Portal:Michigan highways/Selected article/December 2011

M-35 is a state trunkline highway in the Upper Peninsula (UP). Running for 127.99 mi in a general north–south direction, it connects the cities of Menominee, Escanaba and Negaunee. The southern section of M-35 in Menominee and Delta counties carries two additional designations. M-35 is the UP Hidden Coast Recreational Heritage Trail, which is a part of the Michigan Heritage Routes system. Along the southern section, the highway is the closest trunkline to the Bay of Green Bay, a section of Lake Michigan and carries the Lake Michigan Circle Tour. The northern section of the highway turns inland through wooded terrain, connecting rural portions of Delta and Marquette counties.

M-35 is an original state trunkline that was first designated in 1919. It was originally intended to run from Menominee in the south to near Big Bay in the north, before turning westward to end at Ontonagon. However, the section through the Huron Mountains in northern Marquette and Baraga counties was never built. Automobile pioneer Henry Ford helped halt this construction to gain favor with, and membership in, the exclusive Huron Mountain Club. Some discontinuous sections were later ceded to local control. The northern segment of the route between Ontonagon and Baraga was retained as a discontinuous segment of the highway; this northern segment was redesignated as another state trunkline. (more...)

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