Gribblenation

Pictured as the blog cover is eastbound Jefferson Avenue in the Detroit neighborhood of Delray. Jefferson Avenue in this neighborhood was once part of the eastern branch of the Dixie Highway in Michigan. The neighborhood has been called "the closest thing to a ghost town within a city" by the Detroit Metro Times. Largely missed in the road community hubbub about the construction of the Gordie Howe Bridge is the project consuming much of what was left of Delray. The neighborhood was once an incorporated town (incorporated in 1897) prior to being annexed by Detroit in 1906. The neighborhood was plotted as Belgrade in 1836 and assumed the name it has now in 1851. Delray reached a peak population of approximately 24,000 residents by 1930 and had a large Hungarian populace. The neighborhood was known for being home of numerous heavy industries which were located near the confluence of River Rouge and the Detroit River. A wastewater treatment plant built in 1940 consumed la...

The flex lane corridor of US Route 23 in Michigan exists on the freeway segment between Ann Arbor and Brighton.  The flex lanes serve as an experimental temporary third lane only during commute hours.  The lanes are intended to mitigate the numerous safety issues the freeway segment is associated with.  The initial flex lanes opened between Ann Arbor and Whitmore Lake in 2017.  Construction broke ground on a corridor extension north to Brighton in 2023. Part 1; the history of the US Route 23 flex lanes between Ann Arbor and Brighton The US Route 23 freeway corridor between Ann Arbor and Whitmore Lake was completed during 1957.  The corridor was expanded north to Interstate 96 in Brighton by 1960.  Despite being over sixty years old the freeway between Ann Arbor and Brighton has seen little expansion but has had an increasing number of commuters use it.  This has led to safety and congestion issues which have been only worsening with time.   D...

Zehnder's Holzbrücke (German for Wooden Bridge) is a covered bridge located on the Cass River on Covered Bridge Lane in the city of Frankenmuth, Michigan.  This structure was completed in 1979 and hauled into place by a team of oxen during 1980.  Unlike many modern covered bridges, the structure is not a facade and is constructed fully of wooden materials.  The span was installed promote tourism in Frankenmuth and provide access to the lands own by the Bavarian Inn south of the Cass River.  Part 1; the history of Zehnder's Holzbrücke Zehnder's Holzbrücke (German for wooden bridge) is a structure located on Covered Bridge Lane along the Cass River in the city of Frankenmuth River.  The structure is currently part of the Bavarian Inn complex.   Eddie (the Zehnder's of Frankenmuth family) and William Zehnder (Bavarian Inn family) originally began to explore the prospects of installing a covered bridge in 1962.  Both brothers owned portions...

M-5 is a 27.890-mile-long State Trunkline located in Metro Detroit and largely consists of former segments of US Route 16.  The highway was commissioned during 1977 between M-102 at Eight Mile Road east to Interstate 96 Exit 185 in Detroit.  The highway expanded west rapidly from 1994 to 2002 during the construction of the Haggerty Connector to Pontiac Trail in Commerce Charter Township.  During 2016 the corridor was extended east to Cass Avenue in Detroit over what had been the previously hidden Old Business Spur Interstate 96 along Grand River Avenue.   Part 1; the history of M-5 The general corridor of Grand River Avenue originated as a Native American footpath across what is now the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.  The highway name is a reference to the Grand River which spans Somerset Township and empties into Lake Michigan near Grand Haven.   Upon the arrival of European settlers, the trail was widened into a functional roadway.  The Grand...