U.S. Route 41 in Michigan

U.S. Route 41 In Michigan

US Highway 41 (US 41) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state via the Interstate Bridge between Marinette, Wisconsin, and Menominee, Michigan. The 278.769 miles (448.635 km) of US 41 that lie within Michigan serve as a major conduit. Most of the highway is listed on the National Highway System. Various sections are rural two-lane highway, urbanized four-lane divided expressway and the Copper Country Trail National Scenic Byway. The northernmost community along the highway is Copper Harbor at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The trunkline ends at a cul-de-sac east of Fort Wilkins State Park after serving the Central Upper Peninsula and Copper Country regions of Michigan.

US 41 passes through farm fields and forest lands, and along the Lake Superior shoreline. The highway is included in the Lake Superior Circle Tour and the Lake Michigan Circle Tour and passes through the Hiawatha National Forest and the Keweenaw National Historical Park. Historical landmarks along the trunkline include the Marquette Branch Prison, Peshekee River Bridge and the Quincy Mine. The highway is known for a number of historic bridges such as a lift bridge, the northernmost span in the state and a structure referred to as "one of Michigan's most important vehicular bridges" by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). Seven memorial highway designations have been applied to parts of the trunkline since 1917, one of them named for a Civil War general.

US 41 was first designated as a US Highway in 1926. A section of the highway originally served as part of Military Road, a connection between Fort Wilkins and Fort Howard during the Civil War. US 41 replaced the original M-15 designation of the highway which dated back to the formation of the Michigan state trunkline highway system. M-15 ran from Menominee through Marquette to Houghton and ended in Copper Harbor. Realignments and construction projects have expanded the highway to four lanes in Delta and Marquette counties and have created three business loops off the main highway.