
What Happens to US-10 At the Michigan State Line?
US 10 is one of the more interesting highways that crosses Michigan. Today it's a trans-peninsular route connecting Bay City to Ludington from east to west. The highway does extend past Michigan's borders, but you won't know it following the road.
US 10 is an extreme rarity in the American road network, a route that follows a ferry.
👇🏼BELOW: These Michigan Highways Come to a Complete Dead End👇🏼
As US 10 is approaching the dock for the SS Badger in Ludington, the Michigan Department of Transportation posts an 'Ends' sign. However that's simply not accurate.
According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) which assigns route numbers, US 10 officially uses the ferry as part of its route. There is only other one route in the United States that runs via a ferry and that's US 9 between Cape May, New Jersey and Lewes, Delaware.
So US 10 does not end at the Lake Michigan shore in Ludington. It is a continuous route across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The highway transitions from Michigan to Wisconsin waters roughly 30 miles west of Ludington in the Big Lake.
So, unlike any other route that crosses Michigan's state borders, you won't see a Welcome to Michigan sign when the route enters the state, rather 30 miles later when on land at Ludington.
READ MORE: Look Close, Every Single Sign For this Michigan Highway is Wrong
US 10 has an even more interesting history in Michigan. While it ends in Bay City today at I-75/US 23. However it once ran through Saginaw and Flint into Oakland County and downtown Detroit.
The remnant of that former routing is today's M-10, the Lodge Freeway which takes drivers into downtown at the riverfront along Jefferson.
Further. US 10 once ran much further west than its current western terminus near Fargo, North Dakota. The highway once reached Seattle. Interestingly, another route that started in Detroit, US 12 still makes the run to the Pacific reaching US 101 at Aberdeen, Washington.
These Michigan Highways Come to a Complete Dead End
Gallery Credit: Eric Meier
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