| US Highway 31 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
US 31 highlighted in red |
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by MDOT | ||||
| Length: | 357.234 mi[1] (574.91 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1926 – present | |||
| Tourist routes: |
Lake Michigan Circle Tour | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end: | US 31 near Niles | |||
|
US 12 near Niles |
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| North end: | I-75 near Mackinaw City | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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United States Numbered Highways Michigan State Trunkline Highway System
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US Highway 31 (US 31) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Alabama, to the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that runs from the Indiana–Michigan state line at Bertrand Township to its terminus at Interstate 75 (I-75) south of Mackinaw City. The highway runs for 357.234 miles (574.912 km) in the state.
The route crossed the Straits of Mackinac for a time before the Mackinac Bridge was built by ferry only.
Contents |
Much of US 31 from the Indiana-Michigan state line to Ludington is built to freeway standards. Two notable exceptions are a short segment along Napier Avenue between the St. Joseph Valley Parkway and I-94 near Benton Harbor, and between Holland and Ferrysburg. The portion of I-75 north of US 31's northern terminus toward the Mackinac Bridge was designated US 31 prior to the 1990s and was US 31's most northern portion to be built to freeway status. Since its truncation at the I-75 junction, however, the most northern segment of US 31 freeway ends near Ludington.
The southernmost 24 miles (39 km) of US 31 in Michigan runs along the four-lane freeway St. Joseph Valley Parkway. The portion of US 31 concurrent with I-94 near Benton Harbor travels along a six-lane freeway, while the next 47 miles (44 of which are concurrent with I-196) from north of Benton Harbor to Holland a four-lane freeway. The 24 miles (39 km) from Holland to Grand Haven runs along a mixture of four-lane divided highway and four-lane divided expressway. At Grand Haven, US 31 crosses the Grand River via a six-lane bascule bridge. The next 67 miles (108 km) from Ferrysburg to Ludington travels along a four-lane freeway. From Ludington to its northern terminus south of Mackinaw City, US 31 consists largely of two-lane rural highway and four- to five-lane urban street segments. Two segments, however, have been constructed to two-lane limited-access standards: from Elk Rapids northerly and from Carp Lake to I-75.
At the introduction of the US Highway System in the 1920s the route of US 31 largely replaced the existing M-58 and M-11 route designations.
In the 1920s and 30s, US 31 crossed the Straits of Mackinac via auto ferry and terminated at US 2 in Rogers Park north of St. Ignace. The former US 31/US 33, now M-51, enters the state of Michigan from Indiana in Niles Charter Township.
The Michigan Memorial Highway Act (Act 142 of 2001) designates all of US 31 from the Indiana border to the Straits of Mackinac as the Blue Star Memorial Highway.[2][3] "Act 71 of 1952" had previously designated all of US 31 in the Lower Peninsula and the portion of US 2 from St. Ignace to Sault Ste. Marie, although this was not included in the Act of 2001. Various portions of former routings of US 31 throughout southwest and west Michigan, notably County A-2, are still called "Blue Star Highway".
According to the recently passed Federal Transportation Bill an earmark was provided to begin planning and right of way purchases for a new route of the highway along the 120th ave corridor in Ottawa County, between Holland and Nunica. Due to tight transportation budgets at the state level, the Michigan Department of Transportation will begin construction on this project using a staged approach. The first phase in Ottawa County, designated Future M-231, will consist of a two-lane highway constructed on four-lane right-of-way for future conversion to freeway standards from M-45 (Lake Michigan Dr) to I-96 at Nunica. This segment will include a new crossing over the Grand River. MDOT is currently working on environmental clearances for this project with right-of-way acquisition to begin thereafter. Any work on the proposed US 31 freeway corridor south of M-45 (Lake Michigan Dr) has not yet been scheduled.
Plans also call for the completion of the St. Joseph Valley Parkway, to carry US 31, between Napier Avenue and I-94 sometime in the 2010s.
| County | Location | Mile | Exit | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berrien |
Bertrand Township | 0.000 | US 31 south (St. Joseph Valley Parkway) – South Bend, Indianapolis | Indiana state line | ||
| 3.8 | 3 | US 12 – Niles, Sturgis, New Buffalo | ||||
| 5.1 | 5 | Niles–Buchanan Road – Buchanan | ||||
| 7 | 7 | Walton Road – Buchanan | Former BUS US 31 | |||
| Oronoko Charter Township | 13.2 | 13 | Snow Road – Berrien Springs | |||
| 15.7 | 15 | M-139 / Old 31 – Benton Harbor, St. Joseph, Berrien Springs | Signed as exits 15A (Old 31) and 15B (M-139) northbound | |||
| Berrien Township | 18.9 | 18 | Tabor Road — Eau Claire | |||
| Sodus Township | 22.9 | 22 | Pipestone Road — Eau Claire | |||
| Benton Charter Township | 24.9 | 24 | Napier Avenue | Temporary north end of freeway, mandatory exit onto Napier Avenue | ||
| Benton Harbor | 27.2 | 30 | I-94 west – Chicago | Southern end of I-94 concurrency; signed as Napier Avenue southbound | ||
| 29.4 | 33 | BL I-94 – St. Joseph | No exit northbound | |||
| 31 | 34 | I-94 east – Detroit I-196 north – Grand Rapids, Holland |
Northern end of I-94 concurrency; southern end of I-196 concurrency | |||
| Hagar Township | 32 | 1 | Red Arrow Highway | |||
| 34.7 | 4 | Coloma Road — Coloma | ||||
| 37.8 | 7 | M-63 south / LMCT south | Northern terminus of M-63; southern end of LMCT concurrency | |||
| Van Buren |
Covert Township | 43.8 | 13 | A-2 (Blue Star Highway) / 32nd Avenue | ||
| South Haven Charter Township | 48.5 | 18 | BL I-196 / M-140 – South Haven, Watervliet | Signed as M-140 only (southbound) | ||
| South Haven | 51.6 | 20 | BL I-196 / Phoenix Street – South Haven | Signed as Phoenix Street only (northbound) | ||
| Allegan |
53.1 | 22 | North Shore Drive – South Haven | |||
| 57.2 | 26 | 109th Avenue | ||||
| 60.7 | 30 | A-2 (Blue Star Highway) | ||||
| 65.1 | 34 | M-89 east – Allegan | ||||
| 67.1 | 36 | A-2 (Blue Star Highway) | ||||
| 72.2 | 41 | A-2 (Blue Star Highway) | ||||
| 75.7 | 44 | I-196 north (G.R. Ford Freeway) – Grand Rapids BL I-196 east – Holland |
Northern end of I-196 concurrency; southern end of BL I-196 concurrency; northbound exit and southbound entrance | |||
| 77.8 | 47A | A-2 south (Blue Star Highway) | ||||
| 78.1 | 47B | Washington Avenue – Holland | Former BUS US 31 | |||
| Holland | 79 | M-40 south – Allegan | ||||
| Ottawa |
Zeeland | 82 | BL I-196 east (Chicago Drive) | Northern end of BL I-196 concurrency | ||
| Agnew | 95.9 | M-45 east | ||||
| Freeway Begins | ||||||
| Ferrysburg | 103.8 | 104 | M-104 east – Spring Lake, Ferrysburg | Signed as 104A (Spring Lake) and 104B (Ferrysburg) | ||
| 105.1 | 105 | Van Wagoner Street – Ferrysburg | ||||
| Muskegon |
Fruitport | 107.7 | 107 | Pontaluna Road – Fruitport | ||
| 109.1 | 109 | Sternberg Road — Fruitport | Signed as exits 109A (eastbound) and 109B (westbound) | |||
| Norton Shores | 110.7 | 110 | I-96 east – Grand Rapids BUS US 31 north / LMCT – Muskegon |
Signed as exits 110A (I-96 east) southbound and (Hile Road to I-96 east) northbound, 110B (BUS US 31 north) northbound and (Airline Road to BUS US 31 north) southbound; Northern end of LMCT concurrency | ||
| 112.6 | 112 | B-72 east (Sherman Boulevard) – Muskegon | ||||
| Muskegon Township | 113.6 | 113 | Laketon Avenue – Muskegon | |||
| Muskegon | 114.6 | 114 | M-46 – Muskegon, Cedar Springs | |||
| Muskegon Township | 116 | 116 | BUS US 31 south / LMCT – Muskegon |
Northbound signed as North Muskegon; southern end of LMCT concurrency | ||
| North Muskegon | 118.5 | 118 | M-120 – Muskegon, Twin Lake | |||
| Dalton Township | 121 | 121 | B-23 north (Russell Road) – Lakewood Club | Access to Michigan's Adventure, Owasippe Scout Reservation, and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp | ||
| 126.3 | 126 | White Lake Drive – Lakewood Club | ||||
| Whitehall | 128.9 | 128 | BUS US 31 north / LMCT – Whitehall |
Southern terminus of BUS US 31; northern end of LMCT concurrency | ||
| Montague | 131.6 | 131 | BUS US 31 south / LMCT – Montague B-86 east |
Northern terminus of BUS US 31; southern end of LMCT concurrency | ||
| Oceana |
Rothbury | 136.4 | 136 | Winston Road – Rothbury | ||
| New Era | 140.3 | 140 | M-20 east – White Cloud | Western terminus of M-20 | ||
| Shelby Township | 144 | 144 | Shelby Road – Shelby | |||
| Hart | 148.7 | 149 | BUS US 31 – Hart |
Southern terminus of BUS US 31 | ||
| Pentwater | 153.8 | 154 | BUS US 31 north / LMCT – Pentwater |
Southern terminus of BUS US 31; signed as Monroe Road southbound; northern end of LMCT concurrency | ||
| 158.7 | 158 | BUS US 31 south / LMCT – Pentwater |
Northern terminus of BUS US 31; signed as Oceana Drive northbound; southern end of LMCT concurrency | |||
| Mason |
Ludington | 167.8 | 166 | BUS US 31 north (Pere Marquette Highway) / LMCT – Ludington |
Northern end of LMCT concurrency | |
| 170 | 170 | US 10 west / LMCT – Ludington, Clare, Traverse City | Signed as exits 170A (eastbound) and 170B (westbound); northern end of freeway; western end of US 10 concurrency; southern end of LMCT concurrency | |||
| Scottville | 172.9 | US 10 east – Reed City | Eastern end of US 10 concurrency | |||
| Manistee |
Manistee | 196.2 | M-55 east – Cadillac | |||
| Manistee Township | 199.2 | M-22 north / LMCT – Frankfort | Northern end of LMCT concurrency | |||
| Benzie |
Benzonia Township | 223 | M-115 east – Cadillac | Southern end of M-115 concurrency | ||
| Benzonia | 225.3 | M-115 west – Frankfort | Northern end of M-115 concurrency | |||
| Grand Traverse |
Interlochen | 244.1 | M-137 south | Northern terminus of M-137 | ||
| Chums Corners | 249.8 | M-37 south | Southern end of M-37 concurrency | |||
| Traverse City | 256.7 | M-22 north / M-72 west (Grandview Parkway) / LMCT | Western end of M-72 concurrency; southern end of LMCT concurrency | |||
| 258.7 | M-37 north | Northern end of M-37 concurrency | ||||
| Acme | 264.7 | M-72 east | Eastern end of M-72 concurrency | |||
| Antrim |
Torch Lake Township | 290 | M-88 east | Western terminus of M-88 | ||
| Banks Township | 295.5 | C-48 east | ||||
| Charlevoix |
Charlevoix | 306.2 | M-66 south | Northern terminus of M-66 | ||
| Hayes Township | 317.9 | C-56 east | ||||
| Emmet |
Petoskey | 323.2 | US 131 south | Northern terminus of US 131 | ||
| 323.9 | C-58 east (Mitchell Road/Wolverine Road) | |||||
| 325.9 | C-81 south | |||||
| Bay View | 326.6 | M-119 north (Harbor-Petoskey Road) – Cross Village, Levering | ||||
| Alanson | 334.8 | M-68 east – Indian River | ||||
| Pellston | 342.2 | C-64 east (Robinson Road) – Cheboygan | ||||
| McKinley Township | 347.9 | C-66 (Levering Road) – Cheboygan | ||||
| Cheboygan |
Mackinaw City | 356.4 | I-75 north / LMCT | Northern terminus of US 31; northern end of LMCT concurrency; southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus • Closed/Former • Incomplete access • Unopened |
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| US Highway 31 | ||
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| Previous state: Indiana |
Michigan | Next state: Terminus |
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