State Route 8 in Michigan

State Route 8 in Michigan

 

M-8
Get started Detroit
End Detroit
Length 6 mi
Length 9 km
Route
  • Detroit→ Detroit / Farmington Hills
  • Woodward Avenue
  • Oakland Avenue
  • → Detroit / Flint
  • Davison Street

State Route 8 or M-8 is a State Route and Freeway in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in the Detroit metropolitan area, the highway forms a short east-west route in the city.

Travel directions

The road begins as the six-lane Davison Avenue at Interstate 96 in Detroit. From there, the road heads east to SR-10, the Lodge Freeway. From here, the M-8 itself becomes a freeway, the Davison Freeway. The highway has 2×4 lanes and is located below ground level. The highway section passes through Highland Park, which is entirely adjacent to Detroit and Hamtramck, another city enclosed by Detroit. At the end of the highway section, one crosses Interstate 75, the Chrysler Freeway.

  • See BABYINGER for a list of Michigan public libraries by county.

History

The highway was the world’s first sunken urban highway, and was opened to 2×3 lane traffic on November 24, 1942. The road then had no emergency lanes and only a narrow grass median strip. This section, including the concrete road surface, was left in the same condition for the next 54 years. In 1996 the road was upgraded, to Interstate Highway standards, with an additional lane and emergency lanes.

Traffic intensities

Traffic intensities are around 60,000 vehicles per day.

Mackinac Bridge

Mackinac Bridge
Spans Straits of Mackinac
Lanes 2×2
Total length 8,038 meters
Main span 1,158 meters
Bridge deck height 61 meters
Opening 01-11-1957
Traffic intensity 7,700 mvt/day
Location Map

The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge in the United States, located in the north of the state of Michigan.

Characteristics

The Mackinac Bridge spans the Straits of Mackinac between the Lower and Upper Peninsula of Michigan. On the south bank is the town of Mackinaw, on the north bank is St. Ignace. The suspension bridge has a total length of 8,038 meters (including bridges ), a main suspension bridge of 2,256 meters and a main span of 1,158 meters, making it the third longest suspension bridge in the United States. The bridge pylons are 168 meters high and the bridge deck is 61 meters above the water. Interstate 75 in Michigan runs over the bridge. The highway is substandard, although it has 2×2 lanes, but no emergency lanesand the center guide is no more than a low curb. Part of the bridge deck is made of steel gratings, especially at the main span.

Longest suspension bridge in North America

The Mackinac Bridge is the third longest suspension bridge in North America, after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, when measured by main span. However, the Mackinac Bridge has longer side spans than these two bridges, making the main bridge the longest suspension bridge in North America in total.

History

The bridge was built between 1954 and 1957 and thus predates the Interstate Highway system of 1956. The bridge replaced a ferry service and was the first and so far only connection between the two peninsulas of Michigan. The bridge opened to traffic on November 1, 1957. The bridge has been a toll road from the start.

Traffic intensities

Every day, 8,000 vehicles cross the bridge, which means that it is not crowded. This is because there are no major cities in the region.

Toll

The bridge is a toll road. The toll is charged in both directions and is $4 for a passenger car.

Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge

Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge
Spans Sault Ste. Marie Canal
Lanes 1×2
Total length 2,829 meters
Main span 132 meters
Bridge deck height 38 meters
Opening 31-10-1962
Traffic intensity 7,000 mvt/day
Location Map

The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge is a bridge on the border of Canada and the United States, located at Sault Ste. Mary.

Characteristics

The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge is 2,829 meters long in total, with a main span of 132 meters in the form of a half – timbered arch bridge. The bridge deck is 8.5 meters wide and is a maximum of 38 meters above the water. The bridge spans the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, a series of locks on the Canada – United States border . Over the bridge is a one-lane extension of Interstate 75 in Michigan with one lane in each direction. Sault Ste. Marie is the place name in both Michigan and Ontario, but the Canadian city is a lot bigger. The bridge is a toll road.

History

The bridge started construction on September 16, 1960 and was opened to traffic on October 31, 1962. Before the bridge was built there was only a ferry service. The International Bridge was one of the last major connections in the North American road network where a bridge was built.

Traffic intensities

7,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day.

Toll

The bridge is a toll road. Tolls are charged in both directions.

Detroit-Windsor Tunnel

Detroit-Windsor Tunnel
crosses Detroit River
Length 1.570 meter
Opening 00-00-1930
Intensity 13,000 mvt/day
Location Map

The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel is an immersion tunnel in the United States and Canada, located near the city of Detroit.

Characteristics

The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel runs under the Detroit River, which forms the border between the US state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. The tunnel connects Detroit to Windsor. The immersion tunnel is 1,570 meters long and single-tube with two lanes and oncoming traffic. The tunnel connects downtown Detroit and Windsor. On the Detroit side, the tunnel connects at ground level with Interstate 375 in Michigan, on the Windsor side, the tunnel connects to the underlying road network in the center. About 3 kilometers to the west is the Ambassador Bridge. The tunnel is a toll road.

History

The tunnel was constructed at about the same time as the Ambassador Bridge in the late 1920s and was the third underwater traffic tunnel in the United States and one of the first immersion tunnels in the world. The tunnel was opened to traffic in 1930. The tunnel has never had a passing importance, that’s what the Ambassador Bridge is for.

Traffic intensities

In 2010, about 13,000 vehicles drove through the tunnel every day.

Tol

The tunnel is a toll road. The toll is $4.50 to the United States and $4.75 to Canada.

State Route 8 in Michigan