 M-64 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 M-64 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byMDOT | ||||
| Length | 63.765 mi[1] (102.620 km) | |||
| Existed | 1930[2][3]–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  Lake Superior Circle Tour | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  CTH-B nearPresque Isle, WI | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end |   US 45 /M-38 inOntonagon | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Michigan | |||
| Counties | Gogebic,Ontonagon | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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M-64 is a north–southstate trunkline highway in theUpper Peninsula of the US state ofMichigan. It runs for approximately63+3⁄4 miles (102.6 km) through the western part of the state in land that is part of theOttawa National Forest. The highway connects with County Trunk Highway B (CTH-B) at the state line nearPresque Isle, Wisconsin. As it passes through dense forests, M-64 runs along lakesGogebic andSuperior. The northern end is at a junction withUS Highway 45 (US 45) inOntonagon.
The M-64 designation was used on two other separate highways before it was used for the current highway. The first was at the other end of the state near the Ohio state line, and the second was on theKeweenaw Peninsula nearEagle Harbor. The current highway has carried the M-64 moniker since 1930, when it was assigned along two disconnected highways. These two parts were joined into a single corridor soon after. M-64 was one of the last highways in the state of Michigan to be paved in 1961. In the early part of the 21st century, the state replaced the bridge over theOntonagon River and shifted the highway's northern terminus.
M-64 starts at the Wisconsin state line north of Presque Isle, Wisconsin, where it runs north as the continuation of CTH-;B into the state of Michigan. The trunkline runs through dense forests along thePresque Isle River in a rural area ofGogebic County;[4][5] this region is a part of the Ottawa National Forest.[6] As the highway enters the community ofMarenisco, it follows Pine and Fair avenues through town. On the north side of Marenisco, M-64 turns easterly andruns concurrently withUS 2 for about two miles (3.2 km) including a crossing of the Presque Isle River. East of town, M-64 separates from US 2 and turns northeasterly toward the southern end of Lake Gogebic. The road turns north along the western shore of the lake and provides access toLake Gogebic State Park. About halfway along the lakeshore, the highway crosses intoOntonagon County and from theCentral to theEastern time zone.[4][5]
AtMerriweather, M-64 turns easterly again, this time merging withM-28 and becoming a part of theLake Superior Circle Tour. The two highways run together along the northern end of Lake Gogebic toBergland. Turning north once again,[4] M-64 crosses a branch line of theCanadian National Railway.[7] The highway runs through more dense forests parallel to theBig Iron River on this north–south leg.[5] The trunkline leaves the national forest as it passes into the community ofWhite Pine,[6] and the road runs near a former copper mine in the area. M-64 approaches the shores of Lake Superior atSilver City. There, it meets the eastern terminus of the formerM-107, a highway designation that ran west into thePorcupine Mountains along the current 107th Engineers Memorial Highway. M-64 turns east along Lake Superior following the shoreline to the outskirts of Ontonagon. The highway crosses theOntonagon River and terminates on the eastern shore. The current intersection with US 45 that marks the end of M-64 on the south side of downtown is also the western terminus of M-38.[4][5]
M-64 is maintained by theMichigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) like all other state trunkline highways. As a part of these responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic that uses the highway. In 2009, MDOT's surveys showed that the volume along M-64 was 3,333 vehicles daily,on average on the Ontonagon River Bridge; the lowest traffic was between US 2 and the Gogebic–Ontonagon county line at 418 vehicles per day.[8] The only segments of the trunkline that have been included on theNational Highway System (NHS) are the US 2 and M-28 concurrencies.[9] The NHS is a network of roads important to the country's defense, economy and mobility.[10]
By July 1, 1919, the first roads to carry the M-64 designation were signed in the southernLower Peninsula. This highway ran from the Ohio state line north toHillsdale, ending in rural southeasternCalhoun County.[11] This trunkline was extended northerly in 1926 throughHomer to end at the contemporaryUS 12 inAlbion.[12] In the latter half of 1929, this highway was redesignatedM-9 (now M-99). At the same time, the original M-9 inKeweenaw County betweenUS 41 and Eagle Harbor was renumbered M-64. The net effect was to swap the numbers between roads on opposing ends of the state.[13][14] The next year, the M-64 number was swapped with another highway, the originalM-129 that ran along the west side of Lake Gogebic and south to the Wisconsin state line.[2][3]
By 1927, a few roadways that are now part of M-64 were built and open to traffic. The road south of Marenisco was a county road at the time, and the highway between Silver City and Ontonagon was a part of the western segment ofM-35.[15] By the beginning of 1930, a highway called M-129 was designated south of US 2 to the Wisconsin state line and north along Lake Gogebic.[14] By the end of the year, this road was renumbered as the southern section of M-64; the northern section of M-64 was the highway previously designated as the westernmost segment of M-35.[2][3] The gap between the two sections was filled in by 1932.[16][17]
Some curves in the roadway south of Marenisco were realigned, smoothing out the routing of the highway in late 1961. As this project was completed, the last segments of M-64 were fully paved, making the highway one of the last in the state to be fully hard-surfaced.[18][19][20]
The first bridge across the Ontonagon River was built in 1891. It was heavily damaged after a fire in the village a few years later. This bridge was deemed inadequate for the needs of traffic in Ontonagon in the 1930s. TheMichigan State Highway Department (MSHD) contracted for a replacement span in 1939. A temporary crossing was used while the original span was demolished and replaced with aswing bridge. This style of bridge was popular with the department in the first half of the 20th century, but fell out of favor as the MSHD transitioned tobascule bridges. Because of this change, the Ontonagon River Bridge was the last of its type built in the state when it was completed in 1940.[21]
MDOT determined in the early part of the 21st century that the swing bridge had "operational problems".[21] Construction in 2006 replaced the span with a new structure and realigned both M-64 and M-38 in the village.[22] That October, the new bridge was opened upstream of the former crossing.[23] As a result, the northern terminus of M-64 is now at a junction with US 45 and M-38.[5]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gogebic | Marenisco Township | 0.000 | 0.000 |  CTH-B south | Wisconsin state line crossing nearPresque Isle, WI |
| Marenisco | 9.596 | 15.443 |   US 2 west –Ironwood | Western end of US 2 concurrency | |
| Marenisco Township | 11.677 | 18.792 |  US 2 east –Iron River | Eastern end of US 2 concurrency; M-64 turns north along the west shore ofLake Gogebic | |
| Ontonagon | Merriweather | 29.482 | 47.447 |   M-28 west /LSCT west –Wakefield | Western end of M-28 and LSCT concurrencies |
| Bergland | 33.623 | 54.111 | M-28 east –Marquette | Eastern end of M-28 concurrency | |
| Silver City | 51.168 | 82.347 | 107th Engineers Memorial Highway west | FormerM-107 provides access toPorcupine Mountains State Park andLake of the Clouds | |
| Ontonagon | 63.765 | 102.620 | US 45 –Rockland M-38 east /LSCT east –Baraga | Northern terminus; roadway continues eastward as M-38 carrying the LSCT | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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