M-14 (Michigan Highway)

M-14 (Michigan Highway)

M-14 is an east–west state trunkline highway in the southeastern portion of the US state of Michigan. Entirely freeway, it runs for 22.250 miles (35.808 km) to connect Ann Arbor with Detroit by way of a connection with Interstate 96 (I-96). The eastern terminus is at a partial interchange with I-94 west of Ann Arbor. From there, the freeway curves around the north side of Ann Arbor and runs concurrently with US Highway 23 (US 23). East of that section, M-14 passes through woodlands and fields in Washtenaw County. In Wayne County, the freeway returns to a suburban area of mixed residential neighborhoods and light industrial areas. It crosses two different rivers and a pair of rail lines as it approaches Detroit's inner suburbs, where it terminates at an interchange between I-96 and I-275.

When the state's highway system was first signed in 1919, there was a different M-14 that ran the length of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. This was later replaced by a pair of different US Highways in the 1920s and 1930s. Another M-14 was designated that lasted until the 1940s. The current highway dates back to 1956 when it was designated along a series of roads that previously carried US 12. During the 1960s and 1970s, M-14 was moved to the freeway alignment it currently uses; sections of the former route are still maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) as unsigned highways.