 M-54 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 M-54 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byMDOT | ||||
| Length | 30.276 mi[1] (48.724 km) | |||
| Existed | 1962[2][3]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  I-75 nearGrand Blanc | |||
| Major intersections |  I-69 atFlint M-83 nearBirch Run | |||
| North end |  I-75 /US 23 in Birch Run | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Michigan | |||
| Counties | Genesee,Saginaw | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
M-54 is a north–southstate trunkline highway in the US state ofMichigan that bypasses the city ofFlint. It is namedDort Highway for much of its length, in honor of Flint carriage and automobile pioneerJosiah Dallas Dort. The portion from the north end of Dort Highway to Clio Road is part of the historicSaginaw Trail, and was also part of the oldDixie Highway. The modern highway runs for 30.276 miles (48.724 km) throughGenesee andSaginaw counties from connections withInterstate 75 (I-75) nearGrand Blanc on the south toBirch Run on the north. The highway serves mostly suburban and urban sections of the Flint area. Outside of the city, it also passes through agricultural areas in northern Genesee County and southeastern Saginaw County. It also shares a short east–west section withM-83 near Birch Run.
The first state highway along the general route of M-54 wasM-10, one of the original state trunklines signed in 1919. Later, it was redesignated as part ofUS Highway 10 (US 10) in the 1920s. After a series of realignments in the 1940s and 1960s, the roadway was given the M-54 designation in 1962. A segment of Saginaw Road through Flint was redesignated abusiness route in the 1940s that becameBusiness M-54 (Bus. M-54) as well in 1962. That business loop wasdecommissioned in 1974. Previously, two other highways in Michigan bore the M-54 designation: a roadway that is now part ofM-37 and one that isBus. US 2 inIronwood.
M-54 starts at exit 109 along I-75 and follows Dort Highway northward through suburbanGrand Blanc Township. The area near the southern end is mostly residential, but north of Reid Road, there is theGrand Blanc Metal Center plant forGeneral Motors to the east of the highway. M-54 intersects Hill and Saginaw roads in theunincorporated community of Whigville as the trunkline passes out of the industrial area surrounding the plant. North of the Maple Road intersection, Dort Highway crosses intoBurton, and the suburban residential neighborhoods give way to commercial properties along the roadway.[4][5] There is a rail line leased byLake State Railway that runs parallel to the highway about a half mile (0.8 km) to the east.[6][7] North of Atherton Road, M-54 crosses into Flint and runs through the city's east side. The trunkline intersectsI-69 near theAmtrak station in the city,[4][5] and a viaduct with a line of theCanadian National Railway.[7] Between Robert T. Longway Boulevard and Davison Road, Dort Highway passes another industrial area. North of Leith Street, the highway turns to the northwest,[4][5] and the parallel railroad, still part of the Lake State line, follows suit.[7]
Dort Highway crosses theFlint River on the northeast side of the city near the interchange that connects the highway toI-475. This interchange uses the connection with Stewart Avenue on the western side of the river to provide all of the possible traffic movements between the freeway and the highway. M-54 turns due northerly past the interchange and crosses under the rail line as it heads out of Flint. The area north of the city line on Carpenter Road is dominated by industrial properties as far north as Coldwater Road.[4][5] Running northward through a more rural area, M-54 passes to the east ofMount Morris. Turning northwesterly, the trunkline is dotted with commercial businesses as it continues to theClio area.[4][8] The highway runs parallel to east of the railroad.[7] It passes the Flint Memorial Park cemetery and the Auto City Speedway, a motorsports race track in an area that is otherwise agricultural in nature away from the main highway. The Dort Highway name ends at the intersection withSaginaw Road, and the highway takes on the latter name. East of Clio, M-54 intersectsM-57 (Vienna Road) in the unincorporated community ofPine Run.[4][8]
Past the town, M-54 turns due north on Clio Road before crossing into southernSaginaw County. Over the county line, the name changes to Gera Road, and the trunkline runs through farm fields to an intersection with Birch Run Road. At that intersection, M-54 northbound turns westward and joinsM-83 torun concurrently to Birch Run while M-83 continues north toFrankenmuth on Gera Road. Birch Run Road carries opposing directions of the two highways, a phenomenon called awrong-way concurrency. Running westward, the road is signed as both M-54 northbound or M-83 southbound. About two miles (3.2 km) west of the intersection between Gera and Birch Run roads, the two highways meet a common terminus at exit 136 on I-75/US 23 in a commercial district that includes alarge outlet mall bordering that freeway.[4][8]
M-54 is maintained by MDOT like other state highways in Michigan. As a part of these maintenance responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic that uses the roadways under its jurisdiction. These volumes are expressed using a metric calledannual average daily traffic, which is a statistical calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. MDOT's surveys in 2010 showed that the highest traffic levels along M-54 were the 30,145 vehicles daily north of the I-69 interchange in Flint; the lowest counts were the 2,880 vehicles per day along the M-83 concurrency.[9] M-54 between I-75 in Grand Blanc Township and M-57 near Clio has been listed on theNational Highway System,[10] a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.[11]
The first version of M-54 began atM-16 (laterUS 16) nearGrand Rapids and ran northerly along the currentM-37 corridor toM-20 (laterUS 10).[12] This version of M-54 was replaced by an extension of M-37 by 1927.[13] The second incarnation of M-54 was designated inIronwood along the formerUS 2 routing through downtown in 1934.[14][15] This was replaced by the currentBus. US 2 in August 1942.[16]
Originally, Saginaw Road in the Flint area was a part of theSaginaw Trail, aNative American footpath in the area.[17] In the early 20th century, the highway was a part of theDixie Highway through the area.[18] When the state signed its highway system in 1919,[19] Saginaw Road was part ofM-10;[12] later it was used as a section ofUS 10 in 1926.[20] In August 1926, the Flint City Council renamed the former Western Road afterJosiah Dallas Dort, a partner inGM.[21] In 1941, the highway was moved eastward to follow Dort Highway, and the route through the city was designatedBus. US 10.[22][23]
The current M-54 was designated in 1962 for a former routing of US 10 through the Flint area; US 10 was moved after the completion of theI-75 freeway, and the M-54 designation was applied to the Saginaw Road-Dort Highway routing of US 10 from I-75 inGrand Blanc toM-83 in Birch Run. At the same time,Bus. US 10 becameBus. M-54 through Flint.[2][3] An extension of Dort Highway in 1987 relocated the southern end of M-54 in Grand Blanc to end at exit 109 on I-75.[24][25]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesee | Grand Blanc Township | 0.000– 0.192 | 0.000– 0.309 | I-75 –Detroit,Flint | Exit 109 on I-75; roadway continues to the south as Dort Highway |
| Flint | 7.492– 7.505 | 12.057– 12.078 | I-69 –Lansing,Port Huron | Exit 138 on I-69 | |
| 10.760– 11.159 | 17.317– 17.959 |  I-475Stewart Avenue | Exit 9 on I-475; access to I-475 via Stewart Avenue only | ||
| Vienna Township | 22.930 | 36.902 |  M-57 (Vienna Road) –Clio,Otisville | ||
| Saginaw | Birch Run Township | 28.182 | 45.355 |  M-83 north (Birch Run Road) –Frankenmuth | Eastern end of M-83wrong-way concurrency |
| Birch Run | 30.179– 30.276 | 48.568– 48.724 | I-75 /US 23 –Flint,Saginaw | Western end of M-83 concurrency; both end together at exit 136 on I-75/US 23 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
 Business M-54 | |
|---|---|
| Location | Grand Blanc–Mount Morris |
| Length | 14.767 mi[1] (23.765 km) |
| Existed | 1962[2][3]–1974[26][27] |
Business M-54 (Bus. M-54) was abusiness loop in theFlint area. It ran for about 14.8 miles (23.8 km) along Saginaw Road, which was also called Saginaw Street in the city of Flint. The highway connected to its parent, M-54, inGrand Blanc Township on the south end and ran through suburbanBurton northwesterly into Flint. There it ran through downtown, passing underI-475 without an interchange. Bus. M-54 ran parallel to that freeway and metI-69/M-21 at an interchange near downtown. There were intersections with both directions ofM-56. The highway crossed theFlint River and turned northward. Saginaw Street continued parallel to what is now I-475 before passing out of town. InMount Morris Township north of Flint, the business loop terminated at the intersection with M-54 (Dort Highway).[26][28]
Originally, Saginaw Road in the Flint area was a part of theSaginaw Trail, aNative American footpath in the area.[17] When the state signed its highway system in 1919,[19] Saginaw Road was part ofM-10.[12] Later it was used as a section ofUS 10 in 1926.[20] In 1929, the highway was moved eastward to follow Dort Highway, and the route through the city was designated M-10 again.[29][30] In 1941, this was renumbered toBus. US 10.[22][23] Later, in 1962, US 10 was moved again to follow the recently completedI-75 freeway; the former route of US 10 was redesignated M-54 and its business loop was renumbered to match.[2][3] This business route lasted until 1974; at the same time that I-475 was completed, Bus. M-54 wasdecommissioned and turned over to local control.[26][27]
The entire highway was inGenesee County.
| Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Blanc Township | 0.00 | 0.00 |  M-54 (Dort Highway) | ||
| Flint | 4.756– 4.767 | 7.654– 7.672 |  I-69 /M-21 –Lansing,Port Huron | Present-day exit 136 on I-69 | |
| 5.011 | 8.064 |   M-56 east (5th Street) | Southern part of aone-way pairing; eastern terminus of M-56 | ||
| 5.092 | 8.195 |  M-56 west (Court Street) | Northern part of a one-way pairing | ||
| Mount Morris Township | 14.767 | 23.765 | M-54 (Dort Highway) | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
