Route description M-66 (Michigan highway)

1 route description

1.1 indiana ionia
1.2 montcalm county , northward
1.3 services

route description

m-66 runs 266.399 miles (428.728 km) entirely north–south undivided surface highway in western michigan indiana state line north lake michigan @ charlevoix. of highway two-lane undivided rural highway. there section south of battle creek four-lane expressway. running north cereal city, m-66 concurrent i-194, full freeway. section along i-194 listed on national highway system (nhs), system of highways important nation s economy, defense, , mobility. section of m-66 included on nhs concurrent either m-72 or u.s. highway 131 (us 131) in kalkaska or antrim counties.

indiana ionia

m-66 four-lane highway connects state road 9 (sr 9) @ indiana state line in southern st. joseph county. highway runs north sturgis through farm land turns east through town running concurrently us 12 on chicago road. leaves sturgis north crosses branch of michigan southern railroad, , becomes two-lane surface highway along nottawa street. highway runs near several small lakes , crosses nottawa creek before meeting m-86. 2 highways run north–south concurrently 1.9 miles (3.1 km) along nottawa–colon township line. farther north, m-66 crosses st. joseph river , meets m-60. m-60/m-66 run east, turning northeasterly in leonidas running parallel nottawa creek , crossing northwest corner of branch county. m-60 , m-66 separate west of union city, , m-66 turns north calhoun county.

running through woodland terrain in southern calhoun county, m-66 passes through athens, along graham lake , continues outskirts of battle creek. highway widens first four-lane, limited access expressway south of lakeview square mall before becoming full freeway @ interchange i-94. @ transition freeway m-66 starts concurrency i-194. i-194/m-66 known sojourner truth downtown parkway, locals still use former semi-official nickname, penetrator . southern section of freeway has highest traffic levels along m-66 measured average annual daily traffic (aadt) in survey conducted in 2009. michigan department of transportation (mdot) calculates aadt value tally of average number of vehicles using given stretch of roadway. i-194/m-66 carried 25,200 vehicles on average day during year; 980  trucks included in traffic. freeway continues 3.374 miles (5.430 km) north downtown battle creek along part of kalamazoo river , crossing branch of canadian national railway , norfolk southern railway before ending @ at-grade intersection hamblin avenue. i-194 ends, , m-66 continues northeast out of cereal city on division street , northeast on capital avenue along battle creek river.

m-66 continues northward through barry county on capital avenue becomes 9 mile road north of baseline road. highway passes through assyria before meeting m-79, has short concurrency, in nashville. on north side of village, m-66 crosses thornapple river , continues north through mixed rural forest land , farm fields. near woodland, m-66 joins m-43 , 2 run northeast , along barry–eaton county line. m-43/m-66 meets m-50 @ four-way intersection southwest of lake odessa near woodbury, , m-43 turns east leaving m-66 in favor of concurrency m-50. m-66 crosses rail line of csx transportation , county line on state road. meets i-96 in rural southern part of ionia county south of ionia. on south edge of town, highway passes county airport , curves northeast becoming dexter street. while entering downtown ionia, trunkline crosses grand river , abandoned mainline of grand rapids eastern railroad near county fairgrounds. m-66 turns west along m-21 (lincoln avenue) 2 blocks before turning north along state street. trunkline runs through northern part of county , meets m-44 s eastern terminus near woodard lake.

montcalm county , northward

in montcalm county, m-66 intersects m-57 in rural area south of sheridan before running north on sheridan road through stanton. highway jogs west along main street in stanton before returning northerly course on discontinuous section of sheridan road. roadway curves around west end of hemmingway lake near cannonsville road. west of edmore, m-66 turns northwesterly along m-46 on edmore–howard city road 6 lakes. m-66 separates there , returns northerly journey along 6 lakes road between little bass lake , first lake. road crosses mecosta county 30th avenue north of 6 lakes. highway intersects m-20 @ intersection 9 mile road in remus. area of rural mecosta county more heavily forested rolling hills , sporadic farms. in barryton, roadway crosses chippewa river. m-66 continues north passing merrill lake before crossing rural eastern osceola county @ mesceola road.

the highway meets us 10 near sears after crossing pere marquette state trail. m-66 crosses muskegon river near separate 9 mile road in osceola county. meets both m-115 , m-61 (16 mile road) south of marion. highway continues north , crosses great lakes central railroad first time in marion, before entering missaukee county. trunkline turns westward on stoney corners road toward mcbain through farm land. in town runs along maple street , runs north toward lake city on morey road. south of lake city, m-55 runs concurrently m-66 missaukee golf course , town along eastern shore of lake missaukee. north of town, m-55 splits off east on houghton lake road, , m-66 continues north intersection eastern terminus of m-42 in rural forest. m-66 leaves morey road , follows pioneer road county line.

as highway crosses kalkaska county crosses manistee river. m-66 runs through rolling hills in woodlands through unincorporated farming community of lodi north intersection m-72. 2 highways travel west on great lakes central railroad before turning north , merging us 131 on route parallel rail line. us 131/m-66/m-72 follows , crosses branch of boardman river along cedar street through downtown kalkaska. north of central business district, m-72 separates west , us 131/m-66 crosses through pere marquette state forest on way antrim , mancelona in antrim county. highway follows williams street through twin towns, meeting southern terminus of m-88 , western terminus of c-38 @ intersection state street in mancelona. m-66 separates us 131 , follows mancelona–east jordan road out of town.

the section of m-66 north of us 131 split had highway s lowest aadt levels in 2009 survey. mdot reported 1,500 vehicles use stretch of road in 2009. of these vehicles, 140 trucks used segment of highway in 2009. highway meanders through more forest lands through community of green river east jordan. m-66 follows lake street , turns follow western shore of south arm of lake charlevoix. roadway turns inland through ironton before returning lakeshore rest of way charlevoix. m-66 ends @ intersection us 31 south of downtown next lake michigan.

services

mdot provides number of different services motorists traveling along state trunkline highway system. along m-66, there 6 different carpool lots located near nashville, woodland, belding, sheridan, sears , marion. there additional services provided travelers in form of roadside parks , rest areas. there 2 roadside parks along highway, 1 between woodland , woodbury, , second in sheridan. roadway provides access ionia state recreation area , state harbor on lake charlevoix.

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