Route Description
M-43 begins at an intersection with BL I-196 in South Haven. Known locally as Bailey Avenue, the road heads out of the city to the southwest, intersecting County Road A-2 before running under Interstate 196 (I-196). From there, the road continues to the southeast near the airport through the rural areas of Van Buren County. The road runs through mixed woodland and fields before passing through Bangor. After Bangor, the route heads due east past Glendale and then intersects M-40 north of Paw Paw.
After the junction with M-40, the highway then enters Kalamazoo County and has an interchange with US Highway 131 (US 131) just before entering the city of Kalamazoo on Main Street near the north side of the campus of Western Michigan University. Through downtown, M-43 runs concurrently with both of the city's business loops for I-94 and US 131. Eastbound traffic along the combined highway is routed on Michigan Avenue, while westbound traffic uses Kalamazoo Avenue. Business US 131 (BUS US 131) turns north at Park Street and BL I-94/M-43 continues east. After the two traffic directions merge back together and cross the Kalamazoo River, BL I-94 turns to the southeast, and M-43 follows Riverview Drive to an intersection with Gull Road. There M-43 begins to head northeast out of the city. The highway passes in front of the Borgess Medical Center and along a row of retail and commercial properties next to Gull Road. The trunkline then travels through a rural area for a brief period before entering the community of Richland where it merges with M-89.
M-43 and M-89 run concurrently for a mile north of Richland before M-89 heads off to the west while M-43 continues north. After the concurrency ends, M-43 turns east and then back north to run between Little Long and Gull lakes. It is at this point where M-43 begins its northward trek. The road continues on a general north-northeast track through rural areas and beside several lakes in Barry County before meeting M-179 and M-37. M-43 merges with the latter highway and together they run into Hastings. Downtown, M-37 leaves town to the south, while M-43 heads north before curving around the east, passing through farmfields approaching the community of Woodland. After leaving town, the road meets M-66, and together they head north to a junction with M-50.
M-43 then turns east with M-50, and they briefly run together before M-50 diverges to the southeast. Now known as the Grand Ledge Highway, M-43 continues its easterly path across northern Eaton County before dipping south briefly to travel around the south side of Grand Ledge. Just south of town, M-43 has a junction with M-100 and then follows Saginaw Highway. The highway then has a junction with I-96/I-69 in Delta Township before continuing into Lansing, merged with BL I-69.
In Lansing, the highway travels splits to follow the one-way streets of Saginaw (eastbound) and Oakland (westbound) near the Sparrow Specialty Hospital. BL I-69/M-43 then crosses the Grand River and passes Marshall Park. The trunkline then passes over US 127 just before the paired one-way streets merge back together on Grand River Avenue. After the merge, M-43 heads southeast through East Lansing, passing the main campus of Michigan State University and Spartan Stadium. The road continues on its southeast path, traveling by the Meridian Mall as it enters Meridian Township. From here the road travels through Williamston before terminating at an interchange with I-96 just south of Webberville at exit 122.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) maintains M-43 like all other state trunkline highways. As a part of those responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic along its roadways using a metric called average annual daily traffic. This is a calculation of the traffic levels for a roadway segment for any average day of the year. In 2009, MDOT determined that the highest traffic volume along M-43 was east of the I-96/I-69 interchange at 38,927 vehicles per day. The highest commercial traffic was west of the interchange at 645 trucks daily. The lowest volumes were at Woodland with only 1,700 vehicles and 120 trucks traveling along that section of the highway daily. Two segments of M-43 are listed on the National Highway System. The first section runs from US 131 in Oshtemo Township east to the intersection of M-43 (Gull Road) and Sprinkle Road in Comstock. The second segment is between I-96/I-69 in Delta Township and the junction between Saginaw Street and Grand River Avenue in East Lansing.
Read more about this topic: M-43 (Michigan Highway)
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