 were designated along Woodward Avenue (formerly U.S. 10) and Gratiot Avenue (U.S. 25), respectively. Grand River was signed as M-5 between 8 Mile Road and its present eastern terminus at I-96 while leaving Grand River Avenue southeast of I-96 an unsigned state trunkline. Both the portion of BS I-96 north of 8 Mile Road and the stub of I-96 that continued out to I-275 became part of M-102.
In 1994, the first leg of the Haggerty Extension, an expressway built on the right-of-way of the proposed northern leg of I-275, was completed to 12 Mile Road. At this time, M-DOT chose to extend M-5 northwesterly beyond 8 Mile Road, replacing the M-102 designation along the former segment of the Brighton-Farmington freeway.
Over the next eight years, M-5 was extended as far north as Pontiac Trail in Commerce Township. It is highly unlikely that any new highway will be constructed in the near future. Local residents have long opposed extension of I-275 to its proposed connection with I-75 in Clarkston, because of the many lakes and parklands that would be adversely affected by the construction of such a freeway, and residents also fear a drop in property values. While the residents of these communities continue to maintain a strong stance against freeway construction, the area itself has already begun to be affected by urban sprawl.
In 2011, a roundabout was placed at the northern terminus of M-5, as well as a northern extension of roadway albeit without the M-5 designation into the Eldorado Golf Course in Commerce Township to better serve the community.[2]
| County | Location | Mile | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland |
Commerce Township | 0.00 | Pontiac Trail | |
| Novi | 13 Mile Road | North end of freeway | ||
| 12 Mile Road | ||||
| I-96 west – Lansing | Exit 165 on I-96 | |||
| I-96 east / I-275 south – Detroit, Toledo | Exit 165 on I-96/I-275 | |||
| Farmington Hills | I-696 east (Reuther Freeway) – Port Huron | Exit 1 on I-696 | ||
| Grand River Avenue, 10 Mile Road | ||||
| Farmington | 9 Mile Road, Farmington Road | Eastbound exit and entrance | ||
| Farmington Hills | Grand River Avenue – Farmington | East end of freeway; M-5 follows Grand River Avenue | ||
| Oakland–Wayne |
Farmington Hills – Livonia | M-102 east (8 Mile Road) | 8 Mile Road is the county line | |
| Wayne |
Detroit | US 24 (Telegraph Road) | ||
| M-39 (Southfield Freeway) | Exit 12 on M-39 | |||
| I-96 (Jeffries Freeway) | Exit 186 on I-96 | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus • Closed/Former • Incomplete access • Unopened |
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