M-92 (Michigan Highway) - History

History

M-52 was first designated by July 1, 1919. The original routing started at the Ohio state line and ran north through Adrian to M-50 much as it does today. It turned east along M-50 into Tecumseh and then turned north to Clinton where it terminated. The remainder of the modern highway routing is either not part of the state trunkline system, or it is parts of other highways at this time, M-92 or M-47. In 1954, M-92 was extended southward to end in Clinton at the same intersection with US 112 where M-52 terminated. By July 1, 1960, M-92's southern end was shifted westward, terminating west of Clinton at US 112 on a new roadway south of Manchester. M-52 was extended around 1962 north between M-50 and US 12 (the former US 112) west of Tecumseh and Clinton. This extension ended at M-92's terminus with US 12. M-52 was then extended north supplanting the M-92 designation in its entirety. M-52 at this time runs north from the Ohio state line to Millville in southwestern Ingham County. In the late 1960s, Stockbridge Road between Webberville and Stockbridge was upgraded to state highway standards and uploaded from the county to the state. This construction was shown on the 1969 state map. When it was completed later that year, M-52 was extended northward a second time, to I-96 outside of Webberville. Where Stockbridge Road crossed I-96, M-52 was continued north, supplanting M-47 through Webberville and north to the junction with M-46 west of Saginaw. This designation change shortened M-47 to its current southern terminus in Saginaw Township.

In downtown Adrian, the highways previously split into an uncommon arrangement of one-way streets. This arrangement was similar to a traffic circle in how the traffic was routed through the central business district on Church, Broad, Front and Winter streets. The first one-way pairing started on Main Street at the intersection with Winter Street. Northbound traffic continued on Main Street, while southbound traffic was routed along Winter Street. At Church Street, westbound BUS US 223/northbound M-52 turned east for a block on Church and then north onto Broad Street. Then the highway designations continued on Broad Street three blocks north to Front Street, passing to the east of the downtown businesses. The designations were then routed west along Front Street. At Main Street, M-52 turned back north again as a two-way street. In the opposite direction, southbound M-52 traffic was diverted from Main west on Front Street. Front Street west of Main Street carried southbound M-52 and westbound BUS US 223 traffic one block west to Winter Street, which then turned down Winter. Westbound BUS US 223 traffic turned west along Maumee Street while eastbound BUS US 223 followed southbound M-52 down Winter to Main Street. This arrangement was ended in November 2009 when the City of Adrian converted all of the one-way streets to two-way traffic. Downtown streets had been converted to one-way traffic between 1950 and 1973.