 |
|||||||||
| Interstate 194 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System |
|||||||||
| Maintained by MDOT | |||||||||
_map.svg) I-194 highlighted in red |
|||||||||
| Length: | 3.374 mi[1] (5.430 km) Also listed at 3.38 miles (5.44 km) by the FHWA[2] |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formed: | 1961[3][4] | ||||||||
| South end: |   I-94 / M-66 in Battle Creek |
||||||||
| Major junctions: |
 M-96 in Battle Creek |
||||||||
| North end: |  M-66 / BL I-94 / Hamblin Avenue in Battle Creek |
||||||||
| Counties: | Calhoun | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
>Interstate 194 (I-194) is a three-mile (5 km) long, north-south freeway between downtown Battle Creek and I-94 in the southern portion of the city. The Michigan Department of Transportation lists its length as 3.374 miles (5.430 km) long,[1] while the Federal Highway Administration lists it at 3.38 miles (5.44 km).[2] The highway has the local designation as the Sojourner Truth Downtown Parkway after the abolitionist Sojourner Truth, who was active in the Battle Creek area. Some locals refer to the freeway as "The Penetrator".[5]
I-194 is the only three-digit spur or loop route off I-94 in the state of Michigan and coincides throughout its length with M-66, which continues both north and south from the termini of I-194. The freeway was built in 1961 and completed in its current form in 1966. The highway was named in 1976 for Truth in honor of her local connections to the area.
Contents |
Route description
Part of the much longer highway, I-194 starts when M-66 widens out to a full freeway just south of I-94 near Beckley Road. The start of I-194 is marked by the full cloverleaf interchange. It is numbered as Exit 98 along I-94 and Exit 1 using I-194's mileage along the I-194/M-66 freeway. The roadway crosses Minges Creek north of the I-94 interchange. To the west of the freeway are residential subdivisions; the eastern side is marked by gently-rolling, wooded terrain.[6] This section of I-194 carries 26,300 vehicles on an average day according to MDOT's annual average daily traffic (AADT) surveys in 2007.[7] Of these vehicles, 1,200 trucks were included in the totals.[8]
After crossing Golden Avenue, I-194 curves to the northwest to meet the M-96/Columbia Avenue interchange. The freeway runs underneath the Columbia Avenue overpass before running parallel to the west bank of the Kalamazoo River. The freeway crosses the river at the southern end of Lower Mill Pond. Curving back around to the northeast, I-194 meets Business Loop I-94 (BL I-94)/Dickman Road.[6] Here the AADT counts average 24,400 vehicles a day.[7] BL I-94 follows the freeway north to Hamblin Avenue. The freeway ends at an at-grade intersection with Hamblin Avenue, and continuing north of the intersection, the highway becomes just M-66. BL I-94 turns east on Hamblin Avenue to connect to Michigan Avenue.[6] All of I-194 is listed on the National Highway System, a system of strategically important highways,[9] and it is concurrent with M-66 for the length of the freeway.[10]
History
From its inception in 1961[3][4] until 1964,[11] I-194 also carried the BL I-94 and M-78 designations. BL I-94 was rerouted in Battle Creek to Martin Luther King Drive and M-78 in 1964, and M-78 was replaced by M-66 in 1965.[12] The last change to the I-194 routing was the extension of the northern end of the freeway from Columbia Avenue to Michigan Avenue in 1966.[13]
Born Isabella Baumfree in 1797, Sojourner Truth settled in the Battle Creek area in the 1840s. She travelled through the Midwest and New England speaking against slavery and for women's rights. She lived in the area until her death in 1883. Her connection to the state of Michigan was honored by the state American Revolution Bicentennial Commission in 1976 which urged the Michigan Legislature to name a highway in her honor.[14] Act 93 of 1976 named all of M-66 in Calhoun County as the Sojourner Truth Memorial Highway. The highway was dedicated to her on May 21, 1976.[14]
The Cereal City Development Corporation (CCDC) asked the Legislature to amend the memorial designation in 1993. They felt the highway was better known to locals as The Penetrator, and they wished to restore emphasis to Truth, they asked for the "Sojourner Truth Downtown Parkway" name to be applied to "M-66 between Interstate 94 and Hamblin".[14] The Legislature passed Act 208 of 1993 to affect the change, restoring "the link between Sojourner Truth and the City of Battle Creek, which was once the center of abolitionist sentiment in the state."[14]
Exit list
The entire route is in Battle Creek, Calhoun County.
| Mile[1] | #[10] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.000 | 1A | I-94 east – Detroit |
|
| 1B | I-94 west – Chicago |
||
| 2 | M-96 (E. Columbia Avenue) |
||
| 3 | BL I-94 (Dickman Road) |
South end of the BL I-94 concurrency | |
| 3.374 | BL I-94 (Hamblin Avenue) |
At-grade intersection; Freeway ends and highway continues as M-66 |
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concurrency terminus | Unconstructed | ||||
References
- ^ a b c Michigan Department of Transportation. Control Section/Physical Reference Atlas [map]. (2001) Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
- ^ a b "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. October 31, 2002. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table2.htm. Retrieved November 14 2008.
- ^ a b Michigan State Highway Department. Official Highway Map [map]. (1960) Battle Creek inset. (Includes all changes through July 1, 1960)
- ^ a b Michigan State Highway Department. Official Highway Map [map]. (1961) Battle Creek inset. (Includes all changes through July 1, 1961)
- ^ "Penetrator to get $1.6M face-lift". The Battle Creek Enquirer. March 18, 2002.
- ^ a b c Google, Inc. Google Maps – Battle Creek, MI [map]. Cartography by Tele Atlas. Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
- ^ a b Michigan Department of Transportation. Battle Creek AADT Map [map]. (2007) Retrieved on 2008-10-07.
- ^ Michigan Department of Transportation. Commercial Battle Creek AADT Map [map]. (2007) Retrieved on 2008-10-07.
- ^ Michigan Department of Transportation. National Highway System, Michigan [map]. (April 23, 2006) Retrieved on 2008-10-07.
- ^ a b Michigan Department of Transportation. Official Department of Transportation Map [map], 1 in.:3.5 mi/1 cm:2 km. (2008) Battle Creek inset.
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. Official Highway Map [map]. (1964) Battle Creek inset.
- ^ Michigan State Highway Department. Official Highway Map [map]. (1965) Battle Creek inset.
- ^ Michigan Department of State Highways. Official Highway Map [map]. (1966) Battle Creek inset.
- ^ a b c d Barnett, Ph.D., LeRoy (2004). A Drive Down Memory Lane: The Named State and Federal Highways of Michigan. Allegan Forest, Michigan: Priscilla Press. p. 201. ISBN 1-886167-24-9.
External links
- I-194 at Michigan Highways
- I-194 at Michigan Highway Ends
- I-194 at Kurumi.com
- I-194 Michigan at Interstate Guide
|
|||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
