Metro Area Freeway Names (Detroit, Ann Arbor: construction, school, living)

[Jaysen71]

M-Dot doesn't like the local media using freeway names but too bad, everyone still does. What's your area's freeway names or do they go by Interstate number's only ? I'll begin.

Metro Detroit Area

I-75 "The Chrysler Frwy." north of Detroit / "The Fisher Frwy." south of Detroit.

I-94 "The Edsel Ford Frwy" east of M-39 / "Detroit Industrial Freeway" west of M-39.

I-96 "The Jeffries Frwy." east of I-94 / west to I-275.

I-696 "The Walter P. Reuther Frwy." / all of it.

I-275 No name to date.

M-10 "The John C. Lodge Frwy." from Detroit to 8 mile, then it's called "Northwestern Hwy." to 14 mile.

M-8 "The Davison Expressway" from I-96 to Conant.

M-39 "The Southfield Frwy." from M-10 to I-75.

M-53 "Van Dyke Expressway" from 18 mile N. to Romeo area.

That's all the named Freeway's, all names are used in media and conversation's except the I-94 Det. Ind. Frwy. (too long).

Other notable Freeway's

M-14 From I-275 to Ann Arbor to I-94. (No name)
M-59 From Pontiac to Van Dyke Rd. (No name Frwy. section).
U.S. 23 (Far western suburbs)

Notable State Hwy.'s

M-1 Woodward Ave.
M-3 Gratiot Ave.
M-5 Grand River Ave.
M-12 Michigan Ave.
M-17 Washtenaw Ave.
M-153 Ford Rd.
M-85 Fort St./ Rd.
M-150 Rochester Rd.
M-59 Hall Rd. (non-Frwy.sec.)
M-97 Groesbeck Hwy.
M-102 8 Mile Rd.
M-24 Lapeer Rd.
M-29 23 Mile Rd.
M-36 "Named"
M-53 Van Dyke Rd. (non-Frwy. sec.)
M-19 New Haven Rd.
U.S. 24 Telegraph Rd.

Finally, here's two names not used much but still on M-Dot map's.. I-75 S. of Downriver - Sea-Way Frwy.
I-94 W. of I-275 - Willow Run Expressway.

[MS313]

Where does I-75 south turn into the "Detroit-Toledo expressway"?

I think I-94 in Kalamazoo is named after the officer that got killed in Kalamazoo Officer Zapata. I think it's called the Officer Zapata highway/ freeway.

[brodie734]

This annoys the hell out of me and almost nobody I know of under the age of 40 actually knows which of those names applies to which freeway other than maybe the Lodge.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by Jaysen71

M-Dot doesn't like the local media using freeway names but too bad, everyone still does. What's your area's freeway names or do they go by Interstate number's only ? I'll begin.

Metro Detroit Area

I-75 "The Chrysler Frwy." north of Detroit / "The Fisher Frwy." south of Detroit.

I-94 "The Edsel Ford Frwy" east of M-39 / "Detroit Industrial Freeway" west of M-39.

I-96 "The Jeffries Frwy." east of I-94 / west to I-275.

I-696 "The Walter P. Reuther Frwy." / all of it.

I-275 No name to date.

M-10 "The John C. Lodge Frwy." from Detroit to 8 mile, then it's called "Northwestern Hwy." to 14 mile.

M-8 "The Davison Expressway" from I-96 to Conant.

M-39 "The Southfield Frwy." from M-10 to I-75.

M-53 "Van Dyke Expressway" from 18 mile N. to Romeo area.

That's all the named Freeway's, all names are used in media and conversation's except the I-94 Det. Ind. Frwy. (too long).

Other notable Freeway's

M-14 From I-275 to Ann Arbor to I-94. (No name)
M-59 From Pontiac to Van Dyke Rd. (No name Frwy. section).
U.S. 23 (Far western suburbs)

Notable State Hwy.'s

M-1 Woodward Ave.
M-3 Gratiot Ave.
M-5 Grand River Ave.
M-12 Michigan Ave.
M-17 Washtenaw Ave.
M-153 Ford Rd.
M-85 Fort St./ Rd.
M-150 Rochester Rd.
M-59 Hall Rd. (non-Frwy.sec.)
M-97 Groesbeck Hwy.
M-102 8 Mile Rd.
M-24 Lapeer Rd.
M-29 23 Mile Rd.
M-36 "Named"
M-53 Van Dyke Rd. (non-Frwy. sec.)
M-19 New Haven Rd.
U.S. 24 Telegraph Rd.

Finally, here's two names not used much but still on M-Dot map's.. I-75 S. of Downriver - Sea-Way Frwy.
I-94 W. of I-275 - Willow Run Expressway.

The freeways I only know the numbers, not the names (except the Lodge I know the name but usually use the number and Southfield and Davison I only know the name and not the number), and the highways I only know by name, not number (although I probably could have remember Michigan Avenue is M-12 with a bit of brain struggle). Some of the freeway names listed above, I have never heard before. Some of the highway names I have never heard the number. I drive on Fort Street 2 - 10 times a day and i never knew it had a number.

What about Dix Toledo? That road confuses me, it pops up all over the place, but I am not sure where it goes and it does not seem to be continuous. Is that different than "Dixie highway" that i see exit signs for a bit further north?

[brodie734]

the weirdness really kicks in when you start going west and see how time has changed street alignments... witness Plymouth Road, which once ran from Detroit to Ann Arbor and beyond but was re-routed to construct M-14 and now is a serious of fits and stops. Plymouth Road from Detroit to Livonia, where a spur becomes Ann Arbor Road, then dead ending at Main Street in Plymouth. Then Ann Arbor Road becomes Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor before also dead ending into Main Street. Ann Arbor Trail also runs parallel to this route from Dearborn to Dixboro before dead ending back into it. Fun fun fun.

I mostly just wish that traffic reporters would stop using the incomprehensible local freeway nicknames. It does not help me to know that traffic is backed up on the Davison. I do not know what the Davison is, where the Davison is or why the Davison is.

[Retroit]

I use the numbers for the interstates.

By the way, I-94 in Macomb & St. Clair County is the "James G. O'Hara Freeway". I only know this because there is a sign just north of 8 Mile Road (which is also known as Base Line Road).

[clawsondude]

Originally Posted by brodie734

This annoys the hell out of me and almost nobody I know of under the age of 40 actually knows which of those names applies to which freeway other than maybe the Lodge.

I'm under 40 (33) and I am familiar with most of the names. With the exception of the Lodge, Davison, Southfield, and Van Dyke Expressway, I don't use them in practice.

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by brodie734

I mostly just wish that traffic reporters would stop using the incomprehensible local freeway nicknames. It does not help me to know that traffic is backed up on the Davison. I do not know what the Davison is, where the Davison is or why the Davison is.

I am surprised you don’t know about this little freeway - it holds some historical significance

The Davison was the first urban freeway in the United States, built in 1942. It isn’t associated with a number designation because it was originally a county freeway and was named after a prominent early resident of the Highland Park area

“Originally, Davison Avenue was the only street that connected across Highland Park and Detroit. Due to heavy traffic in the area, the Highland Park Council approved a proposal to build a six-lane freeway and construction began in 1941…Travel time to and from Detroit improved from approximately fifteen minutes to around three to four minutes after the expressway was opened, and thus the first urban freeway in the United States was born.”

Davison Freeway | Detroit Historical Society


Davison before the freeway


Davison Freeway when it opened in 1942

Originally Posted by clawsondude

I'm under 40 (33) and I am familiar with most of the names. With the exception of the Lodge, Davison, Southfield, and Van Dyke Expressway, I don't use them in practice.

I am 36, and I am familiar with all of those freeway names because when I was growing up, my parents would blare the all news station, WWJ 950 AM, in the morning while we were getting ready for school/work, and the newscasters would use those names, even the Walter P. Reuther (I-696).

[craig11152]

In the larger public interest they should stick to the numbers. Half the people living here don't know all the names and there is no hope for someone driving through from out of town.

[DTWflyer]

Its seems to be fairly common in some of the older cities in the Midwest and Northeast for people to use highway names instead of just the route number. Cities like Chicago, New York, Philadelphia tend to use names for many of their highways.
Likely reasons:
1. Some of these highways pre-date the interstate highway system and were given names before interstate numbers were assigned
2. Some of the highways are multiplexed, have multiple route numbers, or switch route numbers as they carry various interstates through the inner cities.
3. Some have had their route numbers change over the years as they've been bypassed or had the interstate number rerouted

In Detroit, I believe M-10 "The Lodge" used to be US-10 until it was truncated to its current end in Bay City. Plus, its only been in the past 10 years or so that they even put exit numbers on the Lodge. I even believe it may also have been signed as I-96 for awhile before they built the current I-96 section from downtown to I-275.

The Davidson, M-8, didn't have a posted route number until sometime in the mid-90s, I think it was after the major rebuilt.