U.S. Route 16 in Michigan - Route Description

Route Description

At the time of its decommissioning, US 16 started its run through Michigan at the Grand Trunk Western Railroad carferry docks in Muskegon. The ferry extended across Lake Michigan, connecting Muskegon to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where US 16 continued to the west. From the docks, US 16 and M-46 traveled concurrently south and then east through downtown Muskegon. At Peck Street, US 16 turned south along Business US 31 (BUS US 31). These two highways ran concurrently out of town to the south through Muskegon Heights to Norton Shores. Here, the business loop ended at US 31, and US 16 joined the I-196 freeway headed east. (Later, the I-96 and I-196 designations west of Grand Rapids would be flipped, but at the time leading up to US 16's decommissioning in the state of Michigan, this had not yet been approved.) The I-196/US 16 freeway traveled southeast of Norton Shores through woodlands in rural Muskegon County parallel to the former US 16 routing through Fruitport to Nunica in Ottawa County. The freeway turned more directly east in Nunica past the eastern terminus of M-104, and continued east through more mixed forest and grassland terrain to serve the communities of Coopersville and Marne.

As the freeway approached Kent County, it met the western terminus of M-11 which was the former routing of US 16 through the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. I-196/US 16 continued eastward around the north side of the metro area through the suburbs of Walker and Comstock Park. The freeway intersected the contemporaneous routing of US 131 along the East Beltline and curved south through the eastern edge of Grand Rapids to meet the then-current end of I-96 east of downtown. There I-196 ended and US 16 was transferred to the I-96 freeway. I-96/US 16 continued southward intersecting Cascade Road, which was previously US 16. Cascade Road east of this interchange meets the westernmost part of Grand River Avenue, which carried US 16 east all the way to Downtown Detroit. Grand River Avenue ends at Cascade Road, but the historic routing carried it through Ada and Plainfield Township along the Grand River. The western end is at East Beltline, short of its westernmost extent in Grand Rapids.

M-50 also joined the freeway at Cascade Road headed east, and together I-96/US 16/M-50 continued through eastern Kent County. M-50 departed to the south near Lowell, and the freeway crossed into southern Ionia County. Passing south of Portland, the freeway crossed east into Clinton County. North of Grand Ledge, I-96 ended and US 16 followed Wright Road off the freeway to Grand River Avenue. From here east, US 16 resumed its historic routing into the city of Lansing. Grand River Avenue carried the highway passed the airport and east to Larch Street, where US 16 turned south along US 27 north of downtown Lansing. At Saginaw Street, eastbound US 16 turned east on the one-way street, while westbound traffic ran a block north on Grand River Avenue. The two directions of travel merge at the east end of Saginaw Street in East Lansing. Grand River Avenue through East Lansing follows a tree-lined boulevard that forms the division between the campus of Michigan State University to the south and the rest of the city to the north. US 16 continued east in Ingham County through Okemos and rural parts of the county through Williamston and Webberville.

Grand River Avenue crosses to the east into Livingston County through Fowlerville to Howell. In Howell, Grand River Avenue meets Hartland Road which carries M-59; the highway also met M-155 in downtown, which at the time provided access to the Howell State Hospital. In the approach to Brighton, Grand River Avenue passes through rural southeast Michigan lake country. In Brighton, Grand River Avenue crossed the western end of the then-built section of the I-96 freeway. US 16 merged onto the freeway, and I-96/US 16 met the northern end of then-built US 23 freeway. I-96/US 16 continued east into Oakland County through Wixom and Novi.

Near Farmington, I-96 left what is now its current routing and continued to the southeast of the present-day I-96/I-275/I-696/M-5 interchange along the current M-5. Grand River Avenue through here was Business Loop I-96 (BL I-96). The freeway ends at a junction with Grand River Avenue that also marked the end of the business loop. From there, US 16 continued along Grand River Avenue all the way into downtown Detroit. Along the way, it intersected US 24 at Telegraph Road and M-39 at Southfield Road. US 12 joined US 16 along Grand River Avenue at Plymouth Road. The two ran the rest of the way concurrently to Cadillac Square. There they terminated at a common point with US 10 (Woodward Avenue) and US 112 (Michigan Avenue). US 25 ran through the square on Fort Street and Gratiot Avenue.