If This West Michigan Highway Sign Looks Odd to You, You’re Not Alone

Highway signs are very over overlooked along our roadways and not given a second glance. They are intended to guide you towards where you're going. But if it's in a location you know well, they almost certainly become background to the point when you no longer notice them.

But what if something doesn't look quite right. A sign may catch your eye and give you a double take. That's the case for the end of M-46 in Muskegon.

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M-46 is a rare coast-to-coast highway across Michigan. The roadway spans the entire lower Peninsula east to west from Port Sanilac on Lake Huron to Muskegon on Lake Michigan - a total of 199 miles.

The highway's western end in Muskegon is an irregularity in that M-46 does not end at another state highway. Rather it ends where Apple Avenue meets Muskegon Avenue.

The dangled end of M-46 is the result of a historic highway re-routing. Muskegon Ave was once US 31 (and later US 31 Business Route) which means M-46 did once meet another signed highway at its terminus.

The former routing of US 31 through this stretch of Muskegon Avenue is noted just a block from where M-46 ends by the US-31 Bar-B-Q restaurant which has sat at the corner of Muskegon and Jefferson since 1939.

READ MORE: Look Close - Every Sign for This Michigan Highway Is Wrong

So what accounts for the oddity on the M-46 sign? And you do see it, right? The M as well as the numerals are just a slightly different font than what is standard. See a comparison from the westbound end sign and the first eastbound reassurance marker on Apple Avenue side by side.

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The Ends sign shows a thinner M as well as thinner numbers that are oddly spaced. It's a quirk in Michigan's highway system. It's not the only one, but one that does catch the eye.