Interstate 96

Interstate 96 (I-96) is an Interstate Highway that is entirely within the US state of Michigan. Its western terminus is at an interchange with US Highway 31 (US 31) and Business US 31 (BUS US 31), on the western boundary of Norton Shores southeast of Muskegon. Its eastern terminus is at I-75 near the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. From Grand Rapids through Lansing to Detroit, the freeway parallels Grand River Avenue, never straying more than a few miles from the deleted US 16. The Wayne County section of I-96 is named the Jeffries Freeway from its eastern terminus to the junction with I-275 and M-14. Though maps still refer to the freeway as the Jeffries, the portion within the city of Detroit was renamed by the state legislature as the Rosa Parks Memorial Highway in December 2005 in honor of the civil rights pioneer.

Grand River Avenue originated as an Indian trail before Michigan statehood. It later was used as a wagon road across the state. The roadway was included in the State Trunkline Highway System in 1919 as M-16 and later the United States Numbered Highway System as US 16. Construction of a freeway along the length of the corridor was proposed in the 1940s, and included as part of the Interstate Highway System in the mid 1950s. This construction was started in 1956 and initially completed across the state to Detroit in 1962. The Jeffries Freeway was rerouted through Detroit in the 1960s and built in the 1970s. I-96 was completed on November 21, 1977, in the Detroit area, closing the last gap along the route. Since then, additional interchanges and lanes have been added in places to accommodate traffic needs.