US Highway 10 (US 10) is a part of the

United States Numbered Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

that runs from

West Fargo, North Dakota West Fargo is a city in Cass County, North Dakota, United States. It is, as of the 2020 census, the fifth largest city in the state of North Dakota with a population of 38,626, and it is one of the state's fastest growing cities. West Fargo wa ...

, to the

Lower Peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

of the US state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. The highway enters Michigan on the SS ''Badger'', which crosses Lake Michigan between

Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc () is a city in and the county seat of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626, with ove ...

, and Ludington. As the highway crosses the state, it is a two-lane

undivided highway A single carriageway (British English) or Undivided highway (American English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road has a ...

between Ludington and Farwell and a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

from Farwell east to the highway's terminus in Bay City. US 10 runs concurrently with US 127 in the Clare area along a section of freeway that includes a

welcome center A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visi ...

in the median. Outside of the Clare and Midland areas, US 10 runs through rural areas of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and Central Michigan in a section of the

Manistee National Forest The Manistee National Forest is a national forest located in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It has a total area of . It was established in 1938, and combined with the Huron National Forest in 1945 for administrative purposes, creating the Hur ...

as well as farm fields. As part of the original US Highway System, US 10 was first designated in Michigan in 1926. It replaced three state trunkline highways of the day: M-20, M-24 and

M-10 M10, M-10 or M 10 may refer to: Science and technology * Messier 10, a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus * M10, a Garmin Nüvifone smartphone * Samsung Galaxy M10, a smartphone * M10 (rocket engine), a rocket engine Transportation ...

, running between Ludington on Lake Michigan and downtown

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. It also ran concurrently with US 23 between

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

and

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

. The highway has been realigned several times during the construction of Interstate 75 (I-75) in southeast Michigan, even being temporarily designated "TO I-75" to connect segments of the I-75 freeway. The US 10 freeway between Clare and Midland was opened in the early 1960s. The

Michigan Department of Transportation The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is a constitutional government principal department of the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstat ...

(MDOT) truncated the highway to Bay City in 1986, removing it from I-75 and the

Lodge Freeway M-10 is a state trunkline highway in the Metro Detroit area of Michigan in the United States. Nominally labeled north-south, the route follows a northwest-southeast alignment. The southernmost portion follows Jefferson Avenue in downtown De ...

Route description

Through the Lower Peninsula, US 10 is both an undivided highway and a freeway maintained by MDOT. The entire length has been listed on the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility. US 10 is also one of only two highways in the state that utilizes a car ferry, the other being M-134 in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

Undivided highway

US 10 enters the state after it crosses Lake Michigan from

, to Ludington. Traffic is carried across the lake during the summer months on the SS ''Badger'', a privately owned carferry. Heading eastward from the ferry, the highway runs along Pere Marquette Lake and then northward through a light industrial area along James Street in Ludington. At the intersection with Ludington Avenue in the downtown business area, the trunkline turns to the east. US 10 runs through commercial and residential areas on its course out of town. Near the Mason County Airport, the highway intersects the northern end of Business US 31 (Bus. US 31, Pere Marquette Highway). About a mile and a half (2.4 km) east of that intersection, US 10 meets the interchange that marks the northern end of the US 31 freeway in the state. From here to Scottville, the two highways run concurrently together through a mix of rural fields and forests. On the west side of town, US 31 turns northward along the Scottville Bypass, and US 10 continues through the middle of town on State Street. The road heads eastward roughly parallel to the Pere Marquette River. Near

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

, US 10 crosses into the

. The trunkline continues eastward through the forest passing north of the community of Walhalla. At

Branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...

, it crosses out of Mason County and enters Lake County, jogging to the southeast through town. South of Long Lake, the roadway returns to a due easterly course. North of Baldwin, US 10 turns southerly and merges with M-37. The two highways run together for about into town on Pine Street before separating. US 10 follows Washington Street easterly and exits town. The roadway passes near several small lakes near Idlewild and turns southeasterly into

Chase Chase or CHASE may refer to: Businesses * Chase Bank, a national bank based in New York City, New York * Chase Aircraft (1943–1954), a defunct American aircraft manufacturing company * Chase Coaches, a defunct bus operator in England * Chase Co ...

. The highway exits the Manistee National Forest, and runs through farm fields as it continues across the county line into Osceola County. Roadside park sign

Northwest of Reed City, US 10 meets the US 131 freeway before curving around the north side of town. The highway passes to the south of Nartron Field near the intersection with Bus. US 10. The highway crosses the White Pine Trail State Park, a rail trail that runs north through the area. US 10 continues east around the north side of town and runs parallel to the

Pere Marquette State Trail The Pere Marquette State Trail is a bicycle and multi-use trail in lower Michigan, running through Clare, Lake, and Osceola Counties. Intersecting with the White Pine Trail in Reed City, the trail is paved in areas, with a ballast or cinder sur ...

, an east–west rail trail that follows the Ludington Division of the

Pere Marquette Railway The Pere Marquette Railway operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and southern parts of Ontario in Canada. It had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections in ...

. The highway intersects the business loop on the east side of town and exits Reed City. US 10 continues east and northeasterly though rural fields in Osceola County. The highway passes to the north of

Evart Municipal Airport Evart Municipal Airport is a public airport located 1 mile (2 km) west of Evart in Osceola County, Michigan, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017� ...

and enters the city of Evart. It runs along 7th Street through downtown before and crossing the

Muskegon River Muskegon River is a river in the western portion of the lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river source is located at Houghton Lake in Roscommon County, flowing out of the North Bay into neighboring Missaukee County. The river ...

and exiting the city. The trunkline runs parallel to the rail trail through rural country side to north of the small community of

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

before turning to the southeast. US 10 passes between Big Mud, Big Cranberry and Mystic Lakes as it crosses into

Clare County Clare County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 30,856. The county seat is Harrison. History The county was created by the Michigan Legislature from part of Michilimackinac County in 1840, ...

. The highway continues to the east, and near Farwell, it transitions to a full freeway.

Freeway routing

Immediately after the traffic lanes spread apart to form the separate

carriageway A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) consists of a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of tra ...

s of the freeway, US 10 has an interchange with M-115. There is another interchange near Lake Thirteen for Old State Avenue that provides access to Farwell. About east of here, US 10 meets US 127 north of Clare. These two freeways merge and run south toward Clare, using the mileposting and exit numbering of US 127 along the concurrency. Near a curve to the southeast, there is an MDOT Welcome Center located in the median between the two halves of the freeway. Past this facility is an interchange that connects to Bus. US 127/ Bus. US 10 which provides access to downtown Clare. The freeway turns to the south between Lake Shamrock and the Clare Municipal Airport. US 10 separates from US 127 at a partial interchange south of the airport using a left exit southbound to continue on eastbound US 10. The connections for westbound US 10 to southbound US 127 or northbound US 127 to eastbound US 10 are made using the business routes through downtown. The interchange that marks the southern end of the US 127/US 10 concurrency is also the place where US 10 crosses into the northeastern corner of Isabella County. About east of there, US 10 has its partial interchange with the eastern end of the Clare business loop. The freeway continues southeasterly now parallel to the

Pere Marquette Rail-Trail The Pere Marquette Rail-Trail (PMRT) is a rail trail in Michigan occupying a abandoned CSX railroad corridor in Midland County and Isabella County that was once part of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad. In 1874, the tracks stretched fro ...

, another former rail line of the Pere Marquette Railway. US 10 bypasses the community of Loomis to the north before crossing into Midland County near Coleman. The landscape through this area is dominated by farms. US 10 bypasses

North Bradley North Bradley is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, between Trowbridge and Westbury. The village is about south of Trowbridge town centre. The parish includes most of the village of Yarnbrook, and the hamlets of Brokerswood, Cu ...

connecting with an interchange that marks the southern terminus of M-18. Further along, the freeway crosses the southern end of

Sanford Lake Sanford Lake was a man-made reservoir located in Midland County, Michigan, but is no longer present since the failure of the dam in May 2020. It was formed by the damming of the Tittabawassee River near the town of Sanford, Michigan. It was bu ...

on a set of bridges; on the eastern shore there is an interchange with M-30 (

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

Road) that connects to Sanford. After crossing the lake, the freeway runs southeasterly roughly parallel to the

Tittabawassee River The Tittabawassee River flows in a generally southeasterly direction through the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river begins at Secord Lake in Clement Township, at the confluence of the East Branch and the Middle Branch. Fro ...

for about until the interchange with Stark Road. US 10 turns to run due east between Airport Road to the north and Wackerly Street to the south. The freeway passes the

Jack Barstow Municipal Airport Jack Barstow Airport , also known as Jack Barstow Municipal Airport, is a city-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) northwest of the central business district of Midland, a city in Midland County, Michigan, Uni ...

as it enters Midland. At the interchange with Eastman Avenue, the city's business loop departs to connect to downtown, and the freeway passes near the Midland Mall and the Midland County Fairgrounds. further east, US 10 turns to the southeast, bordered by residential subdivisions of the city of Midland to its south and vacant fields to its north. There is a partial interchange that straddles the Midland– Bay county line that provides access to the eastern end of Bus. US 10/M-20, which is also a freeway on this side of town. Traffic exiting the business loop freeway is forced onto US 10 eastbound, and only westbound US 10 traffic and enter the westbound direction of Bus. US 10/M-20; the other connections are possible by using the adjoining Bay City Road interchange on US 10 and the Waldo Avenue interchange on the business loop. US 10 midland

Past the Bay City Road interchange, US 10 continues due east through Bay County. It intersects the northern end of the M-47 freeway. Further east, there are a pair of interchanges for Auburn as the freeway runs through a landscape that is a mix of suburban residential subdivisions and farm fields. The freeway is paralleled to the south by segments of Fisher Road in spots; about a half mile (0.8 km) north is Midland Road. There is one last interchange for Mackinaw Road along the freeway before US 10 ends at the cloverleaf interchange with I-75/US 23 on the west side of Bay City. This junction is both the eastern terminus of US 10 both in the state of Michigan and nationally.

History

The first state trunkline highways designated along the original path of US 10 were M-20, M-24 and

as far back as 1919. When the US Highway System was announced on November 11, 1926, US 10 replaced these designations. The highway started in Ludington and ran east replacing M-20 to Midland, M-24 to

and M-10 to

. Between Saginaw and Flint, US 10 and US 23 were routed concurrently. Two changes were made in the routing of US 10 by 1929. As shown on the maps of the time, US 10 was rerouted to bypass

. The former routing through the city was redesignated M-10. A second change moved the highway to its present routing west of Baldwin to the

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

– Mason county line. A bypass of downtown Midland was opened in 1934. The previous routing through town was initially renumbered US 10A. A rerouting project in Osceola County started in 1936. By the end of the year, a new roadway was opened between

and M-66. Until the second segment of the project was completed two years later, US 10 was routed concurrently with M-66. When the new routing between M-66 and

was opened, that concurrency was eliminated and all the previous routings were transferred to local control. By 1942, the M-10 designation in Flint was renumbered Bus. US 10, eliminating the second M-10 designation from the maps. The last segments of US 10 that were gravel-surfaced were paved by 1948. The last section paved was between

and Reed City. Woodward Ave Detroit 1942

A bypass of Saginaw was completed by 1953. This new roadway was designated as US 23 alone. The highway through downtown Saginaw was numbered US 10/ Bus. US 23. The Fenton–Clio Expressway was completed in 1957 from Birch Run past Flint. The new expressway was numbered US 23, leaving the former highway through Flint as just US 10. A bypass of Reed City opened by 1960; the former routing was renumbered Bus. US 10. Many changes were made in 1960 to the routing of US 10. A new freeway opened for I-75/US 10/US 23 between

M-13 M13, M-13 or M13 may refer to: Military * Fiat M13/40, an Italian tank used in World War II * M13 Half-track, a U.S. anti-aircraft gun used in World War II * M13 link, a machine gun's ammunition link * M-13 rocket, a version of the Soviet World War ...

northeast of Saginaw and the M-20 freeway in Bay City. US 10 replaced the M-20 designation on the freeway between Midland and Bay City. M-47 replaced US 10 between Midland and Saginaw, and M-81 replaced US 10 in the city of Saginaw. An addition segment of US 10 between Saginaw and

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

was renumbered BL I-75. The US 10A designation previously in use in Midland was changed to Bus. US 10 at this time as well. Additional freeway was built in 1961, relocating US 10/US 23 between Birch Run and M-13 to the new I-75. The freeway between Midland and the US 27 freeway at Clare was completed in the same year. US 10 was signed as "TO I-75" to route traffic between the completed freeways at Bay City and Grayling by way of Clare. Changes made in the

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

area moved US 10 to the former routing of M-58. The former highway through town was redesignated as Bus. US 10. More I-75 freeway was completed in 1962 between Flint and Pontiac. US 10 was transferred to the new freeway while the old routing was renumbered M-54. The former Bus. US 10 became Bus. M-54. These changes made all of US 10 from Clare east to Clarkston freeway. Until 1970, US 10 followed

Woodward Avenue A woodward is a warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which bisects th ...

between Detroit and Pontiac. That year, Woodward Avenue was redesignated M-1 and US 10 was moved to the

and Telegraph Road. The TO I-75 designation was removed in 1973 when the last segments of I-75 were completed between

West Branch West Branch may refer to: Communities * West Branch, Iowa, city in Cedar and Johnson counties * West Branch, Michigan, city in Ogemaw County * West Branch, New Brunswick, in the Local Service District of Weldford Parish * West Branch River John, i ...

and

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

. Farwell and Clare were bypassed on their northern side in 1975 by a new freeway section of US 10/ M-115. The previous routing was partially numbered Bus. US 10 while the remainder was unsigned. US 10 eastern end

The

(MDOT) truncated the US 10 designation from Detroit to Bay City in 1986. The US 10 designation was removed from its concurrencies with I-75 and US 23. The section along Dixie Highway and Telegraph Road between Pontiac and Southfield was redesignated as an extension of US 24. The Lodge Freeway was given the M-10 designation and Bus. US 10 in Pontiac was renumbered as Bus. US 24. M-115 was transferred off the US 10 freeway in the Clare area in 1989 back to its previous routing before the 1975 changes. The last change made to the routing of the highway came in 1998 in Ludington. Reconfiguration of the carferry docks and parking lot moved US 10 along James Street instead of William Street. The three blocks of Ludington Avenue affected by the change were given the M-116 designation. At their Spring Meeting in 2015, the

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United ...

official extended US 10 to include the route of the SS ''Badger'' between Ludington and Manitowoc. In 2016, the section of US 10 between the Bus. US 31 and US 31 junctions at Ludington was designated as part of the

West Michigan Pike Pure Michigan Byway The West Michigan Pike Pure Michigan Byway is a Pure Michigan Byway on the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan that follows several different highways, most notably Interstate 94 (I-94), I-196 and US Highway 31 (US 31) an ...

Major intersections

Business loops

There are currently three business loops of US 10 in the state of Michigan, and two that were previously designated. The three currently designated are in Reed City, Clare, and Midland. The business route that existed in Flint has been decommissioned while the one in

has been renumbered.

References

External links

US 10
at Michigan Highways US 10
at Michigan Highway Ends
US 10
at CanHighways-->
SS ''Badger''
homepage {{DEFAULTSORT:US010 10 Michigan Transportation in Mason County, Michigan Transportation in Lake County, Michigan Transportation in Osceola County, Michigan Transportation in Clare County, Michigan Transportation in Isabella County, Michigan Transportation in Midland County, Michigan Transportation in Bay County, Michigan