U.S. Route 12 in Michigan
US Highway 12 is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan. In Michigan, it runs for between New Buffalo and Detroit as a state trunkline highway and Pure Michigan Byway. On its western end, the highway is mostly a two-lane road that runs through the southern tier of counties roughly parallel to the Indiana state line. It forms part of the Niles Bypass, a four-lane expressway south of Niles in the southwestern part of the state, and it runs concurrently with the Interstate 94 freeway around the south side of Ypsilanti in southeastern Michigan. In between Coldwater and the Ann Arbor area, the highway angles northeasterly and passes Michigan International Speedway. East of Ypsilanti, US 12 follows a divided highway routing on Michigan Avenue into Detroit, where it terminates at an intersection with Cass Avenue.
When US 12 was designated in Michigan on November 11, 1926, along with the other original US Highways, it ran along a more northerly course. It originally replaced sections of the original M-11 and M-17 along Michigan Avenue in the state, the route of the much older St. Joseph Trail, a footpath used by Native Americans before European settlement in the area. It entered from Indiana as it does now, but it followed the Lake Michigan shoreline farther north to Benton Harbor–St. Joseph before turning eastward to run through Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Jackson. In the Ann Arbor area, it followed a more northerly path into Detroit before terminating downtown. In the 1940s and 1950s, sections of the highway were converted into expressways and freeways. Starting in 1959, these freeway segments were renumbered as part of I-94, and, in January 1962, US 12 was shifted to replace US Highway 112. That highway, when it was designated in 1926 replaced the original M-23 along the Chicago Road, which was the route of the older Sauk Trail. Later, US 112 replaced the first M-151 when the former was extended to New Buffalo in the mid-1930s. Since 1962, the highway has remained relatively unchanged aside from minor truncations in the city of Detroit. US 112 previously had two business loops, both of which were renumbered Business US Highway 12 in 1962. In 2010, the Niles business loop was decommissioned, but the one in Ypsilanti remains. One section of the former US 112 was renumbered US Highway 112S for a few years in the 1930s.
Route description
Between the state line near Michiana and the interchange with I-94 near New Buffalo, US 12 forms a portion of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour. The full length of the highway in the state is also a Pure Michigan Byway. Outside of the various cities, most of US 12 is a rural, two-lane state highway. One section runs concurrently with I-94 south of Ypsilanti. From there eastward, US 12 is a divided highway and then a boulevard into the Detroit area. The entire length of the highway east of Coldwater is listed on the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the US's economy, defense, and mobility.Southwest Michigan
US 12 enters the state of Michigan southwest of New Buffalo near the town of Michiana. The highway runs a bit inland and parallel to the Lake Michigan shore on Red Arrow Highway past the community of Grand Beach before turning eastward away from the lake on the north side of New Buffalo. US 12 intersects I-94 less than east of this turn and continues due east along Pulaski Highway through rural farmland. The highway is the main east–west street as it crosses through Three Oaks in southern Berrien County. East of Galien, the highway dips southward around Dayton Lake before passing south of Buchanan. The highway continues eastward, intersecting US 31 near Niles. East of that freeway, US 12 expands into an expressway as the Niles Bypass. This bypass intersects M-139, crosses the St. Joseph River, and intersects M-51 on the south side of Niles. US 12 turns northeasterly along the bypass east of downtown and then departs to the southeast at an interchange with Main Street and M-60 just across the county line with Cass County.Continuing through southern Cass County, US 12 runs roughly parallel to the state line. It turns northeasterly to run into Edwardsburg, where it intersects M-62. The highway turns southeasterly and runs to the south of Eagle Lake before entering the community of Adamsville. The highway continues on this southeasterly course until it intersects the former M-205 and M-217 near Union and turns to the northeast. US 12 intersects the southern end of M-40 before crossing into St. Joseph County at the eastern crossing of the St. Joseph River.
On the eastern side of the river, US 12 enters Mottville and intersects M-103. The highway continues as Chicago Road through farmland and intersects US 131 near White Pigeon. It runs along the south side of Klinger Lake and continues to a junction with M-66 in Sturgis; the two highways run concurrently for about eight blocks through town. East of Sturgis, US 12 turns northeasterly into Branch County. Still named Chicago Road, it passes through Bronson and past Batavia. Northeast of Batavia, US 12 intersects the eastern end of M-86 near Branch County Memorial Airport. The airport is on the western edge of Coldwater, and, after crossing the Coldwater River between Cemetery and South lakes, the highway runs through residential neighborhoods and into downtown. East of Division Street, Business Loop I-69 follows US 12 through downtown and out to an interchange with I-69 on the east side of Coldwater. The highway continues past retail businesses and parallel to the Sauk River. US 12 passes through the town of Quincy before crossing into Hillsdale County.
Southeast Michigan
East of the Hillsdale County line, US 12 runs easterly into Allen, where it intersects M-49. The highway continues northeastward through farmland to Jonesville, where it runs concurrently with M-99 through downtown and across a different St. Joseph River. The trunkline continues northeasterly through northern Hillsdale County, crossing the South Branch of the Kalamazoo River in Moscow. US 12 runs along the south side of Lake LeAnn in Somerset Center in the northeastern corner of the county. East of Somerset, the highway crosses into northern Lenawee County.Immediately east of the Lenawee County line, US 12 intersects US 127 in the Irish Hills region. South of Brooklyn in Cambridge Junction, it passes Michigan International Speedway and crosses the River Raisin next to a junction with M-50. East of the racetrack, the highway meanders through an area dotted by several smaller lakes until it intersects M-124 at Hayes State Park. Continuing as Michigan Avenue, US 12 angles northeasterly from the park until it hits the Lenawee–Washtenaw county line. The highway follows the line for several miles before reentering Lenawee County. It continues through an intersection with M-52 and into Clinton before turning northeasterly and fully crossing into Washtenaw County.
In Washtenaw County, US 12 passes through Benton in a rural southern section of the county. At Saline, the highway enters the suburban edge of the Ann Arbor–Ypsilanti metro area. US 12 follows Michigan Avenue northeasterly through Saline and across an interchange with US 23 before intersecting I-94 in Pittsfield and Ypsilanti townships. US 12 leaves Michigan Avenue to follow I-94 at that freeway's exit 181; Michigan Avenue continues into downtown Ypsilanti as a city street. I-94/US 12 skirts around the south side of the city and intersects the western end of Bus. US 12 at Huron Street south of downtown. The freeway continues around the south side of the city and rounds the north end of Ford Lake. It is bounded by residential neighborhoods, and it crosses the Huron River on the eastern side of Ypsilanti. Near the Willow Run industrial complex and airport, US 12 separates from I-94 and turns northeasterly along an expressway on the north side of the airport. There are three interchanges, including one for the eastern end of M-17 before US 12 crosses into Wayne County and intersects the eastern end of Bus. US 12.
East into Detroit
Once US 12 intersects the eastern end of its business loop, it returns to Michigan Avenue for the remainder of its routing in the state. The roadway is a boulevard in this area, a street divided by a central median. It runs through Canton Township and parallel to the Lower River Rouge. US 12 intersects I-275 on the eastern side of the township before crossing into Wayne. The highway is bounded by a mix of industrial and commercial properties in suburban Metro Detroit. In downtown Wayne, the two sides of Michigan Avenue split apart, surrounding the central business district of the city and separated by two to three city blocks. East of this split, Michigan Avenue crosses a section of Westland before entering Inkster.In Dearborn, US 12 intersects US 24 at an interchange on the western side of the city, and M-39 on the eastern side near the River Rouge crossing and Greenfield Village. On the Dearborn–Detroit city border, US 12 pass through a complex interchange with I-94 and M-153. Michigan Avenue continues northeasterly parallel to I-94 for a short distance before it turns due east. Once it makes the direction change, it forms the 0 Mile of Detroit's Mile Road System. US 12 continues through residential areas on Detroit's West Side, passing through the interchange that connects I-75 with I-96's eastern terminus near the Ambassador Bridge. The highway runs through Corktown and beside the site of the former Tiger Stadium at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. East of the former stadium, US 12 crosses M-10 near the MGM Grand Detroit casino. East of M-10, Michigan Avenue enters Downtown Detroit. At the corner of Michigan and Cass, US 12 ends while Michigan Avenue continues several blocks further to terminate at Campus Martius Park at Woodward Avenue.