M-142 (Michigan highway)

M-142 is an east–west state trunkline highway in The Thumb region of the US state of Michigan. It is a "trans-peninsular" highway in that it travels through an agricultural area from Bay Port on Saginaw Bay to Harbor Beach on Lake Huron. The current trunkline in Huron County was originally parts of other state highways that date back to the initial 1919 signposting of the state highway system in the state. The designation was applied in 1939, and the road has remained unchanged since it was completely paved in the 1950s. One other highway, near Lake City, carried the number in the 1930s.

M-142 marker

M-142

Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length39.186 mi[1] (63.064 km)
Existed1939[2][3]–present
Major junctions
West end M-25 near Bay Port
Major intersections
East end M-25 in Harbor Beach
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountiesHuron
Highway system
← US 141→ M-143

Route description

M-142 begins just a few miles south of Bay Port at an intersection with M-25 near the Bay Port Cemetery, about two-thirds of a mile (1.1 km) inland from Saginaw Bay. From there, the road travels eastward through farm country on Pigeon Road. The highway follows a direct course over the Pigeon River to the village of Pigeon, when M-142 turns south on Main Street to exit town. South of town, the Pigeon Road name resumes, and after about one mile (1.6 km), M-142 turns back eastward near the Grand Lawn Cemetery. The road then continues eastward through more farms to Elkton, diverting off a direct course to cross a line of the Huron and Eastern Railway[4] on the east side of town.[5][6]

North of Bad Axe, M-142 leaves Pigeon Road to turn southward along Van Dyke Road for about mile and a half (2.4 km). Along this section, the highway runs concurrently with M-53 into town. At the intersection with Huron Avenue, M-142 turns east and M-53 turns west, ending the overlap of the two highways. M-142 exits town and follows Sand Beach Road through farm country. About three miles (4.8 km) of Bad Axe, M-142 meets the northern terminus of M-19 (Ubly Road). Continuing eastward, the highway crosses two branches of the Willow River as it passes through the unincorporated community of Verona. East of that location, the trunkline turns northeasterly, roughly parallel to the Rock Falls Creek, as it angles to Harbor Beach. M-142 follows State Street through town, and the trunkline terminates at the intersection with M-25 about a quarter mile (0.4 km) west of Lake Huron.[5][6]

Like other state highways in Michigan, M-142 is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). In 2011, the department's traffic surveys showed that on average, 8,887 vehicles used the highway daily in the city of Bad Axe east of M-53 and 832 vehicles did so each day between M-25 and Pigeon, the highest and lowest counts along the highway, respectively.[7] No section of M-142 is listed on the National Highway System,[8] a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.[9]

History

Previous designation

The first highway to gain the M-142 moniker was designated by the end of 1929 running eastward from M-55/M-66 to a farm owned by Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) south of Lake City.[10][11] By 1939, this one-mile (1.6 km) highway was transferred back to local control.[12][2]

Current highway

When the state highway system was first signed in 1919,[13] one of the original trunklines was numbered M-31, originally running northward from Port Huron to Harbor Beach and then westward to Saginaw.[14] When the U.S. Highway System was approved on November 11, 1926,[15] M-31 was decommissioned in favor of alternate numbers. The roadway between Bay Port and Harbor Beach was assigned the M-83 designation; Between Bay Port and Bad Axe, the highway was also a part of the contemporary M-29.[16] By 1933, the M-29 designation was removed when that highway was realigned to follow the Saginaw Bay shoreline and later became parts of an extended US Highway 25 (US 25) and a new M-25.[17][18]

In 1939, a section of M-83 was returned to local control, which would have resulted in a discontinuous routing. Segments of the trunkline were absorbed into other existing highways. The former routing of M-83 from Bay Port, eastward across The Thumb, to Harbor Beach where it met up with US 25 was redesignated M-142.[2][3] By early 1952, the last section of the highway was paved, stretching about three miles (4.8 km) eastward from the M-19 junction[19] Michigan State Highway Department (April 15, 1952). 1952 Official Highway Map (Map).[20] The highway has been unchanged since.[5]

Major intersections

The entire highway is in Huron County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Fairhaven Township0.0000.000 M-25 / LHCT – Bay City, Port Austin
Bad Axe19.85331.950
 M-53 north (Van Dyke Road) – Port Austin		Western end of M-53 concurrency
21.34334.348
 M-53 south (Huron Avenue) – Imlay City		Eastern end of M-53 concurrency
Verona Township24.24239.014
 M-19 south – Sandusky		Northern terminus of M-19
Harbor Beach39.18663.064 M-25 / LHCT – Port Austin, Port Sanilac
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References
  1. Michigan Department of Transportation (2021). Next Generation PR Finder (Map). Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  2. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (April 15, 1939). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map) (Summer ed.). [c. 1:850,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ H10, I13–I14. OCLC 12701143.
  3. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (December 1, 1939). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map) (Winter ed.). [c. 1:850,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ I13–I14. OCLC 12701143. Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  4. Michigan Department of Transportation (January 2011). Michigan's Railroad System (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  5. Michigan Department of Transportation (2012). Pure Michigan: State Transportation Map (Map). c. 1:975,000. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. §§ I13–I14. OCLC 42778335, 794857350.
  6. Google (June 30, 2012). "Overview Map of M-142" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  7. Bureau of Transportation Planning (2008). "Traffic Monitoring Information System". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  8. Michigan Department of Transportation (April 23, 2006). National Highway System, Michigan (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  9. Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  10. Michigan State Highway Department (May 1, 1929). Official Highway Service Map (Map). [c. 1:810,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. OCLC 12701195, 79754957.
  11. Michigan State Highway Department & H.M. Gousha (January 1, 1930). Official Highway Service Map (Map). [c. 1:810,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. OCLC 12701195, 79754957.
  12. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (December 1, 1938). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map) (Winter ed.). [c. 1:850,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. § H13. OCLC 12701143. Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  13. "Michigan May Do Well Following Wisconsin's Road Marking System". The Grand Rapids Press. September 20, 1919. p. 10. OCLC 9975013.
  14. Michigan State Highway Department (July 1, 1919). State of Michigan (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. Lower Peninsula sheet. OCLC 15607244. Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  15. Bureau of Public Roads & American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: U.S. Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  16. Michigan State Highway Department (December 1, 1926). Official Highway Condition Map (Map). [c. 1:823,680]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department.
  17. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (May 1, 1933). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:840,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ I13–I14. OCLC 12701053. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2016 – via Archives of Michigan.
  18. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (September 1, 1933). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:840,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ I13–I14. OCLC 12701053.
  19. Michigan State Highway Department (July 1, 1951). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. § I14. OCLC 12701120. Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  20. Michigan State Highway Department (April 15, 1952). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. § I14. OCLC 12701120. Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
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