Exit 1785? How Michigan Freeways Could Have Looked Very Different

Most travelers on the nation's interstate highway systems get how the exit and mileage system works.

Miles count up starting from the south and west and reset at every state line.

👇🏼BELOW: Every Interstate Highway in Michigan Has Quirks - Here They Are + This is the Opposite End of Every National Highway That Begins in Michigan👇🏼

But what would it looks like if the system was set up differently and the mileage counts, and therefore the exit numbers were based on the total length of the highway? If that were the case Michigan being a peninsula and terminus of several cross-country interstates would have some extremely high mile markers and exit numbers.

Let's look at each interstate in Michigan:

Interstate 75 in Michigan Exit Numbers by Total Length

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I-75 begins in Miami and runs north for 1786 miles to Sault Ste Marie. The final exit before the Canadian border would end up being Exit 1785 for Easterday Avenue in the Soo rather than the current exit 394. The exit is one mile shy of the border.

The first exit in Michigan on I-75 is currently Exit 2 for Erie/Temperance in Monroe County. Under the total mileage scheme, it would be Exit 1394 as I-75 crosses into Michigan after running 1392 miles from Miami.

Interstate 94 in Michigan Exit Numbers by Total Length

Google Maps Street View

I-94 current has Michigan mileage running from Exit 1 at New Buffalo to Exit 275 in Port Huron just before the Blue Water Bridge to Ontario.

The interstate begins, however begins 1280 miles from the Michigan line in the middle of Montana. So that would be the Michigan I-94 exits run from Exit 1280 for the first exit in the state at M-239 in New Buffalo to Exit 1555 for M-25 in Port Huron.

Interstate 69 in Michigan Exit Numbers by Total Length

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Interstate 69's total mileage gets tricky as the highway is intended to stretch from Port Huron in Michigan south to the Mexican border in Texas. However it's largely discontinuous to most of Texas though Kentucky. Indiana as only within the last year fully completed its section of I-69 from Michigan south to Evansville.

As I-69 stands today in the spring of 2025 as this is published, the highway runs 910 miles. The first Michigan exit is Exit 3 for Copeland Road in Kinderhook. The last exit before the freeway merges with I-94 to hit the Blue Water Bridge is Exit 199 for the Business Loop into Port Huron.

Under a total mileage scheme, the southern Brach County exit would be Exit 711 and the final exit in Port Huron would be Exit 907.

What about Interstate 96 in a Total Mileage Numbering Plan?

Google Maps Street View

Because I-96 is an intrastate interstate highway, meaning it doesn't leave Michigan's borders, there would be no change to those mile markers. Exit 1 would remain Exit 1 at US-31 in Muskegon. While the final exit would remain Exit 191 in Detroit for MLK Blvd and Michigan Ave/US 12.

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This article concept was inspired by a discussion of total highway mileage exit numbers on the Freewayjim Facebook group.

Every Interstate Highway in Michigan Has Quirks - Here They Are

Roads are intended to get you from here to there. And very few people think about the quirks of our interstate highway system. With being as long and as varied as it is, there is bound to be an oddity or two - and in fact, you can likely find a quirk with every interstate in Michigan. We think we have.

Gallery Credit: Eric Meier

This is the Opposite End of Every Federal Highway That Begins in Michigan

There are 16 different federal highways (US and Interstate routes) that begin in Michigan but end elsewhere, some just a few miles across the state line some thousands of miles away. Here is the opposite end of every highway that begins in Michigan.