M-43 (Michigan highway)

M-43
M-43 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length:	136.723 mi[1] (220.034 km)
Existed:	1919 – present
Major junctions
West end:	BL I-196 in South Haven
	M-40 near Gobles US 131 near Kalamazoo M-37 in Hastings M-50 / M-66 near Woodland I-96 / I-69 near Lansing US 127 near East Lansing
East end:	I-96 near Webberville
Location
Counties:	Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Barry, Eaton, Ingham
Highway system
Michigan State Trunkline Highway System Interstate US State Byways ← M-42 M-44 →

M-43 is a state trunkline highway in southwestern and central parts of the US state of Michigan. The highway runs from South Haven to Webberville along an indirect path through both rural areas and larger cities. The trunkline follows three overall segments: a southeasterly track from South Haven to Kalamazoo, a northeasterly course to the Hastings area and an easterly route through the Lansing area.

The M-43 designation dates back to at least July 1, 1919, when it was used on a series of roadways running between Kalamazoo and St. Charles. Its northern- and easternmost sections were transferred to other highways in the 1930s. Additions to M-43 extended it to its current termini. Several sections of the highway were realigned during its history, one of these changes led to the creation of a business loop in Grand Ledge. Another former segment of the trunkline in the Lansing area has been renumbered M-143.

Route description

M-43 begins at an intersection with BL I-196 in South Haven. Known locally as Bailey Avenue, the road heads out of the city to the southwest, intersecting County Road A-2 before running over Interstate 196 (I-196). From there, the road continues to the southeast near the airport through the rural areas of Van Buren County. The road runs through mixed woodland and fields before passing through Bangor. After Bangor, the route heads due east past Glendale and then intersects M-40 north of Paw Paw.^[2][3]

After the junction with M-40, the highway then enters Kalamazoo County and has an interchange with US Highway 131 (US 131) just before entering the city of Kalamazoo on Main Street near the north side of the campus of Western Michigan University. Through downtown, M-43 runs concurrently with both of the city's business loops for I-94 and US 131. Eastbound traffic along the combined highway is routed on Michigan Avenue, while westbound traffic uses Kalamazoo Avenue. Business US 131 (Bus. US 131) turns north at Park Street and BL I-94/M-43 continues east. After the two traffic directions merge back together and cross the Kalamazoo River, BL I-94 turns to the southeast, and M-43 follows Riverview Drive to an intersection with Gull Road. There M-43 begins to head northeast out of the city. The highway passes in front of the Borgess Medical Center and along a row of retail and commercial properties next to Gull Road. The trunkline then travels through a rural area for a brief period before entering the community of Richland where it merges with M-89.^[2][3]

M-43 and M-89 run concurrently for a mile north of Richland before M-89 heads off to the west while M-43 continues north. After the concurrency ends, M-43 turns east and then back north to run between Little Long and Gull lakes. It is at this point where M-43 begins its northward trek. The road continues on a general north-northeast track through rural areas and beside several lakes in Barry County before meeting M-179 and M-37. M-43 merges with the latter highway and together they run into Hastings. Downtown, M-37 leaves town to the south, while M-43 heads north before curving around the east, passing through farmfields approaching the community of Woodland. After leaving town, the road meets M-66, and together they head north to a junction with M-50.^[2][3]

M-43 running along Grand River Avenue at Collingwood Drive in East Lansing

M-43 then turns east with M-50, and they briefly run together before M-50 diverges to the southeast. Now known as the Grand Ledge Highway, M-43 continues its easterly path across northern Eaton County before dipping south briefly to travel around the south side of Grand Ledge. Just south of town, M-43 has a junction with M-100 and then follows Saginaw Highway. The highway then has a junction with I-96/I-69 in Delta Township before continuing into Lansing, merged with BL I-69.^[2][3]

In Lansing, the highway travels splits to follow the one-way streets of Saginaw (eastbound) and Oakland (westbound) near the Sparrow Specialty Hospital. BL I-69/M-43 then crosses the Grand River and passes Marshall Park. The trunkline then passes over US 127 just before the paired one-way streets merge back together on Grand River Avenue. After the merge, M-43 heads southeast through East Lansing, passing the main campus of Michigan State University and Spartan Stadium. The road continues on its southeast path, traveling by the Meridian Mall as it enters Meridian Township. From here the road travels through Williamston before terminating at an interchange with I-96 just south of Webberville at exit 122.^[2][3]

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) maintains M-43 like all other state trunkline highways. As a part of those responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic along its roadways using a metric called average annual daily traffic. This is a calculation of the traffic levels for a roadway segment for any average day of the year. In 2009, MDOT determined that the highest traffic volume along M-43 was east of the I-96/I-69 interchange at 38,927 vehicles per day. The highest commercial traffic was west of the interchange at 645 trucks daily. The lowest volumes were at Woodland with only 1,700 vehicles and 120 trucks traveling along that section of the highway daily.^[4] Two segments of M-43 are listed on the National Highway System. The first section runs from US 131 in Oshtemo Township east to the intersection of M-43 (Gull Road) and Sprinkle Road in Comstock.^[5] The second segment is between I-96/I-69 in Delta Township and the junction between Saginaw Street and Grand River Avenue in East Lansing.^[6]

History

When M-43 was first commissioned by July 1, 1919, it ran from M-17 in Kalamazoo to Hastings. It also extended north to Ionia and Stanton before turning east through Ithaca to St. Charles.^[7] In 1929, the western end was extended from Kalamazoo to South Haven, with a section still under construction.^[8][9] By the end of 1930, the sections of M-43 north and east of Woodbury were redesignated as parts of other highways. The Woodbury–Stanton segment was renumbered M-14, and the Stanton – St. Charles highway became M-57.^[10] In 1938, the road was extended to the east, replacing the routing of M-39 from Woodbury all the way to East Lansing where it intersected US 16 as it existed on Grand River Avenue.^[11][12]

The next year, M-37 was realigned, which created a concurrency with M-43 in the Hasting area.^[13][14] When M-43 was rerouted in 1954, the new course of the highway ran concurrently with M-66 for a few miles in rural northeastern Barry County.^[15][16] All of the highway was completely paved in 1956 when a new routing opened northeast of Hastings, bypassing Coats Grove.^[17][18] The fourth change in the Barry County routing was made by the next year. the highway was rerouted due northward out of Hastings along Broadway Street.^[19]

Around 1959, M-43 was shifted to bypass Grand Ledge. The former route through town was retained as a state highway, designated Bus. M-43. M-43 was extended from its eastern end in Lansing in 1962 along a section of highway that was formerly part of US 16 on Grand River Avenue; the extension to Webberville was made when the I-96 freeway opened that year.^[20][21] Through the Lansing area, M-43 was rerouted off Michigan Avenue downtown. This former routing was renumbered M-143.^[22][23]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Van Buren	South Haven	0.000	0.000	BL I-196
	South Haven Township	0.775– 0.786	1.247– 1.265	A-2 (Blue Star Memorial Highway)
	Waverly Township – Almena Township	22.555	36.299	M-40 – Paw Paw, Holland
Kalamazoo	Oshtemo Township	33.667– 33.688	54.182– 54.216	US 131 – Grand Rapids, Three Rivers	Exit 38 on US 131
	Kalamazoo	37.309– 37.347	60.043– 60.104	BL I-94 west / Bus. US 131 south	Western end of BL I-94/Bus. US 131 concurrency; begin one-way pairing along Michigan (eastbound) and Kalamazoo (westbound) avenues
		37.509– 37.634	60.365– 60.566	Bus. US 131 north (Park Street) M-331 south (Westnedge Avenue)	Bus. US 131 north and unsigned M-331 south of these intersections along the one-way pair of Westedge (southbound) and Park (northbound) avenues; eastern end of Bus. US 131 concurrency
		38.447	61.874	BL I-94 east	Eastern end of BL I-94 concurrency
	Richland	46.973	75.596	M-89 east – Battle Creek	Southern end of M-89 wrong-way concurrency
	Richland Township	47.974	77.207	M-89 west – Plainwell	Northern end of M-89 wrong-way concurrency
Barry	Rutland Township	69.069– 69.133	111.156– 111.259	M-179 west – Bradley	Eastern terminus of M-179
		69.396	111.682	M-37 north – Grand Rapids	Western terminus of M-37 concurrency
	Hastings	71.690	115.374	M-37 south – Battle Creek	Eastern end of M-37 concurrency
	Woodland Township	87.672	141.094	M-66 south – Battle Creek	Western end of M-66 concurrency
Barry– Eaton	Woodland Township – Sunfield Township	90.079	144.968	M-66 north – Ionia M-50 west – Grand Rapids	Eastern end of M-66 concurrency; western end of M-50 concurrency
Eaton	Sunfield Township	91.378	147.059	M-50 east – Charlotte	Eastern end of M-50 concurrency
	Grand Ledge	107.532	173.056	M-100 – Grand Ledge, Potterville
	Delta Township	111.161– 111.177	178.896– 178.922	I-96 / I-69 – Grand Rapids, Detroit, Flint, Fort Wayne BL I-69 east	Exit 94 on I-96/I-69; western end of BL I-69 concurrency
Ingham	Lansing	117.369– 117.464	188.887– 189.040	BL I-96 (Cedar Street / Larch Street)	Intersections with Cedar (eastbound) and Larch (westbound) streets
		119.205– 119.223	191.842– 191.871	US 127 – Clare, Jackson	Exit 78 on US 127
		119.416	192.181	BL I-69 east	Eastern end of BL I-69 concurrency
	East Lansing	120.532– 120.553	193.977– 194.011	Michigan Avenue west	Unsigned M-143
	Leroy Township	134.847	217.015	M-52 north – Owosso	Northern end of M-52 concurrency
	Webberville	136.677– 136.723	219.960– 220.034	I-96 – Lansing, Detroit M-52 south – Chelsea	Southern end of concurrency with M-52 at exit 122 on I-96
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Business loop

Business M-43
Location:	Grand Ledge
Length:	2.4 mi[24] (3.9 km)
Existed:	November 14, 1959[25]–1968[26][27]

Business M-43 (Bus. M-43) was a business loop through the city of Grand Ledge. It ran east along Jefferson Street. The street curves to the southeast at a bend in the Grand River. M-100 merges in from the northeast at Bridge Street. The two highways ran concurrently south to Saginaw Highway. There, Bus. M-43 ended at the intersection with M-43 while M-100 continued south.^[24][25]

The business loop was created when M-43 was rerouted to a new roadway southwest of downtown Grand Ledge. This roadway opened on November 14, 1959, at which time the business loop was signed along the former route in town.^[25] In 1968, Bus. M-43 was decommissioned. The section not concurrent with M-100 was turned over to local control and removed from the state trunkline highway system.^[26][27]

See also

• Michigan Highways portal

References

1. Michigan Department of Transportation & Michigan Center for Shared Solutions and Technology Partnerships (2009). MDOT Physical Reference Finder Application (Map). Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
2. Michigan Department of Transportation (2010). Official Department of Transportation Map (Map). c. 1:975,000. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. §§ M8–L11. OCLC 42778335 and 639960603.
3. Google (February 24, 2008). "Overview Map of M-43" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
4. Bureau of Transportation Planning (2008). "Traffic Monitoring Information System". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
5. Michigan Department of Transportation (2005). National Highway System: Kalamazoo Urbanized Area (PDF) (Map). Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
6. Michigan Department of Transportation (2005). National Highway System: Lansing Urbanized Area (PDF) (Map). Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
7. Michigan State Highway Department (July 1, 1919). State of Michigan (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. Lower Peninsula sheet. OCLC 15607244.
8. Michigan State Highway Department (May 1, 1929). Official Highway Service Map (Map). [c. 1:810,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. OCLC 12701195 and 79754957.
9. Michigan State Highway Department & H.M. Gousha (January 1, 1930). Official Highway Service Map (Map). [c. 1:810,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. OCLC 12701195 and 79754957.
10. Michigan State Highway Department & H.M. Gousha (November 1, 1930). Official Highway Service Map (Map). [c. 1:810,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. OCLC 12701195 and 79754957.
11. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (May 1, 1938). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map) (Spring ed.). [c. 1:850,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ L10–L11. OCLC 12701143.
12. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (December 1, 1938). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map) (Winter ed.). [c. 1:850,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ L10–L11. OCLC 12701143.
13. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (April 15, 1939). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map) (Summer ed.). [c. 1:850,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. § L9. OCLC 12701143.
14. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (December 1, 1939). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map) (Winter ed.). [c. 1:850,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. § L9. OCLC 12701143.
15. Michigan State Highway Department (April 15, 1954). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. § L10. OCLC 12701120.
16. Michigan State Highway Department (October 1, 1954). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. § L10. OCLC 12701120.
17. Michigan State Highway Department (April 15, 1956). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ L9–L10. OCLC 12701120.
18. Michigan State Highway Department (October 1, 1956). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ L9–L10. OCLC 12701120.
19. Michigan State Highway Department (April 15, 1957). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. § L9. OCLC 12701120.
20. Michigan State Highway Department (1962). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ L10–L11. OCLC 12701120 and 173191490.
21. Michigan State Highway Department (1963). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ L10–L11. OCLC 12701120.
22. Michigan State Highway Department (1962). Official Highway Map (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. Lansing inset. OCLC 12701120 and 173191490.
23. Michigan State Highway Department (1963). Official Highway Map (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. Lansing inset. OCLC 12701120.
24. Google (March 1, 2011). "Overview Map of Bus. M-43" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
25. "Open Bypass at Grand Ledge". The Grand Rapids Press. November 14, 1959. p. 13.
26. Michigan Department of State Highways (1968). Official Highway Map (Map). c. 1:918,720. Lansing: Michigan Department of State Highways. § L10. OCLC 12701120.
27. Michigan Department of State Highways & H.M. Gousha (1969). Official Highway Map (Map). c. 1:918,720. Lansing: Michigan Department of State Highways. § L10. OCLC 12701120.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• M-43 at Michigan Highways
• M-43 at Michigan Highway Ends