M-60 (Michigan highway)
Encyclopedia
M-60 is an east–west state trunkline highway
Michigan Highway System
The Michigan State Trunkline Highway System is made up of all the highways designated as Interstates, U.S. Highways and State Highways in the US state of Michigan. The system is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation and comprises of trunklines in all 83 counties of Michigan on...

 in the US state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. It runs from the Niles
Niles, Michigan
Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near South Bend, Indiana. The population was 11,600 at the 2010 census. It is the greater populated of two principal cities of and included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a...

 area at a junction with US Highway 12
U.S. Route 12 in Michigan
US Highway 12 is a US Highway that runs from Aberdeen, Washington to Detroit, Michigan. In the US state of Michigan it runs for . Previous to the creation of Interstate Highways in Michigan, US 12 ran along Michigan Avenue between Kalamazoo and Detroit, a highway corridor now served by I-94...

 (US 12) to the Jackson
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...

 area where it ends at Interstate 94
Interstate 94 in Michigan
Interstate 94 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Billings, Montana, to the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state south of New Buffalo...

 (I-94). The trunkline passes through a mix of farm fields and woodlands, crosses or runs along several rivers and connects several small towns of the southern area of the state. The westernmost segment runs along divided highway
Divided Highway
Divided Highway is a compilation album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 2003. . All tracks are taken from the albums Cycles and Brotherhood .-Track listing:...

 while the easternmost section is a full freeway bypass of Jackson.

M-60 was originally designed in 1919 with the rest of the state highway system in Michigan. It ran roughly along its current route connecting downtown Niles to downtown Jackson. In the mid 1920s, the western end was extended to New Buffalo
New Buffalo, Michigan
New Buffalo is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,200 at the 2000 census. This city is within New Buffalo Township, but is politically autonomous.-Geography:...

; since then several bypasses of the smaller towns along the highway were added. One of these bypasses resulted in the creation of an alternate route
Alternate route
An official alternate route is a special route in the United States that provides an alternate alignment for a highway. They are loop roads and found in many road systems in the United States including the U.S. Route system and various state route systems...

 (Alternate M-60, ALT M-60) through Concord
Concord, Michigan
Concord is a village in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,101 at the 2000 census. The village is located at , west of Spring Arbor, Michigan.- Government :...

; that route has since been decommissioned
Decommissioned highway
A decommissioned highway is a highway that has been removed from service, shut down or has had its authorization as a federal or state highway removed. Decommissioning can include the complete or partial demolition or abandonment of an old highway structure because the old roadway has lost its...

. When Niles was bypassed in the 1950s, a business loop (Business M-60, BUS M-60) was created through town. After the western end was truncated to its current location, that business loop was converted to a business spur.

Route description

M-60 starts at an interchange along US 12 southeast of Niles in southwestern Cass County
Cass County, Michigan
Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 51,104. It is part of the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area which has a total population of 316,663 and is sometimes considered part of Greater Michiana...

. From this interchange, the highway runs northeasterly along the divided highway on Detroit Road to an intersection with BUS M-60 (Yankee Road). There, the main highway turns due east along the shore of Barron Lake. The trunkline continues through mixed farm fields and woodlands, running northeastward to Cassopolis
Cassopolis, Michigan
Cassopolis is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 14,275. It is the county seat of Cass County. The village and county are named after statesman Lewis Cass, a New Hampshire native and a prominent U.S...

 and rounding Stone Lake on the southern approach to town. M-60 runs north–south through town on Broadway Street, merging with M-62
M-62 (Michigan highway)
M-62 is an arc-shaped state trunkline highway in the southwestern part of the US state of Michigan. The route runs from the Indiana state line north and west to M-140 in Eau Claire. In between, it serves the western Cass County communities of Dowagiac and Cassopolis. The highway was formed in the...

 to run concurrently
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...

 into downtown Cassopolis. M-60 turns eastward on State Street, separating from M-62, and leaves town while crossing a line of the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

.

East of Cassopolis, M-60 runs past Diamond Lake and through farm fields. At Vandalia
Vandalia, Michigan
Vandalia is a village in Penn Township, Cass County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 429 at the 2000 census. It is part of the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, the highway passes Donnell Lake before meeting M-40
M-40 (Michigan highway)
M-40 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The highway runs from US Highway 12 near the Indiana state line in Porter Township north through Paw Paw and Allegan to end in the outskirts of Holland...

 north of Bair Lake in Jones. East of Jones, the trunkline crosses into St. Joseph County
St. Joseph County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 62,422 people, 23,381 households, and 16,600 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 26,503 housing units at an average density of 53 per square mile...

 and meets US 131
U.S. Route 131
US Highway 131 is a north–south United States Highway, of which all but 0.67 miles of its 266.82 miles are within the state of Michigan. The highway starts in rural Indiana south of the state line as a state road connection to the Indiana Toll Road...

 on the south side of Three Rivers
Three Rivers, Michigan
Three Rivers is a city in St. Joseph County in the US state of Michigan. The population was 7,811 at the 2010 census.Three Rivers derives its name from the confluence of the St. Joseph River with its tributaries the Rocky and Portage Rivers. It is the home of St...

. The two highways run concurrently northward through a retail business corridor to an intersection with Michigan Avenue. M-60 turns east along Michigan Avenue following BUS US 131 into downtown. The business loop turns north at the same intersection where M-60 meets M-86
M-86 (Michigan highway)
M-86 is a east–west state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan in the southern portion of the Lower Peninsula. The highway starts at Business US Highway 131 and M-60 in Three Rivers and ends at US Highway 12 near Coldwater. In between, it crosses farm country and runs along a section of...

 near the Rocky River
Rocky River (Michigan)
The Rocky River is a stream located in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Michigan that flows into the St. Joseph River at in the city of Three Rivers in St. Joseph County. The Rocky River, along with the St...

 crossing. Continuing eastward, M-60 passes the high school and Three Rivers Municipal Dr. Haines Airport while running along the St. Joseph River
St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)
The St. Joseph River is a river, approximately long, in southern Michigan and northern Indiana in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan...

. The trunkline turns north, runs by Fishers Lake and continues out of town through farm fields. Near Mendon
Mendon, Michigan
Mendon is a village in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 917 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Mendon Township.-Geography:...

, the highway runs along the river again. East of town, M-60 meets M-66
M-66 (Michigan highway)
M-66 is a north–south state trunkline highway on the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. It runs from the Indiana state line in the south to Charlevoix in the north. M-66 is the only state highway to traverse almost the entire north–south distance of the LP. It starts as a...

, and the two run east and northeast through Leonidas into the extreme northwest corner of Branch County
Branch County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 45,787 people, 16,349 households, and 11,575 families residing in the county. The population density was 90 people per square mile . There were 19,822 housing units at an average density of 39 per square mile...

.

South of Athens
Athens, Michigan
Athens is a village in Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,111 at the 2000 census. The village is located in southern Athens Township, and is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was settled in 1831.-Geography:According to the United...

, M-66 turns northward and M-60 continues around Union City
Union City, Michigan
Union City is a village in Branch and Calhoun counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located mostly within Union Township in Branch County, it sits at the junction of the Coldwater and St. Joseph rivers; the Calhoun County portion lies within that county's Burlington Township. It is part of the...

 and into southern Calhoun County
Calhoun County, Michigan
-Interstates:* I-69* I-94* I-194* I-94 Business Loop serves the city of Albion.* I-94 Business Loop serves the city of Battle Creek.* I-94 Business Loop serves the city of Marshall.-Michigan State Trunklines:* M-37* M-60* M-66* M-78* M-89* M-96* M-99...

. The road runs through Burlington
Burlington, Michigan
Burlington is a village in Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 405 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 on Leroy Street. At Marshall Street. M-60 meets the southern end of M-311
M-311 (Michigan highway)
M-311 is a long state trunkline highway in Calhoun County in the US state of Michigan that runs from the intersection of M-60 in Burlington north to I-94 at Exit 104 in Emmett Township. It was previously an unsigned state trunkline, meaning that no reassurance markers were used to identify the...

 which runs north to the Battle Creek
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...

 area. M-60 continues east through farm fields to Tekonsha
Tekonsha, Michigan
Tekonsha is a village in Tekonsha Township, Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 where it meets Interstate 69
Interstate 69 in Michigan
Interstate 69 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that currently runs from Indianapolis, Indiana, to the US–Canadian border at Port Huron, Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state south of Coldwater and passes through the cities of Lansing and Flint...

 (I-69) northwest of town. Continuing to Homer
Homer, Michigan
Homer is a village in Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,851 at the 2000 census.-History:...

, the highway runs along Lehigh Street in town; M-99
M-99 (Michigan highway)
M-99 is a state highway in the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. It runs from the Ohio state border, where it connects to SR 15, north to Lansing where it terminates at a junction with I-496...

 merges into M-60 after the intersection with Hillsdale Street. East of town, the highway widens into a four-lane divided highway
Divided Highway
Divided Highway is a compilation album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 2003. . All tracks are taken from the albums Cycles and Brotherhood .-Track listing:...

; M-99 turns north along this short section of roadway and M-60 reverts to a two-lane highway again. The trunkline crosses the Kalamazoo River
Kalamazoo River
The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to when one includes the South Branch...

 at Concord before it crosses into Jackson County
Jackson County, Michigan
As of the census of 2000, there were 158,422 people, 58,168 households, and 40,833 families residing in the county. The population density was 224 people per square mile . There were 62,906 housing units at an average density of 89/sq mi...

. At Spring Arbor, M-60 passes the campus of Spring Arbor University
Spring Arbor University
Spring Arbor University is a Christian institution of higher education located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. SAU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church...

. Outside of Jackson, the highway widens out to a full freeway bypass around the west side of the city. This bypass has one interchange with Michigan Avenue near Jackson County Airport
Jackson County Airport (Michigan)
Jackson County Airport , also known as Reynolds Field, is a county-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles west of the central business district of Jackson, in Jackson County, Michigan, United States...

. North of this interchange, the highway picks up the Business Loop I-94 and crosses the Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...

 line in the area. The freeway ends at a trumpet interchange with I-94 northwest of Jackson.

M-60 is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation
Michigan Department of Transportation
The Michigan Department of Transportation is a constitutional government agency in the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstate, US and state highways in Michigan with the exception of the Mackinac...

 (MDOT) like other state highways. Among these responsibilities, the department tracks the level of traffic that uses the roadways under its jurisdiction. This is expressed using a metric called annual average daily traffic
Annual average daily traffic
Average Annual daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning and transportation engineering. It is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a year divided by 365 days. AADT is a useful and simple measurement of how busy the road is...

 (AADT), which is a statistical calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. According to MDOT's surveys in 2009, the highest traffic counts were 12,547 cars and 999 trucks along the freeway immediately south of I-94 near Jackson; the lowest AADT was the 2601 cars and 384 trucks west of Union City. Only two sections of M-60 have been listed on the National Highway System
National Highway System (United States)
The National Highway System is a network of strategic highways within the United States, including the Interstate Highway System and other roads serving major airports, ports, rail or truck terminals, railway stations, pipeline terminals and other strategic transport facilities.Individual states...

 (NHS): along the US 131 concurrency in Three Rivers and on the BL I-94 concurrency near Jackson. The NHS is a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.

History

M-60 was designated with the rest of the original state highway system by July 1, 1919, on a series of roads running between Niles and Jackson by way of Cassopolis, Three Rivers and Tekonsha. By the end of 1927, the western end was extended to terminate at US 12 at New Buffalo. In the early to mid 1930s, the Michigan State Highway Department (MSHD) realigned the New Buffalo – Niles section to bypass Galien
Galien, Michigan
Galien is a village in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 593 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Galien Township. The village provides its own sewer utility.-History:...

 and Buchanan
Buchanan, Michigan
Buchanan is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,681 at the 2000 census. The city is located at the southeast corner of Buchanan Township, about 5 miles west of Niles. It was named after James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States...

. The former M-60 that ran into Buchanan was renumbered M-174 at the time, and the department extended US 112
U.S. Route 112
U.S. Route 112 was a largely east–west state trunkline highway across the southern portion of the US state of Michigan between New Buffalo and Detroit...

 concurrently along M-60 to New Buffalo. M-60 was rerouted around Concord in 1933, Tekonsha was bypassed by the MSHD in late 1936, and the highway was routed around Union City in 1937. The MSHD continued to improve the highway through the end of the 1930s. The last segment between Tekonsha and Homer was paved in 1940, making all of M-60 a hard-surfaced roadway.

In late 1949 or early 1950, the MSHD shifted M-60 through the Jones area to straighten the roadway. The US 131 bypass of Three Rivers opened in 1953; the US 131/M-60 concurrency became a BUS US 131/M-60 concurrency through town as a result. In late 1956 or early 1957, the highway department bypassed Niles, converting the route through town into a business loop. BUS M-60 connected the bypass into downtown where it continued along BUS US 112 back to US 112/M-60. At the end of the 1950s, M-60 was moved to a freeway bypass along the west side of Jackson; the final mile was also designated BUS US 12 as both highways connected to the I-94/US 12 freeway north of the city. The western end was redesignated as a part of US 12 in the late 1961, and the M-60 designation was truncated off this roadway in 1966. M-60's routing has remained unchanged since.

Major intersections

Special routes

There have been two different special routes of M-60. Business M-60 (BUS M-60) in Niles is still in existence, while Alternate M-60 (ALT M-60) in Concord has been decommissioned.

BUS M-60

Business M-60 (BUS M-60) is a state business spur running through the city of Niles
Niles, Michigan
Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near South Bend, Indiana. The population was 11,600 at the 2010 census. It is the greater populated of two principal cities of and included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a...

 and adjacent townships. The spur starts at the intersection with M-51
M-51 (Michigan highway)
M-51, is a north–south state trunkline highway in the southwestern portion of the US state of Michigan. The northern terminus is on I-94 west of Paw Paw, where it continues north for less than a mile to W Red Arrow Highway as Van Buren CR 671, and the southern terminus is at the Indiana state...

 (Main Street, 11th Street) and runs eastward along a former routing of M-60 on Oak Street through a residential section of town. Near the Berrien
Berrien County, Michigan
Berrien County is a county located in the extreme southwest of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 156,813. The county seat is St. Joseph....

Cass
Cass County, Michigan
Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 51,104. It is part of the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area which has a total population of 316,663 and is sometimes considered part of Greater Michiana...

 county line, the highway passes south of the Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport
Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport
Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport in Niles, Michigan is a privately held company categorized under Airports. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of less than $500,000 and employs a staff of five to nine people....

. East of the airport, the street name changes from Oak Street to Yankee Road, and BUS M-60 runs to its terminus at M-60 (Detroit Road). The total length is 2.554 miles (4.1 km), and 5,284–7,984 cars and 333 trucks use the route each day.

The business route was a loop route, continuing through downtown along BUS US 112 when the designation was created in late 1956 or early 1957. M-60 was truncated west of Niles in 1966; at the same time, BUS M-60 was truncated at its junction with BUS US 12/M-51 near downtown.

ALT M-60

ALT M-60 was an alternate loop route running through Concord
Concord, Michigan
Concord is a village in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,101 at the 2000 census. The village is located at , west of Spring Arbor, Michigan.- Government :...

. It acted as a "business route" into downtown Concord during its short lifetime after a bypass of town along M-60 was built. Its appearance predated the development of business routes in Michigan. Concord was bypassed in 1933, resulting in the creation of the alternate route. That route was turned over to local control the next year, decommissioning the designation.

External links

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