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M-14 (Michigan highway)
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M-14 is a east-west trunkline in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Michigan. Entirely freeway, it connects Ann Arbor with Detroit by way of connecting with I-96.
western terminus of M-14 is west of Ann Arbor, at exit 171 of I-94. The eastern terminus is at the interchange of I-96 and I-275 at the border of Plymouth Township and Livonia in northwest Wayne County.
he 1920s, M-14 was designated a north-south route that ran most of the length of the Lower Peninsula, beginning at the Ohio state line south of Hudson mostly following the path of present-day US 127 to end south of Kalkaska.
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M-14 is a east-west trunkline in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Michigan. Entirely freeway, it connects Ann Arbor with Detroit by way of connecting with I-96.
Termini
The western terminus of M-14 is west of Ann Arbor, at exit 171 of I-94. The eastern terminus is at the interchange of I-96 and I-275 at the border of Plymouth Township and Livonia in northwest Wayne County.
History
In the 1920s, M-14 was designated a north-south route that ran most of the length of the Lower Peninsula, beginning at the Ohio state line south of Hudson mostly following the path of present-day US 127 to end south of Kalkaska. It was later realigned and extended to end three miles (5 km) south of downtown Cheboygan.
From 1931 to 1942, M-14 was designated from Battle Creek to Edmore before becoming part of M-66.
Old M-14 - Plymouth Road corridor
In 1956, the portion of US 12 from the west side of Ann Arbor into Detroit was rerouted from surface streets to new stretches of expressways running south of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. The former route of US 12, much of which was known as Plymouth Road, was retained as a trunkline and resigned M-14.
At its initial routing in 1956, M-14 began on Jackson Road west of Ann Arbor, at the junction of US 12. It continued through Ann Arbor, emerging on the northeast side as Plymouth-Ann Arbor Road, through Washtenaw County. As M-14 crossed into Wayne County, it became known as Ann Arbor Road, and followed the southern part of Plymouth Township, forming the south border of the city of Plymouth. Ann Arbor Road continued into Livonia, turning slightly northward to join with Plymouth Road (which spurs westward into the city of Plymouth). Eastward, M-14 continued along Plymouth Road to its eastern terminus at US 16, Grand River Avenue, on Detroit's west side.
In 1964, a northern bypass connecting US 23 with M-153 is completed, and M-14 is rerouted onto the new expressway, still proceeding through Ann Arbor along routes now designated BUS US 23 and BL I-94. The following year, the expressway is extended to its present western terminus at I-94, and M-14 is removed from the business routes and transferred to the expressway.
In 1977, when the Jeffries Freeway (I-96) was completed, M-14 was shortened to have its eastern terminus at I-275 exit 28 in Plymouth Township. The portion of Plymouth Road within the city of Detroit was returned to local control. The portion of Plymouth Road/Ann Arbor Road between I-275 and the city boundary with Redford Township is retained as an unsigned trunkline, maintained by the state to this day.
In 1979, the final segment of the M-14 freeway, between M-153 and I-275 was completed. The former route of M-14 in Washtenaw County along Plymouth-Ann Arbor Road was returned to local control. The portion of Ann Arbor Road from the Wayne County line east to I-275 also became an unsigned state trunkline, also maintained by the state to this day.
Plymouth Road serves as the 3 Mile alignment in Detroit's Mile Road System.
Relics of old M-14
Signage along the service drive of the Southfield Freeway (M-39) still reflects Plymouth Road's former M-14 designation. One overhead sign identifying Plymouth Road as M-14, posted above the service drive, is visible to southbound travellers approaching I-96, and at least one JCT M-14 assembly remains approaching the Plymouth Road intersection. Also, as of June 2005, two M-14 signs remain posted along westbound Plymouth Road in Redford Township.
In Plymouth Township, Ann Arbor Road is no longer directly signed as M-14; however, on Sheldon Road, the approach signs for Ann Arbor Road do bear an M-14 shield. This is a curiosity, as the current signs were erected some time after a major reconstruction project along Sheldon Road in the early 1980s, after the M-14 designation had been transferred from Ann Arbor Road.
M-14 freeway
The first portion of the M-14 expressway that opened in 1964 (current Exit 3 - Main Street to current Exit 10 - M-153) was co-signed with BUS US 23 from its beginning Main Street to its junction with US 23, where M-14 turned eastward co-signed with US 23 for approximately . After US 23 turned southward, M-14 continued eastward to its end at the intersection of Plymouth-Ann Arbor Road and M-153. This alignment, including the co-signings of US 23 and BUS US 23, has remained unchanged, except for the ramps to M-153 as of 1979.
When the M-14 expressway was completed to M-153 in 1964, plans at the time to extend the freeway further east were not in place, as the Jeffries Freeway portion of I-96 was originally planned at the time to be routed alongside Grand River Avenue (then signed as Business Spur I-96) into downtown Detroit. However, studies determined that it was more feasible to reroute I-96 down the proposed I-275 to an alignment along the less-developed Schoolcraft Road through Livonia, Redford, and into Detroit. As construction began on the Jeffries in the 1970s, plans for the M-14 extension to meet I-96 at I-275 went into place. The freeway was opened to traffic in late 1979.
The M-14 freeway was reconstructed in 2006-7 between Gotfredson Road and I-275.
Notable M-14 exits
Exit 2 - Maple Road and Miller Road. This interchange was upgraded in 2007 to feature roundabouts at Maple Road.
Exit 3 (westbound) - BUS US 23, Main Street in Ann Arbor. There is no access to Main Street from eastbound M-14, and Main Street enters directly onto eastbound M-14, with no access to westbound M-14.
Exit 4 - Barton Drive/Whitmore Lake Road. Originally built as a temporary ramp, this exit ramp is considered to be substandard and extremely dangerous, with a hairpin turn on the exit from the eastbound lanes. The entrance ramp requires traffic to come to a complete stop before entering the freeway, with no acceleration lane.
Exit 5 (US 23 Exit 45) - Junction US 23 and BUS US 23 north of Ann Arbor. A rural stacked T interchange, with the highest overpass carrying eastbound M-14 toward northbound US 23.
Exit 8 (U.S. 23 Exit 42) - Junction US 23 northeast of Ann Arbor. Like Exit 5, this is another rural stacked T interchange, with the highest overpass carrying the eastbound lanes of M-14. Domino's Farms, the headquarters of Domino's Pizza, is located near this interchange, accessible from US 23 exit 41 (Plymouth Road).
Exit 10 - M-153, Ford Road. Although this was the original terminus of the M-14 expressway, the trumpet-style interchange services both directions of M-14. The nearby crossing with former M-14, Plymouth-Ann Arbor Road, was upgraded with full traffic lights in the 1990s; otherwise, this remains a rural area.
Exit 15 - Gotfredson Road. The most rural exit off of M-14, basically used to access N. Territorial Road in Salem Township.
Exit 18 - Beck Road. On the western side of Plymouth Township, this once-rural exit has been developed significantly since the 1990s. Industrial parks have expanded westward along the north side of M-14, and are serviced by the Beck Road exit. North of a grade-level railroad crossing, a new United States Postal Service branch office and the Compuware Arena were constructed. Further development along Beck Road has continued up to 5 Mile Road.
Exit 20 - Sheldon Road. This trumpet-style exit was designed to connect not only with Sheldon Road, but the Ford Motor Company's Sheldon Road Plant – (operated by Visteon from 2000-2006 and by Automotive Components Holdings since 2006.) Sheldon was upgraded to a divided highway along the eastern boundary of the plant to accommodate increased traffic at the interchange. A construction project in the year 2007 closed Sheldon Road immediately south of M-14, for a bridge to be built, replacing an at-grade crossing of the CSX railway.
Exit list
| County | Location | Mile | # | Destinations | Notes |
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| Washtenaw | Ann Arbor | 0.0 | | | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | | 1.5 | 2 | Miller Road, Maple Road | | | 3.4 | 3 |
| West end of US-23 BR overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance | | 3.7 | 4 | Barton Drive, Whitmore Lake Road | | | 4.7 | | | East end of US-23 BR overlap; west end of US-23 overlap | | 7.3 | 8 | | East end of US-23 overlap; no exit number eastbound | | 10.1 | 10 | | | | Wayne | Plymouth | 14.3 | 15 | Gotfredson Road | | | 17.8 | 18 | Beck Road | | | 19.7 | 20 | Sheldon Road - Plymouth | | | 22.5 | | | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
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