M-5 (Michigan highway)

M-5
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length:	20.86 mi[1] (33.57 km)
Existed:	1977[1] – present
Major junctions
West end:	Pontiac Trail in Commerce Township.
	I-96 / I-275 / I-696 in Novi M-102 in Southfield US 24 near Redford M-39 in Detroit
East end:	I-96 in Detroit
Location
Counties:	Wayne & Oakland
Highway system
Michigan State Trunkline Highway System Interstate • US • State ← M-4 M-6 →

M-5 is a 21-mile (34 km) highway in the metro Detroit area of the US state of Michigan.

Route description

M-5's eastern terminus is at the junction of Grand River Avenue and Interstate 96 in western Detroit (I-96 exit 185). M-5's northern terminus is at its junction with Pontiac Trail in Commerce Township, a rapidly-developing area of Oakland County.

History

From 1926 until 1939, M-5 was used as the designation along what is now M-129. Single digit designations are removed at this time, reserved for a future "superhighway" system that later became Michigan's Interstates.

Before M-5

Originally constructed as part of old US 16 (and later I-96), the Brighton-Farmington Expressway ran from U.S. 23 near Brighton parallel to Grand River Avenue, following an existing southern bypass of Farmington to a junction with Grand River west of Middle Belt Road. Initial plans called to extend I-96 to downtown Detroit along Grand River Avenue, which was given the designation Business Spur I-96. These plans were scrapped due to the level of development along Grand River, and I-96 would be rerouted to the south.

M-5 emerges along Grand River Avenue

When I-96 was completed in 1977, the Business Spur I-96 designation was removed from Grand River Avenue. Rather than revert to its original c.1917 designation of M-16, the Michigan Department of Transportation selected M-5 as the new route designation, following a trend established in 1970 and 1973, when odd single-digit routes M-1 and M-3 were designated along Woodward Avenue (formerly U.S. 10) and Gratiot Avenue (U.S. 25), respectively. Grand River was signed as M-5 between 8 Mile Road and its present eastern terminus at I-96 while leaving Grand River Avenue southeast of I-96 an unsigned state trunkline. Both the portion of BS I-96 north of 8 Mile Road and the stub of I-96 that continued out to I-275 became part of M-102.

M-5 Freeway and the Haggerty Extension

In 1994, the first leg of the Haggerty Extension, an expressway built on the right-of-way of the proposed northern leg of I-275, was completed to 12 Mile Road. At this time, M-DOT chose to extend M-5 northwesterly beyond 8 Mile Road, replacing the M-102 designation along the former segment of the Brighton-Farmington freeway.

Over the next eight years, M-5 was extended as far north as Pontiac Trail in Commerce Township. It is highly unlikely that any new highway will be constructed in the near future. Local residents have long opposed extension of I-275 to its proposed connection with I-75 in Clarkston, because of the many lakes and parklands that would be adversely affected by the construction of such a freeway, and residents also fear a drop in property values. While the residents of these communities continue to maintain a strong stance against freeway construction, the area itself has already begun to be affected by urban sprawl.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Oakland	Commerce Township	0.00	Pontiac Trail
	Novi		13 Mile Road	North end of freeway
			12 Mile Road
			I-96 west – Lansing	Exit 165 on I-96
			I-96 east / I-275 south – Detroit, Toledo	Exit 165 on I-96/I-275
	Farmington Hills		I-696 east (Reuther Freeway) – Port Huron	Exit 1 on I-696
			Grand River Avenue, 10 Mile Road
	Farmington		9 Mile Road, Farmington Road	Eastbound exit and entrance
	Farmington Hills		Grand River Avenue – Farmington	East end of freeway; M-5 follows Grand River Avenue
Oakland–Wayne	Farmington Hills – Livonia		M-102 east (8 Mile Road)	8 Mile Road is the county line
Wayne	Detroit		US 24 (Telegraph Road)
			M-39 (Southfield Freeway)	Exit 12 on M-39
			I-96 (Jeffries Freeway)	Exit 186 on I-96
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

Michigan Highways portal

1. ^ ^{a b} Bessert, Christopher J. (April 23, 2006). "Michigan Highways: Highways 1 through 9". Michigan Highways. http://www.michiganhighways.org/listings/MichHwys01-09.html#M-005. Retrieved July 25, 2006. 

External links

• M-5 Endpoint Photos
• Former M-5 U.P. Termini (now M-129)