M-18 (Michigan Highway) - History

History

By July 1, 1919, M-18 was first designated on a routing that ran between M-46 west of Merrill through Edenville to M-14 (later US 27) in Prudenville. The highway south of Beaverton was realigned to run due south a new terminus at North Bradley along the new US 10 in late 1926. The former routing between Beaverton and M-30 north of Edenville was redesignated M-80, and the highway from the M-30 junction south to M-46 became an extended M-30. At the same time, the north end was extended along US 27 to end at M-76 in Roscommon. The northern extension was scaled back in 1941 to Prudenville.

When the new alignment for US 27 was opened in early 1949, M-18 was re-extended north from Prudenville to Roscommon, where it turned northwesterly with M-76 to end at US 27 south of Grayling. The completion of two freeways in the state shifted the termini of M-18 slightly in 1961. The southern terminus was moved north about a mile (1.6 km) to the new US 10 freeway, and the northern terminus was also shifted north about a mile to the new I-75/US 27 freeway. The Michigan State Highway Department completed a freeway segment in 1970 in the Roscommon area for the modern I-75; in a temporary assignment they moved M-18/M-76 onto that freeway. When the remainder of the freeway for I-75 was completed between Roscommon and West Branch in 1973, M-18 was rerouted at Roscommon to run northeasterly over the routing of M-144, a highway that had existed since 1940. Part of the former M-18/M-76 routing on the northwestern side of Roscommon was used for BL I-75.