Connector M-13 (Conn. M-13) is a north–south
state trunkline highway running connecting
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...
/
US Highway 23 (I-75/US 23) to
M-13 near the community of
Kawkawlin, just north of
Bay City. 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 Interst ...
(MDOT) internally calls the road Connector 13.
The freeway was once the northern end of the US 23 freeway in the area before I-75 was built to the northwest and US 23 was rerouted to follow it. When these changes were made in 1967, Conn. M-13 was designated for the freeway stub.
Route description
Conn. M-13 starts at exit 164 along I-75/US 23 north of Bay City. At the interchange that marks its southern terminus, the connector route continues to the north while the main I-75 freeway turns northwesterly. About three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) north, there is an interchange for Wilder Road. Traffic running southbound on the connector that wishes to continue northbound on I-75/US 23 has to use Wilder Road to connect to the latter freeway. The connector route is bordered by fields and residential subdivisions as it continues north to the community of Kawkawlin. 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 ar ...
with M-13.
Conn. M-13 is maintained by MDOT like other state highways in Michigan. As a part of these maintenance responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic that uses the roadways under its jurisdiction. These volumes are expressed using a metric called
annual average daily traffic
Annual average daily traffic (AADT) is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a year divided ...
, which is a statistical calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. MDOT's surveys in 2010 showed that the traffic levels along Conn. M-13 were 13,939 vehicles daily south of the Wilder Road and 7,031 vehicles per day north of that interchange.
The only section of the freeway that has been listed on the
National Highway System (NHS) is from the southern terminus to the Wilder Road interchange.
History
This short
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 ...
was opened in late 1960 or early 1961 as the north end of a new US 23 freeway around Bay City.
The freeway was extended farther north to the Standish area in 1967; M-13 was extended north to replace the US 23 designation along the latter's former routing through
Pinconning. At that time, the freeway stub north of Bay City became Conn. M-13.
Exit list
See also
*
References
External links
Conn. M-13at Michigan Highways
{{DEFAULTSORT:M013C
013C
Freeways and expressways in Michigan
Interstate 75
Transportation in Bay County, Michigan
U.S. Route 23