Skip to main content

M-153

By


M-153 is a 25.127-mile State Trunkline located in southeast Michigan.  The highway begins at US Route 12 (Michigan Avenue) at the Detroit city limit and largely follows Ford Road west to M-14 in Washtenaw County.  M-153 was designated as a State Trunkline during December 1930.  The corridor at the time was constructed to Canton Center Road and was planned to be extended to the vicinity of Jackson.  The Trunkline was constructed to US Route 12 at Plymouth Road in 1934 and the extension to Jackson was cancelled in 1935.  Numerous improvements to M-153 occurred through the remainder of the 20th century as it became an increasingly traveled urban surface highway.  




Part 1; the history of M-153

M-153 between Wyoming Road at the Detroit city limit is carried via Ford Road just west of Frazier Lake Road.  The corridor is named in honor Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford's father William.  

William Ford settled at what is now the corner of Ford Road and Greenfield Road circa 1847 in Dearborn Township.  William Ford was a well-known public servant who served as a road commissioner, justice of the peace and school board member.   The corridor was ultimately named Ford Road in his honor during 1905. 

When Ford Road was named, the corridor extended from Weir Street/McGraw Avenue west to Canton Center Road in Canton Township.  The western terminus of Ford Road can be seen on the 1905 United States Geological Survey Map of Wayne.  


M-153 was designated as a 47.4-mile-long State Trunkline on December 2, 1930.    M-153 was part of the proposed "Detroit-Chicago Superhighway" which was planned to be largely constructed on a new alignment west of Canton Center Road.  As originally adopted the Trunkline began at then US Route 112 (Michigan Avenue) at the Detroit/Dearborn city limit.  The highway followed Wyoming Avenue and Ford Road to a western terminus at Canton Center Road.  The planned corridor west of Canton Center Road passed through Ann Arbor and Sylvan where it would have ended at Michigan Avenue (US Route 12) near the eastern city limit of Jackson. 

(Source: michiganhighways.org)

The original western terminus of M-153 at Canton Center Road can be seen on the 1934 Rand McNally Junior Map of Michigan.  


By Summer 1933 M-153 was extended west to Napier Road at the Wayne/Washtenaw County line.  By July 1934 the Trunkline was extended west to US Route 12 at Plymouth Road in Washtenaw County.  The western extension beyond Plymouth Road was cancelled by the State on January 7, 1935.  

(Source: michiganhighways.org)

M-153 appears complete between US Route 112 and US Route 12 on the 1939 Rand McNally Map of Michigan.  


On March 31, 1965, the M-14 freeway from US Route 23 east to M-153 was established as a functional Trunkline.  The new corridor was developed concurrently with an expressway grade which realigned M-153 west of Frains Lake Road to Plymouth Road and the new M-14 freeway.  A portion of M-153 along Ford Road between the new alignment to where it originally met Plymouth Road was relinquished to the county. 

(Source: michiganhighways.org)

The extension of M-153 to Plymouth Road and the M-14 freeway can be seen on the 1965 United States Geological Survey Map of Eastern Ann Arbor.  M-153 and M-14 may have been signed via a multiplex west of Plymouth Road.  


By December 1973 M-153 between Artesian Street/Auto Club Drive west to Golfview Drive was reconstructed to freeway standards.  An un-signed portion of the original highway was renamed as Altar Road and was not relinquished until January 1985.  By February 1980 the eastern extension of the M-14 freeway would open which led to M-153 formally being extended west of Plymouth Road.  

(Source: michiganhighways.org)



Part 2; a drive on western M-153

M-153 can be accessed from Interstate 275 Exit 25 to Ford Road.  




Westbound M-153 passes through Canton Township via Ford Road.  At the Township edge the Trunkline passes the original terminus of Canton Center Road.  



Westbound M-153 enters Washtenaw County and drops to two lanes.  The highway expands again to four lanes approaching a bypassed segment of Ford Road near Frains Lake Road.  










M-153 intersects the original alignment of US Route 12 at Plymouth Road.  M-14 was designated over the Plymouth Road corridor during 1956.  US Route 12 was originally moved to the initial freeway segments comprising Interstate 94.  Ultimately the highway was relocated onto what was US Route 112 in between Detroit and New Buffalo in 1961.  





The western terminus of M-153 is located at the M-14 freeway.  



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