History
The first state trunkline highways designated along the original path of US 10 were M-20, M-24 and M-10 as far back as 1919. When the US Highway System was announced on November 11, 1926, US 10 replaced these designations. The highway started in Ludington and ran east replacing M-20 to Midland, M-24 to Saginaw and M-10 to Detroit. Between Saginaw and Flint, US 10 and US 23 were routed concurrently.
Two changes were made in the routing of US 10 by 1929. As shown on the maps of the time, US 10 was rerouted to bypass Flint. The former routing through the city was redesigned M-10. A second change moved the highway to its present routing west of Baldwin to the Lake–Mason county line. A bypass of downtown Midland was opened in 1934. The previous routing through town was initially renumbered US 10A. A rerouting project in Osceola County started in 1936. By the end of the year, a new roadway was opened between Sears and M-66. Until the second segment of the project was completed two years later, US 10 was routed concurrently with M-66. When the new routing between M-66 and Lake in Clare County was opened, that concurrency was eliminated and all the previous routings were transferred to local control.
By 1942, the M-10 designation in Flint was renumbered BUS US 10, eliminating the second M-10 designation from the maps. The last segments of US 10 that were gravel-surfaced were paved by 1948. The last section paved was between Chase and Reed City.
A bypass of Saginaw was completed by 1953. This new roadway was designated as US 23 alone. The highway through downtown Saginaw was numbered US 10/BUS US 23. The Fenton–Clio Expressway was completed in 1957 from Birch Run past Flint. The new expressway was numbered US 23, leaving the former highway through Flint as just US 10. A bypass of Reed City opened by 1960; the former routing was renumbered BUS US 10.
Many changes were made in 1960 to the routing of US 10. A new freeway opened for I-75/US 10/US 23 between M-13 northeast of Saginaw and the M-20 freeway in Bay City. US 10 replaced the M-20 designation on the freeway between Midland and Bay City. M-47 replaced US 10 between Midland and Saginaw, and M-81 replaced US 10 in the city of Saginaw. An addition segment of US 10 between Saginaw and Bridgeport was renumbered BL I-75. The US 10A designation previously in use in Midland was changed to BUS US 10 at this time as well.
Additional freeway was built in 1961, relocating US 10/US 23 between Birch Run and M-13 to the new I-75. The freeway between Midland and the US 27 freeway at Clare was completed in the same year. US 10 was signed as "TO I-75" to route traffic between the completed freeways at Bay City and Grayling by way of Clare. Changes made in the Pontiac area moved US 10 to the former routing of M-58. The former highway through town was redesignated as BUS US 10. More I-75 freeway was completed in 1962 between Flint and Pontiac. US 10 was transferred to the new freeway while the old routing was renumbered M-54. The former BUS US 10 became BUS M-54. These changes made all of US 10 from Clare east to Clarkston freeway.
Until 1970, US 10 followed Woodward Avenue between Detroit and Pontiac. That year, Woodward Avenue was redesignated M-1 and US 10 was moved to the Lodge Freeway and Telegraph Road. The TO I-75 designation was removed in 1973 when the last segments of I-75 were completed between West Branch and Roscommon. Farwell and Clare were bypassed on their northern side in 1975 by a new freeway section of US 10/M-115. The previous routing was partially numbered BUS US 10 while the remainder was unsigned.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) truncated the US 10 designation from Detroit to Bay City in 1986. The US 10 designation was removed from its concurrencies with I-75 and US 23. The section along Dixie Highway and Telegraph Road between Pontiac and Southfield was redesignated as an extension of US 24. The Lodge Freeway was given the M-10 designation. BUS US 10 in Pontiac is renumbered as BUS US 24. M-115 was transferred off the US 10 freeway in the Clare area in 1989 back to its previous routing before the 1975 changes. The last change made to the routing of the highway came in 1998 in Ludington. Reconfiguration of the carferry docks and parking lot moved US 10 along James Street instead of William Street. The three blocks of Ludington Avenue affected by the change were given the M-116 designation.
Read more about this topic: U.S. Route 10 In Michigan
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