Route Description
The western terminus of M-14 is west of Ann Arbor, at exit 171 on I-94. This is a partial interchange; only traffic from eastbound I-94 can access eastbound M-14, and traffic from westbound M-14 must follow westbound I-94. From this junction, M-14 runs northeasterly through suburban Scio Township. The freeway is bordered by residential subdivisions to the southeast and woodlands to the northwest. M-14 curves around to the east through an interchange that has ramps that connect Miller and Maple roads; the ramps connect to Maple Road through a pair of roundabouts. As it approaches the Huron River, the freeway has an interchange with Business US 23 (BUS US 23); the two highways merge and run concurrently to the north over the river. BUS US 23/M-14 has an interchange with Barton Drive on the north side of the river and continues north to an interchange with US 23. The business loop ends there, and M-14 turns eastward to follow the US 23 freeway around the north side of Ann Arbor.
The US 23/M-14 freeway runs for about one mile (1.6 km) before US 23 turns southward to run between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti while M-14 continues east through Ann Arbor Township past Domino's Farms, the office complex for Domino's Pizza that was to be the home to Tom Monaghan's Leaning Tower of Pizza. East of that complex, M-14 runs through woodlands and fields north of the community of Dixboro. The freeway turns northeasterly after the interchange with M-153. At the Napier Road underpass, M-14 crosses into Wayne County.
Once across the county line, the M-14 freeway runs through residential subdivisions from the western Detroit suburbs. There is an interchange for Beck Road as M-14 turns back to the east. The freeway crosses a rail line operated by CSX Transportation The freeway passes Ford Motor Company's Sheldon Road Plant near the Sheldon Road interchange. There is a crossing for another CSX rail line near the bridges over the River Rouge by the St. Johns Golf Course. The freeway through this area curves around a bit north of its previous course. As M-14 nears the Livonia city line, it meets an interchange with I-96 and I-275 that marks the eastern terminus of M-14 in Plymouth Township.
M-14 is maintained by MDOT like other state highways in Michigan. As a part of these maintenance responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic that uses the roadways under its jurisdiction. These volumes are expressed using a metric called annual average daily traffic, which is a statistical calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. MDOT's surveys in 2010 showed that the highest traffic levels along M-14 were the 86,500 vehicles daily east of the Sheldon Road interchange in Plymouth Township; the lowest counts were the 26,641 vehicles per day west of the Miller Road interchange. All of M-14 has been listed on the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.
Read more about this topic: M-14 (Michigan Highway)
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