Interstate 375 (Michigan)

Interstate 375 marker

Interstate 375
Walter P. Chrysler Freeway

I-375 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-75
Maintained by MDOT
Length: 1.062 mi[1] (1.709 km)
Existed: June 12, 1964 (1964-06-12)[2] – present
Major junctions
South end: BS I-375 in Detroit
North end: I-75 in Detroit
Location
Counties: Wayne
Highway system
← M-331I-475 →

Interstate 375 (I-375) in Detroit, at only 1.062 miles (1.71 km) in length, once had the distinction of being the shortest signed Interstate Highway in the country. It is the southernmost leg of the Walter P. Chrysler Freeway and a spur of I-75 into downtown Detroit, ending at the unsigned Business Spur Interstate 375 (BS I-375), better known as Jefferson Avenue. The freeway opened on June 12, 1964. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced in 2013 that it may remove I-375 in the future.

Route description

I-375 and the Chrysler Freeway begin at Jefferson Avenue and St. Antoine Street in downtown Detroit near the Renaissance Center.[3] They run east before turning north. Just about a mile (1.6 km) after the southern terminus, I-375 meets the Fisher Freeway which carries I-75 north of downtown. At this interchange, I-75 takes ramps to leave the Fisher Freeway and use the Chrysler Freeway, replacing I-375. I-375 is a four-lane freeway the entire length.[4] The entire length of I-375 is included on the National Highway System,[5] a network of roadways that are important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.[6]

According to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), I-375 is 1.062 miles (1.709 km).[1] At the time it opened until at least 2007, I-375 was the shortest signed Interstate in the country.[2] Based on FHWA data, there are three Interstates that are shorter: I-110 in Texas (0.92 mi or 1.48 km), I-878 in New York (0.70 mi or 1.13 km) and I-315 in Montana (0.83 mi or 1.34 km).[7] The latter two designations are not signed on their respective roadways,[8] and I-110 in Texas has since been signed.[9]

Every year, MDOT conducts a series of surveys on its highways in the state to measure traffic volume. In 2009, MDOT calculated that 14,112 vehicles per day used the southernmost section of I-375, on average, and 53,900 vehicles used the northernmost section near I-75. These vehicles included 798 trucks.[10]

History

Construction on the first segments of the Chrysler Freeway started on January 30, 1959.[11] The area where the freeway was built was called Black Bottom, a historic district that received its name from the soil found there by French explorers.[12] In the 1940s and 1950s, the area was the home to a community of African-American entrepreneurs and businesses that rivaled Harlem in New York City. Black Bottom was one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, and at the time of freeway construction, it had wooden sewers and dilapidated buildings. The area, like Corktown to the west of downtown, was targeted for urban renewal and infrastructure improvements in the 1950s and 1960s, which included the Chrysler Freeway and public housing projects.[13]

On June 12, 1964, a surface street highway/freeway in Detroit was opened running north from Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street to the Fisher/Chrysler freeway interchange.[2][10] The southern most segment, built through the Black Bottom neighborhood,[14] was designated I-375 at this time.[2][10] The freeway cost $50 million to build (equivalent to $761 million in 2014[15]).[14]

In April 2013, MDOT announced that it was studying whether to repair the freeway at a cost of $80 million, or convert the freeway south of Gratiot Avenue into a boulevard to reduce maintenance cost, making the area around it more pedestrian-friendly, and thus attract development. Converting this segment to a boulevard would free up 12 acres (4.9 ha) of land for development which is currently used for the freeway and its right-of-way.[16] The department invited businesses and other groups affected by the potential project to participate in the study in November 2013. Advocates of the conversion cite increased pedestrian access and an improved connection between Eastern Market and downtown as reasons to remove the freeway. Some people who live or work along the freeway and in the downtown area note the improved access I-375 provides to the area as reasons to retain the freeway.[14]

Six alternative proposals for rebuilding I-375 were unveiled by MDOT in June 2014. They ranged in price from $40 million to $80 million. These options include rebuilding the freeway as is, reducing it to a boulevard or one-way streets, or upgrading the existing freeway right-of-way to include bike lanes and other pedestrian-friendly features.[17] In January 2016, the department announced that any decision on a course of action would be delayed indefinitely.[18]

Exit list

The entire highway is in Detroit, Wayne County. All exits are unnumbered.

mi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
0.0000.000Jefferson Avenue west – Civic Center
0.4300.692Jefferson Avenue eastSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
0.6891.109Lafayette AvenueSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
0.9191.479 I-75 south (Fisher Freeway) – Toledo
M-3 (Gratiot Avenue via Fisher Freeway)		Northbound exit and southbound entrance
1.0621.709 I-75 north (Chrysler Freeway) – Flint
Madison Street		Northbound exit to and southbound entrance from I-75, exit 51C; southbound exit to and northbound entrance from Madison Street
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Business spur

Business Spur Interstate 375
Location: Detroit
Length: 0.167 mi[1] (0.269 km)
Existed: 1964[2]–present

The unsigned Business Spur Interstate 375 (BS I-375), which is 0.167 miles (0.269 km) long, continues west on Jefferson Avenue from the southern end of I-375, ending at the entrance to the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel at Randolph Street (M-3). Jefferson Avenue past that intersection is M-10.[1] BS I-375 runs next to the Renaissance Center and under a segment of the People Mover.[4] This designation was created in 1964.[2][lower-alpha 1] The 2009 traffic surveys by MDOT reported that 33,376 vehicles, including 922 trucks, had used BS I-375.[10]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The section of Jefferson Avenue that connects I-375 with M-10 is combined with the freeway as I-375 on MDOT right-of-way (ROW) maps that document property transfers and ROW descriptions,[19] but in the department's Physical Reference Finder Application, the street is marked as BS I-375,[1] a designation missing from the official state map for the public.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Michigan Department of Transportation & Michigan Center for Shared Solutions and Technology Partnerships (2009). MDOT Physical Reference Finder Application (Map). Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (2006). "Today in Interstate History: June 12, 1964". The Interstate is 50. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Archived from the original on August 4, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  3. ↑ Greenwood, Tom (May 10, 2006). "Both Directions of I-375 in Detroit Will Close Today". The Detroit News. p. 2A. ISSN 1055-2715. OCLC 137348716.
  4. 1 2 3 Michigan Department of Transportation (2013). Pure Michigan: State Transportation Map (Map). c. 1:221,760. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Downtown inset. § H13. OCLC 42778335 and 861227559.
  5. ↑ Federal Highway Administration (August 2003). National Highway System: Detroit, MI (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  6. ↑ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 26, 2013). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ Federal Highway Administration (October 31, 2002). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. OCLC 47914009. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  8. ↑ Rand McNally (2013). The Road Atlas (2013 Walmart ed.). Chicago: Rand McNally. ISBN 0-528-00626-6. OCLC 773666955.
    • "Montana" (Map). 1 in:3 mi. pp. 60–1. Great Falls inset. § N16.
    • "New York: New York City" (Map). 1 in:2 mi. pp. 72–3. New York City & Vicinity inset. §§ J13–14.
  9. ↑ Texas Department of Transportation (2010). I-110, US 54, I-10 and US 180 (Highway guide sign). El Paso, TX: Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Bureau of Transportation Planning (2008). "Traffic Monitoring Information System". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  11. ↑ Barnett, LeRoy (2004). A Drive Down Memory Lane: The Named State and Federal Highways of Michigan. Allegan Forest, MI: Priscilla Press. p. 233. ISBN 1-886167-24-9. OCLC 57425393.
  12. ↑ Binelli, Mark (2012). Detroit City Is the Place to Be: The Afterlife of an American Metropolis. New York: Metropolitan Books. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-8050-9229-5. OCLC 753631067 – via Google Books.
  13. ↑ Gallagher, John (December 15, 2013). "When Detroit Paved over Paradise: The Story of I-375". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on April 18, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  14. 1 2 3 Gallagher, John (November 24, 2013). "No More I-375? Detroit to Study Removing Freeway in Favor of Walkable Surface Street". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on April 18, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  15. ↑ United States nominal Gross Domestic Product per capita figures follow the Measuring Worth series supplied in Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2016). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved March 16, 2016. These figures follow the figures as of 2014.
  16. ↑ Gautz, Christ (April 29, 2013). "Among Ideas to Revamp I-375: A Boulevard". Crain's Detroit Business. Archived from the original on April 18, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  17. ↑ Gallagher, John (June 8, 2014). "A Look at the 6 Options for Rebuilding the I-375 Expressway in Detroit". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on June 20, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  18. ↑ Gallagher, John (January 25, 2016). "Decision on I-375 Delayed Indefinitely". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  19. ↑ Michigan Department of Transportation (February 11, 2010). "Wayne County" (Map). Right-of-Way File Application (PDF). Cartography by Gosselin Group. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Sheet 173. Retrieved April 11, 2014.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

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