Skip to main content

Interstate 696

By
While in the Detroit Area this year I drove the entirety of Interstate 696.


I-696 is an approximately 28.4 mile spur route of I-96 which runs east/west from I-96/I-275/M-5 in Farming Hills to I-94 in St. Clair Shores.  I-696 serves a primary connector route of the northern suburbs of Detroit and has a contentious history regarding some of it's newer segments.

According to michiganhighways.org a chargeable Interstate route between Farmington Hills and St. Clair Shores was approved in 1956.  Amusingly the Lodge Freeway north of the Edsel Ford Freeway (I-94) was signed as I-696 Business Spur in 1962 even before a single segment of I-696 opened.  I-696 between I-96/I-275/M-5 east to Orchard Lake Road opened in July of 1963 and extension to US 24/Lodge Freeway was completed by December.  The State of Michigan received Federal Funding in 1966 to extend I-696 to I-94, but this is where construction of the freeway slowed.  By early 1979 I-696 opened between I-75 east to I-94.  The remaining segment of I-696 would be opened to traffic in December of 1989 between US 24/M-10 and I-75.  I-696 is officially known as the "Walter P. Reuther Freeway" but unlike the majority of major Detroit Area freeways is rarely referred to as such.

michiganhighways.org on I-696

My approach to I-696 in 2019 was east from I-96 east.  That being said my initial approach was during the evening therefore these two photos are my approach to I-696 east from I-275 north/I-96 east in 2015.  I-696 begins a mutual junction where M-5 can accessed along the corridor of Grand River in Farmington Hills of Oakland County.



I-696 eastbound crosses through Farmington Hills into Southfield.  In Southfield I-696 meets M-10 on the Lodge Freeway and US 24 on Telegraph Road at Exit 8.  The Lodge Freeway was signed as I-696 BS until it was designated as US 10 in 1970.  In 1986 the Lodge Freeway was designated M-10 when US 10 was truncated to Bay City.




I-696 east enters Oak Park, Huntington Woods and Royal Oak where it has a junction with M-1 on Woodward Avenue at Exit 16.




I-696 east meets I-75 at Exit 18 and enters Madison Heights.


East of Madison Heights I-696 enters Warren of Macomb County.  At Exit 23 I-696 has a junction with M-53 on Van Dyke Avenue.





In east Warren I-696 east meets M-97 on Grosebeck Highway at Exit 26.



In Roseville I-696 east meets M-3 (former US 25) at Exit 27/Gratiot Avenue.




I-696 east terminates at I-94 in St. Clair Shores.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more