M-134 (Michigan Highway) - Route Description

Route Description

M-134 starts at the interchange for exit 359 along I-75 north of St. Ignace in rural Mackinac County near the St. Martin Bay of Lake Huron. As the highway runs eastward, it carries the Lake Huron Circle Tour over the Pine River on Huron Shore Drive. The trunkline turns to the southeast and follows the shoreline along the bay and runs inland at the bases of the peninsulas that form the Search Bay. Returning to a shoreline routing at Mismer Bay, M-134 runs through the wooded rural areas into Hessel. There Huron Shore Drive continues eastward to Cedarville where the highway meets the south end of M-129 north of Marquette Island. Farther east, M-134 runs along the north side of the many small bays and channels that separate the Les Cheneaux Islands from the mainland. About 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Cedarville, M-134 crosses into Chippewa County for about a mile and a half (2.5 km); the highway passes back into a sliver of Mackinac County that extends along the Lake Huron shoreline for another 5 miles (8.0 km) before finally crossing back into Chippewa County.

Near Albany Harbor, M-134 follows Scenic Road to an intersection with M-48. The main route of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour turns north on M-48 while a locally-designed loop route continues east on M-134 along Lake Huron. The highway continues past De Tour State Park and St. Vital Point before heading northeasterly to De Tour Village. In the middle of the village, M-134 runs north on Ontario Street and turns east along Elizabeth Street to connect to the ferry docks; the loop tour continues north out of town on county roads. The highway uses the ferry, run by the regional public transportation agency, to cross the De Tour Passage. Once on Drummond Island, M-134 follows Channel Road northward along the passage before turning eastward. The trunkline cuts across to run along Sturgeon Bay on the north shore of the island. On the east side of the bay, M-134 turns inland and runs east to the Four Corners, south of the unincorporated community of Drummond. The trunkline terminates at that intersection south of the Drummond Island Airport where Channel, Townline, Johnswood, and Shore roads (west, north, east and south respectively) come together. M-134 is one of three state highways in Michigan located on an island; the two other state highways located on islands are M-185 on Mackinac Island and M-154 on Harsens Island.

No part of M-134 is listed on the National Highway System, a system of roadways important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility. In 2009, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) conducted a survey to determine the traffic volume along the highway, reported using a metric called average annual daily traffic (AADT). The department determined that the highest count was the 3,595 vehicles a day that used the highway west of the M-129 junction in Cedarville; the lowest counts were 608 vehicles daily between the M-48 junction and the De Tour village limits. On the island, 667 vehicles use M-134 daily. According to tourism officials in the area, over 100,000 vehicles per year are transported round trip on the ferry with almost twice as many additional passengers.

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