Interstate 475 (Michigan)
Encyclopedia
Interstate 475 is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Michigan
. I-475 is a 16.99 miles (27.3 km) bypass route that serves the downtown area of Flint
while its parent, I-75
, passes through the west side of the city. This component freeway of the state trunkline highway system
is known as the UAW Freeway for its entire length, honoring the United Auto Workers
labor union, which was active in Flint. The trunkline was first named the Buick Freeway, but was renamed in 1981. At the same time, the name of I-69
/M-21
in Flint was changed from the "Chevrolet Freeway" to the "Chevrolet-Buick Freeway". Locals use neither name, and simply call the freeway I-475 or 475.
/US 10
northward to M-21
/M-78
. The second section was built from I-75/US 10/US 23
to BUS M-54 along the north side of town. These two sections were opened on November 9, 1973 and September 26, 1974 respectively. The final section was opened in between them in 1981.
plants along it have been closed and demolished.
was a Scottish-born immigrant who moved to Detroit
with his parents at the age of two in 1856–57. He quit school to supplement the family's income after his father's 1860 death. In the 1880s, he was a plumbing supplier in the Detroit area, inventing a process that created a cheaper white bathtub. Buick produced a method for permanently coating cast iron
with vitreous enamel
which allowed the production of "white" baths at lower cost. He later sold his plumbing business and the patents to American Standard
.
Using the profits from this sale, Buick started working on gasoline engines, and later automobiles. He eventually moved his operations from Detroit to the Flint Wagon Works. William Durant
managed the fledgling Buick Manufacturing Company, making it the number one car-building in the country by 1908. Durant later built on the foundation of Buick's company to create General Motors
.
In honor of Buick's contributions to Flint's manufacturing base, the Flint City Commission proposed naming I-475 after Buick. The freeway passed by the Buick plant in the city and many of the employees would use the new freeway on their commutes to work. The Michigan Legislature
passed Concurrent Resolution 22 in 1969 to affect the naming.
(UAW) was founded in Detroit on August 26, 1935. The labor union struggled to gain members until the Flint Sit-Down Strike
in 1937. The strike started on December 30, 1936 when workers at the Fisher Body Plant No. 1 stopped loading tool dies on the night shift, locking themselves into the plant. The dies were destined for shipment to plants where union activity was much weaker than the UAW-organized plants in Flint. January 3, 1937 when workers at the plant sat down on the job. Fisher Plant No. 2 later joined in the sit-down strike. The heat was shut off at the plants, and on January 11, food deliveries were stopped, sparking a riot. Governor Frank Murphy
mobilized 4,000 National Guard troops to keep peace at the plants. A second riot occurred at Chevrolet Plant No. 4 on February 1. The National Guard troops surrounded the 12 striking plants in Flint, but the governor never ordered them into action. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
encouraged the two parties to sit down once more, and an agreement was signed, recognizing the UAW in the 17 striking plants across the country.
A local politician wanted to honor not just the automotive pioneers in Flint, but the workers that worked in the plants. Since the UAW came to maturity in Flint as a result of the strikes, it was the appropriate location for a memorial highway designation. In 1980, the Michigan Legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution 583, renaming Flint's east–west freeway (I-69
) the "Chevrolet–Buick Freeway" and I-475 the "UAW Freeway". I-475 was dedicated with its new name on Labor Day, 1981.
. The act also restored Buick's name to I-475. I-475 in Genesee County was given the second name of the "David Dunbar Buick Freeway" in addition to the "UAW Freeway" name.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. I-475 is a 16.99 miles (27.3 km) bypass route that serves the downtown area of Flint
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
while its parent, I-75
Interstate 75 in Michigan
Interstate 75 is a part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from Miami, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I-75 enters the state from Ohio in the south, just to the north of Toledo. It runs generally north through Detroit, Pontiac and Bay City, crossing the...
, passes through the west side of the city. This component freeway of the state trunkline highway system
Michigan Highway System
The Michigan State Trunkline Highway System is made up of all the highways designated as Interstates, U.S. Highways and State Highways in the US state of Michigan. The system is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation and comprises of trunklines in all 83 counties of Michigan on...
is known as the UAW Freeway for its entire length, honoring the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
labor union, which was active in Flint. The trunkline was first named the Buick Freeway, but was renamed in 1981. At the same time, the name of I-69
Interstate 69 in Michigan
Interstate 69 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that currently runs from Indianapolis, Indiana, to the US–Canadian border at Port Huron, Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state south of Coldwater and passes through the cities of Lansing and Flint...
/M-21
M-21 (Michigan highway)
M-21 is an east–west state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan connecting the cities of Grand Rapids and Flint. The highway passes through rural farming country and several small towns along its course through the Lower Peninsula...
in Flint was changed from the "Chevrolet Freeway" to the "Chevrolet-Buick Freeway". Locals use neither name, and simply call the freeway I-475 or 475.
Route description
It flows due north for the first 12.5 miles (20.1 km) where it then travels west towards the I-75/US 23 Interchange.Lane configuration
From south to north:- 2 Lanes each direction for the first 4.5 miles (7.2 km).
- 3 Lanes each direction for the next 8 miles (12.9 km).
- 2 Lanes for the remainder of the freeway.
History
I-475 was first opened to traffic in the early 1970s. The first section was built between I-75Interstate 75 in Michigan
Interstate 75 is a part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from Miami, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I-75 enters the state from Ohio in the south, just to the north of Toledo. It runs generally north through Detroit, Pontiac and Bay City, crossing the...
/US 10
U.S. Route 10 in Michigan
US Highway 10 is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from West Fargo, North Dakota, to the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The highway enters the state on the SS Badger crossing Lake Michigan at Ludington and ends at Bay City.US 10 was created as part of...
northward to M-21
M-21 (Michigan highway)
M-21 is an east–west state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan connecting the cities of Grand Rapids and Flint. The highway passes through rural farming country and several small towns along its course through the Lower Peninsula...
/M-78
M-78 (Michigan highway)
M-78 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. The western terminus is the intersection with M-66 north of Battle Creek in Pennfield Township. The roadway runs through rural farmland and the community of Bellevue as it approaches its eastern terminus at an interchange with...
. The second section was built from I-75/US 10/US 23
U.S. Route 23 in Michigan
US Highway 23 is a United States Numbered Highway that runs from Jacksonville, Florida to Mackinaw City, Michigan. In the US state of Michigan, it is a major north–south state trunkline highway that runs through the Lower Peninsula...
to BUS M-54 along the north side of town. These two sections were opened on November 9, 1973 and September 26, 1974 respectively. The final section was opened in between them in 1981.
Memorial highway designations
I-475 has carried two different memorial highway designations in its history, the Buick Freeway and the UAW Freeway. Locals no longer use neither name, and simply call the freeway I-475 or 475. This is because all of the General MotorsGeneral Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
plants along it have been closed and demolished.
Buick Freeway
David Dunbar BuickDavid Dunbar Buick
David Dunbar Buick was a Scottish-born Detroit inventor, best known for founding the Buick Motor Company...
was a Scottish-born immigrant who moved to Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
with his parents at the age of two in 1856–57. He quit school to supplement the family's income after his father's 1860 death. In the 1880s, he was a plumbing supplier in the Detroit area, inventing a process that created a cheaper white bathtub. Buick produced a method for permanently coating cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
with vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
which allowed the production of "white" baths at lower cost. He later sold his plumbing business and the patents to American Standard
American Standard Brands
American Standard Brands is a closely held manufacturer of plumbing fixtures, sold under the American Standard, Crane, Fiat, Sanymetal, Showerite and Eljer brand names, based in Piscataway Township, New Jersey, United States. It is principally owned by Sun Capital Partners with Bain Capital...
.
Using the profits from this sale, Buick started working on gasoline engines, and later automobiles. He eventually moved his operations from Detroit to the Flint Wagon Works. William Durant
William C. Durant
William Crapo "Billy" Durant was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry, the founder of General Motors and Chevrolet who created the system of multi-brand holding companies with different lines of cars....
managed the fledgling Buick Manufacturing Company, making it the number one car-building in the country by 1908. Durant later built on the foundation of Buick's company to create General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
.
In honor of Buick's contributions to Flint's manufacturing base, the Flint City Commission proposed naming I-475 after Buick. The freeway passed by the Buick plant in the city and many of the employees would use the new freeway on their commutes to work. The Michigan Legislature
Michigan Legislature
The Michigan Legislature is the legislative assembly of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body consisting of the Senate, the upper house, and the House of Representatives, the lower house. Article IV of the state's Constitution, adopted in 1963, defines the role of the...
passed Concurrent Resolution 22 in 1969 to affect the naming.
UAW Freeway
The United Auto WorkersUnited Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
(UAW) was founded in Detroit on August 26, 1935. The labor union struggled to gain members until the Flint Sit-Down Strike
Flint Sit-Down Strike
The 1936–1937 Flint Sit-Down Strike changed the United Automobile Workers from a collection of isolated locals on the fringes of the industry into a major labor union and led to the unionization of the domestic United States automobile industry....
in 1937. The strike started on December 30, 1936 when workers at the Fisher Body Plant No. 1 stopped loading tool dies on the night shift, locking themselves into the plant. The dies were destined for shipment to plants where union activity was much weaker than the UAW-organized plants in Flint. January 3, 1937 when workers at the plant sat down on the job. Fisher Plant No. 2 later joined in the sit-down strike. The heat was shut off at the plants, and on January 11, food deliveries were stopped, sparking a riot. Governor Frank Murphy
Frank Murphy
William Francis Murphy was a politician and jurist from Michigan. He served as First Assistant U.S. District Attorney, Eastern Michigan District , Recorder's Court Judge, Detroit . Mayor of Detroit , the last Governor-General of the Philippines , U.S...
mobilized 4,000 National Guard troops to keep peace at the plants. A second riot occurred at Chevrolet Plant No. 4 on February 1. The National Guard troops surrounded the 12 striking plants in Flint, but the governor never ordered them into action. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
encouraged the two parties to sit down once more, and an agreement was signed, recognizing the UAW in the 17 striking plants across the country.
A local politician wanted to honor not just the automotive pioneers in Flint, but the workers that worked in the plants. Since the UAW came to maturity in Flint as a result of the strikes, it was the appropriate location for a memorial highway designation. In 1980, the Michigan Legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution 583, renaming Flint's east–west freeway (I-69
Interstate 69 in Michigan
Interstate 69 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that currently runs from Indianapolis, Indiana, to the US–Canadian border at Port Huron, Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state south of Coldwater and passes through the cities of Lansing and Flint...
) the "Chevrolet–Buick Freeway" and I-475 the "UAW Freeway". I-475 was dedicated with its new name on Labor Day, 1981.
Current freeway names in Flint
Public Act 142 of 2001 consolidated the memorial highway designations of the state. In passing this act, the Michigan Legislature expanded the Chevrolet–Buick Freeway to encompass all of I-69 in Genesee CountyGenesee County, Michigan
-Interstates:* I-69* I-75* I-475-Michigan State Trunklines:* M-13* M-15* M-21* M-54* M-57-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 436,141 people, 169,825 households, and 115,990 families residing in the county. The population density was 682 people per square mile . There were 183,630...
. The act also restored Buick's name to I-475. I-475 in Genesee County was given the second name of the "David Dunbar Buick Freeway" in addition to the "UAW Freeway" name.