M-46 (Michigan Highway)

M-46 (Michigan Highway)

M-46 is an east–west state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan between Muskegon and Port Sanilac, terminating near Lake Michigan and Lake Huron on each end. Except for the north–south segment that corresponds with the US Highway 131 (US 131) freeway between Cedar Springs and Howard City, M-46 is practically a due east–west surface highway. The road runs through rural sections of the Lower Peninsula connecting several freeways including US 31, US 131, US 127 and I-75.

The highway was formed by July 1, 1919 along two discontinuous sections of its current corridor. The gap was filled in by 1927, but a second break in the routing was created in the 1930s. This second interruption in the corridor was eliminated within a year. The various paths that M-46 has followed have been straightened over the intervening years, producing the modern corridor by the 1970s. Other changes have been made to the location of the western terminus in Muskegon, but it has remained fixed in its current location since 1984.