M-94 (Michigan highway)

M-94 is a state trunkline in the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. It runs for 86.983 miles (139.986 km) from K. I. Sawyer to Manistique. The highway is part of the Lake Superior Circle Tour during a concurrency with M-28. M-94 crosses the Siphon Bridge in Manistique, unique for the fact that the bridge roadway is below water level.

This article is about the state trunkline highway in Michigan. For the Interstate Highway, see Interstate 94 in Michigan.

M-94 marker

M-94

M-94 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length86.983 mi[1] (139.986 km)
Existedc. 1927[2]–present
Tourist
routes		 Lake Superior Circle Tour
Major junctions
West end M-553 at K. I. Sawyer
Major intersections
South end US 2 in Manistique
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountiesMarquette, Alger, Schoolcraft
Highway system
← BL I-94→ M-95

M-94 has been realigned several times. It has had its own roadway between the M-28 junctions in Munising and Shingleton. Other changes have flip-flopped M-94 with M-28 between Harvey and Munising and extended it across the former K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base.

Route description
Hiawatha National Forest road sign on M-28/M-94 in Alger County west of Shingleton

M-94 begins at an intersection with M-553 and crosses the former K. I. Sawyer AFB. Then it overlaps US 41 for a little over a mile near Skandia. East of Skandia, M-94 runs through forest lands and serves the communities of Sundell and Rumely before entering Eben Junction. There M-94 intersects the southern section of H-01. Further east is Chatham where there are junctions with the northern section of H-01 and M-67. M-94 turns southerly briefly before returning to an east–west direction to head to the community of Forest Lake and ultimately Munising. There M-94 joins a concurrency with M-28 and the Lake Superior Circle Tour from Munising to Shingleton. Until the turn at Shingleton, the route is more decidedly east–west than north–south. Between Shingleton and Manistique, M-94 is more north–south.[3]

South of Shingleton, M-94 runs through forest lands as a part of the Great Manistique Swamp. Along the way are national forest campgrounds located near Steuben. South of Crooked Lake, M-94 curves to the east before turning almost due south to the Manistique area.[3] In Manistique, M-94 enters town on North 5th St before turning to follow Deer Street and River Street. On River Street, the trunkline uses the Siphon Bridge to cross the Manistique River and then uses Elk and Maple streets before terminating at US 2 at Lakeshore Drive.[4]

Siphon Bridge

In Manistique, M-94 crosses the Manistique River on the "Siphon Bridge". Built as a part of a raceway flume on the river, the water level actually used to be higher than the road surface. This produced a siphon effect, giving the bridge its nickname. The Manistique Pulp and Paper Company was organized in 1916 and needed a dam on the Manistique River to supply their mill. This dam would have needed to flood a large section of the city. The shallow river banks meant difficulties in any bridge construction. Instead of expensive dikes, a concrete tank was built lengthwise in the river bed. The sides of this tank provided man-made banks higher than the natural banks. The Michigan Works Progress Administration described the bridge as having, "concrete bulkheads, formed by the side spans of the bridge, [that] allow the mill to maintain the water level several feet above the roadbed."[5] The bridge acted as a siphon because the water level was above the roadway,[6] and the structure has been featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not![7]

History
Bridge over the Chocolay River

The December 1927 Michigan State Highway Department Official Highway Service Map shows M-94 routed from Au Train west to Munising and further along its current routing to Manistique.[2] In 1928 or 1929, M-94 was rerouted to run along Munising-Van Meer-Shingleton Road (now H-58 and H-15) and southerly to Shingleton.[8] This routing was abandoned on November 7, 1963.[9] It was later extended westward to Harvey in 1939.[10][11] In 1941, the portion of M-94 west from Munising to Harvey was made a part of M-28, and M-94 was extended along its current routing from Munising to US 41.[12][13] M-94 was extended for the last time in 1998 over US 41 and through the old K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base to end at a newly designated M-553.[14][15] In October 2016, heavy rainfall cause the culverts directing the Chocolay River under M-94 in West Branch Township to fail. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) started construction of a 129-foot-long (39 m), concrete, single-span bridge at a cost of $1.8 million on March 6, 2017, and opened the structure to traffic on June 28 of the same year.[16]

Major intersections
CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
MarquetteK. I. Sawyer0.0000.000 M-553 – Gwinn, Marquette
West Branch Township8.03712.934
 CR 545 north		Southern terminus of northern segment of CR 545
8.53413.734
 CR 545 south		Northern terminus of southern segment of CR 545
Skandia Township10.79217.368
 US 41 north – Marquette		Northern end of US 41 concurrency
11.85819.084
 US 41 south – Escanaba

 CR 541 south		Southern end of US 41 concurrency; northern terminus of CR 541
Dukes14.73123.707
 CR 533 south		Northern terminus of CR 533
AlgerEben Junction23.74738.217
 H-01 south – Traunik		Northern terminus of southern segment of H-01
Chatham25.95041.762
 H-01 north – Deerton		Southern terminus of northern segment of H-01
26.94743.367
 M-67 south – Trenary		Northern terminus of M-67
Forest Lake30.51049.101
 H-03 north – Au Train		Southern terminus of H-03
Stillman33.94354.626
 H-05 south		Northern terminus of H-05
Munising42.50968.412

 M-28 west / LSCT west – Munising		Western end of M-28/LSCT concurrency
Wetmore44.41971.485
 H-13 / FFH 13 south – Nahma
Shingleton51.97983.652

 M-28 east / LSCT east – Seney, Newberry

 H-15 north – Van Meer		Eastern end of M-28/LSCT concurrency
SchoolcraftInwood–Thompson township line63.970102.950
 CR 437 south – Steuben		Northern terminus of CR 437
Thompson Township67.241108.214
 CR 449 south		Northern terminus of CR 449
Manistique85.230137.164
 CR 440 west (State Street)		Eastern terminus of CR 440
85.490137.583
 CR 442 west (Deer Street) – Cooks		Eastern terminus of CR 442
86.983139.986 US 2 / LMCT – Escanaba, St. Ignace
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 (December 1, 1927). Official Highway Service Map (Map). [c. 1:810,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. OCLC 12701195, 79754957.
  3. Michigan Department of Transportation (2008). Michigan: Official Department of Transportation Map (Map). c. 1:975,000. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. §§ C6–C7, C7–D8. OCLC 42778335.
  4. Google (August 4, 2008). "Overview Map of M-94" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  5. Hunt, Mary & Hunt, Don (2007). "Manistique: Siphon Bridge and Water Tower". Hunt's Guide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Albion, MI: Midwestern Guides. Retrieved September 15, 2006.
  6. Hyde, Charles K. (1993). Historic Highway Bridges of Michigan. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 132. ISBN 0-8143-2448-7. OCLC 27011079. Retrieved September 7, 2019 – via Archive.org.
  7. Staff (February 13, 2007). "Road & Highway Facts". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  8. Michigan State Highway Department (May 1, 1929). Official Highway Service Map (Map). [c. 1:810,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. OCLC 12701195, 79754957.
  9. Michigan Department of Transportation (n.d.). "Alger County" (PDF) (Map). Right-of-Way File Application. Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. Sheet 56. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
  10. 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. § B6. OCLC 12701143.
  11. 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. § B6. OCLC 12701143. Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  12. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (March 21, 1941). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map) (Spring ed.). [c. 1:850,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ B1–B11. OCLC 12701143.
  13. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (December 1, 1941). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map) (Winter ed.). [c. 1:850,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ B1–B11. OCLC 12701143.
  14. Truscott, John (September 24, 1998). "MDOT Accepts Responsibility for 120 Miles of Local Roads" (Press release). Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 15, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  15. Michigan Department of Transportation (1999). Michigan Department of Transportation Map (Map). c. 1:918,720. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. § C6. OCLC 42778335, 55974644. Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  16. Jarvi, Ryan (June 28, 2017). "M-94 Bridge Open Ahead of Schedule". The Mining Journal. Marquette, MI. p. 8A. ISSN 0898-4964. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
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