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Roadpix(Click any image below for a larger view.) M-66 north of Mancelona, MI, USA, March 22, 2008
Well, looky what we have here: ...a new sign assembly for "C620", with pentagon signage, and even Clearview directional banners! Curiosity led me to check out this stretch of highway to see if the route itself has any of these shiny new markers... 
And the answer is: Nope. I should have known better. M-121, Jenison, MI, USA, January 20, 2008 
Here is a first look at Michigan's "newest" state highway, M-121. Except it's not all that new. Back in the 1970s and earlier, it existed as M-21, and had remained under MDOT jurisdiction more recently as "Old M-21". Just goes to show you, what's old is new again. I-96, Ionia County, MI, USA, November 24, 2007 
After a significant number of complaints, as well as some accidents caused (at least partially) by slow-poke motorists driving in the passing lane,
MDOT decided to erect these signs along the rural stretch of I-96 running
between Lansing and Grand Rapids.Hopefully these signs are given more than just a passing glance by those tortoises who cause the blood pressure of everyone else to rise. US-131/M-66 at M-72, Kalkaska, MI, USA, September 4, 2005 
Here's a sign that has been at this corner for decades. MDOT was at one time known as the Michigan Department of State Highways... ...but that was back in the 1970s! It is remarkable that this sign is still standing here. After all, imagine how many accidents it has managed to escape, all this time. Update: Sometime during the Summer of 2006, MDOT removed this old sign and replaced it with with a small green guide sign with the MDOT logo on it. I-96, Livingston County, MI, USA, July 12, 2005 
Here is further evidence that Clearview is being transitioned
onto all Michigan highway signage. The directional tab on this I-96 marker is rendered in Clearview, the first
such occurence I noticed statewide.Also notice the larger first letter "E" in "East". While this has been a normal practice in many other states, Michigan is just beginning to adopt this standard. Going forward, all signed cardinal directions will appear with a larger first letter. For more examples of how Michigan signage is being changed by the advent of the new Clearview font, please see this page. South Capitol Avenue, Lansing, MI, USA, May 31, 2005 
This I-496 trailblazer sign appears to date back to the origins of the Interstate Higway System itself! While "modern" trailblazer signs of this type have green backgrounds and the Interstate shields don't have the state names in them, the trailblazers back in those early days (late 1950s to early 1960s) looked just like this one here. To look at this sign in person, it seems to be brand-spanking new. But to be honest, I don't know how old it really is. M-6, Kent County, MI, USA, October 2, 2004  MDOT hosted the Southbelt Shuffle,
an official "open house" showing off a 5-mile soon-to-be-opened section of M-6, or South Beltline Freeway."Shufflers" were invited to walk or bicycle the new freeway between the Kalamazoo Avenue and Byron Center Avenue exits. Here is the view from eastbound M-6 as it approaches US-131. Note also the access to 68th Street, which parallels M-6 about 1/2 mile to the south.  A long time ago, someone told me to "go play out on the freeway". I finally got a chance to do just that... literally.  This picture was taken from M-6 westbound, heading toward the US-131 interchange. More photos from the Southbelt Shuffle can be seen here. US-131/SR-13, Elkhart County, IN, USA, April 26, 2003 
I have a fair amount of US-131 pics here on this site, mainly because I live near the road. (So do some of
my relatives, who live 180 miles due north of me along US-131.) So in a sense, I feel like I have kind of "adopted"
this highway... although you won't likely be seeing me along the highway picking up cigarette butts or trash
anytime soon. To paraphrase an old saying, all good things - including highways - must come to an end. And so, here is the southern terminus of US-131, just south of the Michigan-Indiana state line at this junction with the Indiana Toll Road. (The Toll Road visible in front of the building seen in the distance, directly behind the highway signs.) Beyond this point, Indiana SR-13 picks up where US-131 leaves off, continuing south towards Middlebury. 
Looking in the opposite direction from the picture above, here you can see that Indiana SR-13 ends and US-131 begins, the latter starting on its 270-plus mile trek to Petoskey where its northern terminus (with US-31) is located. Straight ahead of this picture, about 3/4 mile in the distance, US-131 will cross the Michigan state line. US-131, Antrim County, MI, USA, October 16, 2002 
For Michiganians, this is how we know that we have gone "Up North": we pass north of the 45th Parallel. Just like the sign says, this is the dividing line between the Equator and the North Pole. This photo was taken along US-131 just north of the uncorporated town of Alba, about 150 miles north of Grand Rapids. The two-sided sign sits along the eastern edge of the road. M-77, Seney, MI, USA, May 25, 2002 
Heading north towards Grand Marais, M-77 picks up a spur route of the Lake Superior Circle Tour. Designating this a "Scenic Spur" was an excellent decision. The sights along this 25-mile trek to the shoreline are breathtaking. M-107, Ontonagon County, MI, USA, September 30, 2001 
Here is an early-morning look at the eastern terminus of M-107 at M-64, heading east towards Ontonagon.Going west on M-107 provides a connection for tourists, sightseers and backpackers to the Porcupine Mountains State Park, which is Michigan's largest area of undeveloped wilderness. Update: As of June 4, 2008, M-107 as a state highway no longer exists. MDOT has decommissioned this route. US-8, Dickinson County, MI, USA, September 29, 2001 
This picture was taken along US-8, just after crossing over the Menominee River from Wisconsin. This highway ends just 2 miles northeast of here, at the US-2 junction in the village of Norway. |
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