Interstate 675 (Michigan)

Interstate 675 marker

Interstate 675

I-675 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-75
Maintained by MDOT
Length: 7.728 mi[1] (12.437 km)
Existed: 1971[2][3] – present
Major junctions
South end: I-75 / US 23 near Saginaw
  M-58 in Saginaw
North end: I-75 / US 23 in Zilwaukee
Location
Counties: Saginaw
Highway system
← M-553I-696 →

Interstate 675 (I-675) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Michigan. The freeway is a 7.73-mile-long (12.44 km) loop route through downtown Saginaw as I-75 passes on the east side of the city. I-675 is also a state trunkline highway that provided a bypass of the former drawbridge carrying I-75 and US Highway 23 (US 23) across the Saginaw River. Construction of I-675 started in 1969 and the freeway opened in 1971. Since then, sections near downtown were reconstructed in 2009 through 2011 to update one of the freeway's interchanges and rebuild the bridge over the Saginaw River.

Route description

I-675 splits from I-75 on the eastern side of Saginaw, turning west toward downtown. The freeway runs between residential neighborhoods and has an interchange with Veterans Memorial Parkway. West of that interchange,[4][5] it crosses a line of the Huron and Eastern Railway.[6] From there, it runs on the northern edge of downtown near the Dow Event Center, crossing the Saginaw River on the Henry G. Marsh Bridge. On the west side of the river, the trunkline meets an interchange with M-58. From there it turns northward,[4][5] crossing a line of the Mid-Michigan Railroad.[6] I-675 continues northward, passing to the east of the Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center and through more residential neighborhoods in Saginaw Township North. After the interchange with Tittabawassee Road, which provides access to the Fashion Square Mall, I-675 turns northeasterly to merge back to I-75 north of the Zilwaukee Bridge.[4][5]

Like other state highways in Michigan, I-675 is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). In 2011, the department's traffic surveys showed that on average, 20,900 vehicles used the freeway daily across the river and 4,000 vehicles did so each day north of Tittabawassee Road, the highest and lowest counts along the trunkline, respectively.[7] As an Interstate Highway, all of I-675 is listed on the National Highway System,[8] a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.[9]

History

1957 planning map for the Interstates in Saginaw

Initially planned in the mid-1950s, the I-675 freeway was under construction starting in 1969.[10][11] The freeway was completed in 1971 and opened to traffic that year.[2][3][12]

For nearly a decade (1979–88), I-675 served as an alternate route for traffic during construction of a new bridge across the Saginaw River for I-75/US 23 at Zilwaukee. The original span, built in 1960, was designed as a bascule bridge which could be raised to allow shipping traffic to use the river. Opening the drawbridge would back traffic up on the freeway for upwards of four hours on holiday weekends. I-675 helped relieve the congestion during such times,[13] including during the major construction accident in August 1982 that delayed completion of the new bridge. Originally to be completed in 1983, it finally opened on September 19, 1988.[14]

Starting in May 2009 and ending in November 2011, sections of I-675 were closed from exit 2 easterly to begin renovations during the summer construction seasons. These projects included rehabilitation of the Henry Marsh Bridge, the reconstruction of overpasses, and a redesigned exit at Warren Avenue to ease access into downtown Saginaw.[15][16]

Exit list

The entire highway is in Saginaw County.

Locationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Buena Vista Township0.0000.000— I-75 / US 23 – Flint, Mackinac BridgeExit 150 on I-75/US 23
Saginaw1.110–
1.124		1.786–
1.809		1Veterans Memorial Parkway
1.844–
1.897		2.968–
3.053		2A5th Avenue, 6th AvenueNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
2.3333.7552B To M-13 / Warren Avenue, Jefferson Avenue – Downtown SaginawSigned as exit 2 southbound; Warren Avenue signed northbound only, Jefferson Avenue signed southbound only
2.896–
3.237		4.661–
5.209		3 M-58 (Davenport Avenue) / Michigan AvenueSouthbound exit via Hill Street; eastern terminus of M-58
Saginaw Township5.8549.4216Tittabawassee Road – Zilwaukee
Zilwaukee Township7.72812.437— I-75 / US 23 – Flint, Mackinac BridgeExit 155 on I-75/US 23
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Michigan Department of Transportation & Michigan Center for Shared Solutions and Technology Partnerships (2009). MDOT Physical Reference Finder Application (Map). Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Michigan Department of State Highways (1971). Official Highway Map (Map). c. 1:918,720. Lansing: Michigan Department of State Highways. § J12. OCLC 12701120 and 77960415.
  3. 1 2 Michigan Department of State Highways (1972). Official Highway Map (Map). c. 1:918,720. Lansing: Michigan Department of State Highways. § J12. OCLC 12701120.
  4. 1 2 3 Michigan Department of Transportation (2012). Pure Michigan: State Transportation Map (Map). c. 1:221,760. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Saginaw inset. OCLC 42778335 and 794857350.
  5. 1 2 3 Google (July 12, 2012). "Overview Map of I-675" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Michigan Department of Transportation (January 2011). Michigan's Railroad System (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  7. ↑ Bureau of Transportation Planning (2008). "Traffic Monitoring Information System". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  8. ↑ Michigan Department of Transportation (April 23, 2006). National Highway System, Michigan (PDF) (Map). Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  9. ↑ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  10. ↑ Michigan Department of State Highways & H.M. Gousha (1969). Official Highway Map (Map). c. 1:918,720. Lansing: Michigan Department of State Highways. § J12. OCLC 12701120.
  11. ↑ Michigan Department of State Highways (1970). Official Highway Map (Map). c. 1:918,720. Lansing: Michigan Department of State Highways. § J12. OCLC 12701120.
  12. ↑ Burns, Gus (June 30, 2011). "Saginaw Interstate 675 Work: 1,000 Truckloads of Fill Sand, $14.4 million". The Saginaw News. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  13. ↑ Hyde, Charles K. (1993). Historic Highway Bridges of Michigan. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. pp. 166–8. ISBN 0-8143-2448-7. OCLC 27011079.
  14. ↑ Staff writer (September 19, 1988). "Zilwaukee Bridge Now Open North, South—Partly". Toledo Blade. p. 1. OCLC 12962717.
  15. ↑ Henson, Stacey (May 26, 2009). "Interstate 675 Closures Begin Today in Saginaw County". The Saginaw News. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  16. ↑ Barber, Barrie (November 2, 2011). "MDOT Now Says I-675 Will Reopen Mid-Day". The Saginaw News. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2012.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

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