Joke About New Interstate Highway in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is Actually A Brilliant Idea

There are many who feel they should just stay away from the internet and social media on April Fool's Day. Seemingly every brand who has an online presence feels the need to craft a joke post. Some land, too many fall flat.

One April Fool's Day 2025 joke that hit Reddit alleged a new interstate highway across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

👇🏼 BELOW: Every Interstate Highway in Michigan Has Quirks - Here They Are + 24 Bridges to Enter the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that Aren't the Mackinac Bridge 👇🏼

The joke post appeared on Reddit's Upper Peninsula subreddit. The caption describes a new interstate highway through the central UP connecting Green Bay with Houghton via Marquette.

FOX10UP- New interstate highway connecting Houghton, Marquette and Escanaba to Green Bay to begin construction Spring 2026
byu/savealltheelephants inupperpeninsula

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The first giveaway that this posting is a gag is the TV station it's attributed to. It doesn't exist. There is no 'Fox 10 UP.' There's an ABC 10 in Marquette that brands themselves as MyUPNow. TV 6 is an NBC affiliate in Marquette with a sub channel of Fox UP. They collectively are known as the Upper Michigan Source.

The proposed interstate route is actually not the worst idea. The interstate highway system extends no further north in this part of the country than Green Bay. Two northbound interstates terminate there, I-43 and the recently created (author's opinion: useless) I-41.

Either of those interstates could be extended into Michigan.

The map shows the current routing of some of US 41 and M-35 from Green Bay through Menominee and Escanaba to Marquette as the eastern proposed interstate.

The western proposed interstate follows US 141 and M-95 through Iron Mountain and Republic to just west of Ishpeming.

Imagined Interstate 43 Extension Into Michigan

The eastern route Green Bay-Menominee-Marquette) would be numbered as I-43 as interstate highway number get larger the further east one travels - that's why I-5 runs on the Pacific coast and I-95 runs along the Atlantic.

The Michigan extension of I-43 would make a westbound turn at Marquette, through Ishpeming and Negaunee to terminate at an extended I-41.

Imagined Interstate 41 Extension into Michigan

A newly minted I-41 takes the inland route north from Green Bay to Iron Mountain and north to L'Anse, Baraga and a likely end at the Portage Lake Lift Bridge in downtown Houghton.

A Keweenaw extension of the interstate highway system would put an end to Copper Harbor being the location in the continental United States further from the interstate highway system.

Extending the interstate into the UP would certainly have pros and cons. Interstate travel would open up the vast and largely desolate peninsula and would allow for speedier travel.

It would also likely ruin some of the desolation that many residents treasure deeply.