Everything about U S Route 131 totally explained
U.S. Route 131 (US 131) is a north-south
United States highway. All but of its length is within
Michigan. The total length of the highway is around with approximately of that
freeway. US 131 also features six business routes. When the
U.S. Highway System debuted, US 131 was designated along the path of what had been
M-13 in Michigan. The southern terminus of US 131 is approximately five miles (8 km) north of
Middlebury, Indiana at an intersection with the
Indiana Toll Road, just south of the Michigan-Indiana border, where it continues as
State Road 13.The northern terminus is in
Petoskey, Michigan, at an intersection with
US 31.
While logic and some maps indicate otherwise, US 131 has never extended any farther south than the Indiana Toll Road since its inception in 1926. Indeed, prior to 1959, US 131 terminated at the Michigan-Indiana state line and, as such, existed in only one state.
Route description
Indiana
US 131 extends into Indiana before terminating at the entrance to the Indiana Toll Road, the entrance being a few hundred feet to the north of the Toll Road.
SR 13 has its northern terminus at the same point.
US 131 markers exist at the intersection of SR 13 and
SR 120 roughly one mile south of the Toll Road, but these as a rule are qualified with the word "TO".
Michigan
US 131 runs for a distance of approximately 268 miles (431 km) in Michigan, from the Indiana state line northerly to
Petoskey. It is a major highway in
West Michigan, serving the cities of
Three Rivers,
Portage,
Kalamazoo,
Grand Rapids,
Big Rapids,
Reed City,
Cadillac,
Kalkaska, and Petoskey. The highway is an important link between Grand Rapids and the tourist areas of northwest Michigan.
It has full interchanges with four freeways:
I-94 southwest of Kalamazoo,
M-6 on the south side of Grand Rapids,
I-196 near downtown Grand Rapids, and
I-96 on the north side of Grand Rapids. The portion between I-196 and I-96 also bears the unposted designation of
I-296.
US 131 is a freeway from south of Portage to north of
Manton, Michigan; it's a divided surface highway from just south of Portage to Three Rivers, a portion of which is constructed to "expressway" standards on controlled-access right-of-way (except that in
Schoolcraft it's an undivided city street). While further northerly extension of the US 131 freeway from Manton toward Kalkaska and beyond has been shelved by the
Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), a southerly extension of the freeway to or near the Indiana state line is still under study. Improvements to the US 131 corridor from Portage to the Indiana Toll Road have been underway for several years and while a late-2005 decision by MDOT to not pursue a new alignment, controlled-access route through
Saint Joseph County seemed to put an end to that discussion, public outcry and backlash from local legislators caused the department to re-evaluate this decision.
Lane configurations
From Indiana Toll Road to Three Rivers — two lanes, undivided, except through Constantine.
Three Rivers — five lanes undivided.
From Three Rivers to Moore Park — four lane divided expressway.
From Moore Park to freeway terminus south of Portage — four lanes, divided except in Schoolcraft.
From beginning of freeway to metropolitan Grand Rapids — four lane freeway.
In metropolitan Grand Rapids (76th St to I-96) — six lane freeway, except in "S-Curve" where it's eight lanes. The lanes are reversed at the I-196 interchange.
From metropolitan Grand Rapids to north of Manton — four lane freeway.
From north of freeway to Petoskey — two lanes, undivided, except through Kalkaska and Mancelona and where passing lanes have been constructed.
Within the Petoskey area — five lanes, undivided.
Interstate 296
Interstate 296 (abbreviated I-296) is an unsigned segment of US 131 entirely within Grand Rapids, Michigan. Its termini are I-96 on the north side of Grand Rapids and I-196 near downtown Grand Rapids. As the entire length coincides with US 131—which continues as a freeway built to interstate standards north and south of the short segment— the Michigan Department of Transportation simplified matters by eliminating all signage for I-296 and removing the designation from their officially published state map.
Route description
The freeway begins at the I-196 interchange where the three north bound lanes are on the left and the three south bound lanes are on the right. This gets flip-flopped after ramps for the I-196 are passed as the south bound lanes go over the northbound lanes. The freeway is three lanes in each direction the entire length. It has a grassy median north of Ann St. Approaching I-96 from the south, unsigned I-296 follows the left two lanes to I-96 westbound toward Muskegon, terminating at I-96 near the Alpine Ave overpass. Southbound unsigned I-296 begins where the ramps to US 131 southbound split from eastbound I-96 at the Alpine Ave overpass, merging with southbound US 131 north of Ann St.
History
US 131 debuted, along with the rest of the U.S. Highway System, in late 1926, although at the time it only ran from the Michigan-Indiana state line northerly to the small northern Michigan community of Fife Lake in Grand Traverse County. The Michigan State Highway Department had originally planned to construct a new-alignment highway connecting Fife Lake with the Traverse City area, which would have allowed US 131 to connect with its "parent" route, US 31. After a dozen years and no progress on the Fife Lake-Traverse City connection, the US 131 designation was instead routed along what had been designated as M-131 since 1926 through Kalkaska to US 31 at Petoskey, where it finally met US 31 for the first time. Until 1959, US 131 turned westerly and was concurrently designated with US 112 (now US 12) to what is now M-103, then southerly to the Indiana state line.
Major intersections
Following is a list of the major highways US 131 intersects:
Further Information
Get more info on 'U S Route 131'.
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