Interstate 194 (I-194) is a , north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway between downtown Battle Creek and I-94 in the southern portion of the city. The highway has been designated the Sojourner Truth Downtown Parkway by the state after the abolitionist

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Baumfree; November 26, 1883) was an American abolitionist of New York Dutch heritage and a women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to f ...

, who was active in the Battle Creek area. Locals refer to the freeway by its semi-official nickname, "The Penetrator". I-194 is the only three-digit spur or loop route off I-94 in the state of Michigan and runs concurrently throughout its length with M-66, which continues both north and south from the termini of I-194. The freeway was initially opened in 1961 and completed in its current form in 1966. The highway was named in 1976 for Truth in honor of her local connections to the area.

Route description

Part of the much longer highway, I-194 starts when M-66 widens out to a full freeway just south of I-94 near Beckley Road. The start of I-194 is marked by the full

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...

. It is numbered as exit 98 along I-94 and exit 1 using I-194's mileage along the I-194/M-66 freeway. The roadway crosses Minges Creek north of the I-94 interchange. To the west of the freeway are residential subdivisions; the eastern side is marked by gently-rolling, wooded terrain. This section of I-194 carries 26,300 vehicles on average day according to surveys done by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) in 2007. Of these vehicles, 1,200 trucks were included in the totals. Interstate 194 Michigan

After crossing Golden Avenue, I-194 curves to the northwest to meet the

M-96 M96 or M-96 may refer to: * M96 (New York City bus), a New York City Bus route in Manhattan * Messier 96, an intermediate spiral galaxy about 31 million light-years away in the constellation Leo * M-96 (Michigan highway), a state highway in Michi ...

(Columbia Avenue) interchange. The freeway runs underneath the Columbia Avenue overpass before running parallel to the west bank of the Kalamazoo River. The freeway crosses the river at the southern end of Lower Mill Pond. Curving back around to the northeast, I-194 meets Business Loop I-94 (BL I-94, Dickman Road). Here the traffic averages 24,400 vehicles a day. The freeway ends at an

at-grade intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections a ...

with Hamblin Avenue, and continuing north of the intersection, the highway becomes just M-66. BL I-94 runs east of the freeway end on Hamblin Avenue to connect to Michigan Avenue. All of I-194 is listed on the National Highway System, a system of strategically important highways, and it is concurrent with M-66 for the length of the freeway.

History

From its initial opening in 1961 until 1964, I-194 also carried the BL I-94 and M-78 designations. BL I-94 was rerouted in Battle Creek to Martin Luther King Drive and M-78 in 1964, and M-78 was replaced by M-66 in 1965. The last change to the I-194 routing was the extension of the northern end of the freeway from Columbia Avenue to Michigan Avenue in 1966. At the time, MDOT's predecessor, the Michigan State Highway Department, called all auxiliary Interstate Highways "Penetrator" when planning the freeway network in the state; a name which stuck to I-194. Born Isabella Baumfree in 1797,

settled in the Battle Creek area in the 1840s. She travelled through the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

and New England speaking against slavery and for women's rights. She lived in the area until her death in 1883. Her connection to the state of Michigan was honored by the state American Revolution Bicentennial Commission in 1976 which urged the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ...

to name a highway in her honor. Public Act 93 of 1976 named all of M-66 in Calhoun County as the Sojourner Truth Memorial Highway. The highway was dedicated to her on May 21, 1976. The Cereal City Development Corporation (CCDC) asked the Legislature to amend the memorial designation in 1993. They felt the highway was better known to locals as The Penetrator, and they wished to restore emphasis to Truth, they asked for the "Sojourner Truth Downtown Parkway" name to be applied to "M-66 between Interstate 94 and Hamblin". The Legislature passed Public Act 208 of 1993 to affect the change, restoring "the link between Sojourner Truth and the City of Battle Creek, which was once the center of abolitionist sentiment in the state".

Exit list

References

External links

I-194
at Michigan Highways

at Kurumi.com

at Interstate Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:I194 94-1 Michigan 94-1 1 (Michigan) Transportation in Calhoun County, Michigan Sojourner Truth

Route description

History

Exit list

See also

References

External links