U.S. Route 223
Encyclopedia
US Route 223 or US Highway 223 (US 223) is a diagonal (northwest–southeast) US Highway lying in the US states 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"....

 and Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. The southern most section is completely concurrent
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...

 with the US 23 freeway, including all of the Ohio segment. It connects US 23 in the south near Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

 with US 127
U.S. Route 127
U.S. Route 127 is a long north–south United States highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 near Grayling, Michigan...

 and US 12
U.S. Route 12
U.S. Route 12 or US 12 is an east–west United States highway, running from Grays Harbor on the Pacific Ocean, in the state of Washington, to downtown Detroit, for almost . As a thoroughfare, it has mostly been supplanted by I-90 and I-94, but remains an important road for local travel.The...

 south of Jackson, Michigan
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...

. The highway passes through farmland in southern Michigan and woodland in the Irish Hills
Irish Hills
The Irish Hills is an area of land located roughly in southeastern Jackson County and northwest Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its name comes from the Irish immigrants who settled there from 1830-1850...

. Including the concurrencies on each end, US 223 is 47.11 miles (75.8 km) in total length.

The highway designation was created in 1930 out of the southern end of US 127. Three sets of reroutings through Adrian
Adrian, Michigan
As of the 2010 census Adrian had a population of 21,133. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 84.1% white, 4.4% black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 5.9% from some other race and 4.0% from two or more races...

 have resulted in the creation of two different business loops through the city. A change proposed in the 1960s and implemented in the 1970s shifted the southern end of US 223 along the US 23 freeway between Whiteford Township, Michigan
Whiteford Township, Michigan
Whiteford Township is a civil township of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,420 at the 2000 census.-Communities:...

 and Sylvania, Ohio
Sylvania, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,670 people, 7,151 households, and 5,070 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,223.2 people per square mile . There were 7,392 housing units at an average density of 1,276.2 per square mile...

. Since the 1980s, US 223 no longer reaches Toledo, Ohio, instead feeding into the freeway system of greater Toledo. Changes proposed and enacted into law in the 1990s would upgrade the highway as an Interstate Highway
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...

. Congress has designated this corridor as part of Interstate 73
Interstate 73
Interstate 73 is a main route of the Interstate Highway System, currently located entirely within the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of a longer planned corridor, defined by various Federal laws to run from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to Grayling, Michigan, but only the part south of...

 (I-73), although neither state intends at this time to complete the freeway.

Route description

US 223 starts at an interchange in with State Route 51 (SR 51) and SR 184 in Sylvania
Sylvania, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,670 people, 7,151 households, and 5,070 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,223.2 people per square mile . There were 7,392 housing units at an average density of 1,276.2 per square mile...

 on the northwest side of the Toledo, Ohio metropolitan area. Although unsigned by the Ohio Department of Transportation
Ohio Department of Transportation
The Ohio Department of Transportation is the organization of state government responsible for developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the state of Ohio with exception of the Ohio Turnpike. In addition to highways, the department also helps develop public transportation and...

 (ODOT) along the US 23 freeway, US 223 runs 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...

 around two-thirds of a mile (1.0 km) to the Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

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"....

 state line. Once across the border, 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) has signed both numbers along the freeway. The two highways' designations follow the freeway northward through rural farmland. At exit 5, US 223 separates from the freeway and turns west along an extension of St. Anthony Road.

The highway continues westward through the farmland as a two-lane road to the Monroe
Monroe County, Michigan
Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2010 population is 152,021. The largest city and county seat is Monroe. The U.S. Census Bureau defines all of Monroe County as conterminous with the Monroe Metropolitan Area...

Lenawee
Lenawee County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 98,890 people, 35,930 households, and 26,049 families residing in the county. The population density was 132 people per square mile . There were 39,769 housing units at an average density of 53 per square mile...

 county line. US 223 meets its former routing and turns northwesterly along Lansing Road, crossing a branch of the Indiana & Ohio Railway. US 223 runs parallel to the Adrian & Blissfield Railroad that branches off southwest of the highway. Both the highway and rail line run northwesterly into Blissfield
Blissfield, Michigan
Blissfield is a village in Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,223 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Blissfield Township...

. The two cross while US 223 runs along Adrian Street through downtown, and the highway makes its first crossing of the River Raisin
River Raisin
The River Raisin is a river in southeastern Michigan, United States that flows through glacial sediments into Lake Erie. The area today is an agricultural and industrial center of Michigan. The river flows for almost , draining an area of in the Michigan counties of Lenawee, Monroe, Washtenaw,...

 before leaving downtown. The second crossing is in Palmyra northwest of Blissfield.

US 223 returns to a due west track as it crosses a branch of 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...

, and the roadway approaches the outskirts of Adrian
Adrian, Michigan
As of the 2010 census Adrian had a population of 21,133. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 84.1% white, 4.4% black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 5.9% from some other race and 4.0% from two or more races...

. The highway runs along the southern city limits for Adrian as it meets M-52
M-52 (Michigan highway)
M-52 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. The southern terminus is on the Ohio border, where it continues as State Route 109 . The highway passes through communities like Adrian, where it intersects US Highway 223 , Chelsea and Webberville along its course...

. The only business loop for US 223 runs north of this intersection with M-52 into downtown Adrian while US 223 continues through this secondary business corridor south and west of town. US 223 crosses Beaver Creek and then intersects M-34
M-34 (Michigan highway)
M-34 is an east–west state trunkline highway in the southeastern region of the US state of Michigan. It has a western terminus near Osseo on M-99 and runs through forest and farm lands to its eastern terminus at Business US Highway 223 and M-52 in Adrian...

 on the western city line in a residential section of Adrian. As US 223 crosses fully into the city of Adrian, it continues northwesterly, then turns due west at the intersection were it meets its business loop's western terminus. Outside of town, the highway cross through more farmland continuing to northwestern Lenawee County.

US 223 passes out of flat farmlands into the Irish Hills
Irish Hills
The Irish Hills is an area of land located roughly in southeastern Jackson County and northwest Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its name comes from the Irish immigrants who settled there from 1830-1850...

 region as the highway runs northeast of Manitou Beach as the roadway rounds the northern shore of Devils Lake. The Irish Hills region has gently rolling hills that transition to forests from farms. Southeast of Somerset US 223 meets US 127
U.S. Route 127 in Michigan
US Highway 127 is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that runs for , entering from Ohio south of Hudson and ending at a partial interchange with...

. Signage for US 223 ends at US 127, but according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
AASHTO, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols and guidelines which are used in highway design and construction throughout the United States...

, the body responsible for US Highway number assignments, US 223 continues along US 127 less than a mile to end at US 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...

. The entire highway in both Ohio and Michigan is 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...

, a system of highways important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.

History

As early as 1912, the Ohio section of what is now US 223 was shown on maps as SR 54, however the road was not signed with the number at the time. The Michigan section carried two numbers when the signs were erected by July 1, 1919. The segment from Somerset to Adrian was M-80, and the remainder in Michigan was M-34. Ohio signed its highways, including SR 54, by July 1923.

When the United States Numbered Highway System debuted on November 11, 1926, these highways were all used as part of the southern end of US 127
U.S. Route 127
U.S. Route 127 is a long north–south United States highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 near Grayling, Michigan...

, which started in Lansing, Michigan
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...

 and ended in Toledo at the time. In 1930, US 127 south of Somerset was rerouted to replace M-14 to the state line and extended to end in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

. The section of US 127 between Somerset and Toledo was then renumbered US 223, making the highway a spur
Spur route
A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important route . A bypass or beltway is never considered a true spur route as it typically reconnects with the major road...

 of US 23.

The routing of US 223 was changed through Adrian in 1935, shifting the highway along different streets through town. Another change in 1942 through Adrian led to the creation of the first business loop through the city. This version of the business loop lasted until the main highway was moved a second time in 1956. With this subsequent move, the business loop designation was shifted to its current location.
Michigan first started converting US 23 into a freeway in 1957. Several years later, the state first proposed a realignment of US 223 in 1965. This change would reroute the highway to replace M-151
M-151 (Michigan highway)
M-151 was a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. Two routes carried this designation. The first was a connector route from US 112 to Niles along the routing of today's US 12. The second traveled from US 223 to US 25 in southern Monroe County....

 in southern Monroe County, and use the US 23 freeway to connect to Sylvania, Ohio. This change was made in 1977 when Michigan shifted its segment of US 223 over M-151 as previously proposed. Instead of running south through Ottawa Lake, US 223 continued east to the US 23 freeway and south into Ohio.

The last major change occurred when ODOT truncated US 223 at exit 234. The city of Toledo and the state proposed the change in late 1985 to simplify travel in the area. The section of US 223 from Sylvania into downtown Toledo was used for an extension of SR 51 when the change was made between 1985 and 1987. A local regional planning group in Michigan proposed upgrading the section of US 223 through Lenawee County in 1990, citing increased congestion and accidents in the previous five years. The commission also supported upgrades to the highway because it was the main route between 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...

 and Toledo areas. Subsequent upgrades during 2000 added passing lanes near Palmyra and 6.6 miles (10.6 km) of roads were resurfaced.

Future

The original defined alignment of I-73 would have run along I-75
Interstate 75 in Michigan
Interstate 75 is a part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from Miami, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I-75 enters the state from Ohio in the south, just to the north of Toledo. It runs generally north through Detroit, Pontiac and Bay City, crossing the...

 to Detroit. However, Congress amended that definition in 1995 to have a branch along the US 223 corridor to south of Jackson and the US 127 corridor north to I-75 near Grayling
Grayling, Michigan
Grayling is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Crawford County. The population was 1,952 at the 2000 census. Grayling takes its name from the Grayling fish that was once prevalent in its lakes and streams....

. From Grayling it would use I-75 to Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...

. Except south of Jackson, where the existing highways are two-lane roads and a section of road north of Lansing where the freeway reverts to a divided highway, this corridor is mostly a rural four-lane freeway. MDOT included using the US 223 corridor as one of its three options to build I-73 in 2000. The others included using the US 127 corridor all the way into Ohio with a connection to the Ohio Turnpike
Ohio Turnpike
The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a -long, limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor to Chicago and Pittsburgh...

 or using US 127 south and a new freeway connection to US 223 at Adrian. MDOT abandoned further study of I-73 after June 12, 2001, diverting remaining funding to safety improvement projects along the corridor. The department stated there was a "lack of need" for sections of the proposed freeway, and the project website was closed down in 2002. According to press reports in 2011, a group advocating on behalf of the freeway is working to revive the I-73 project in Michigan. According to an MDOT spokesman, "to my knowledge, we’re not taking that issue up again." The Lenawee County Road Commission is not interested in the freeway, and according to the president of the Adrian Area Chamber of Commerce, "there seems to be little chance of having an I-73 link between Toledo and Jackson built in the foreseeable future."

Major intersections

Business loop

U.S. Highway 223 Business Route (BUS US 223) is a business route running through downtown Adrian
Adrian, Michigan
As of the 2010 census Adrian had a population of 21,133. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 84.1% white, 4.4% black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 5.9% from some other race and 4.0% from two or more races...

, Michigan. It is also currently the highest numbered and signed business routing in the state of Michigan. Both Business Spur I-375 (BS I-375) and Capitol Loop currently exist but BS I-375 is not signed and the Capitol Loop, while inventoried as Connector 496 does not use that number on signs.

The current routing of BUS US 223 marks the second time the designation has been used in the Adrian area. The first was created in 1942 when the first bypass of Adrian was constructed. This bypass was built along Cadmus Road at Treat Highway west to M-52
M-52 (Michigan highway)
M-52 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. The southern terminus is on the Ohio border, where it continues as State Route 109 . The highway passes through communities like Adrian, where it intersects US Highway 223 , Chelsea and Webberville along its course...

 (Adrian Highway). US 223 then ran along M-52 to connect with the previous routing. BUS US 223 was designated along Church, Center, Beecher and Treat streets, the former routing of US 223 through downtown. This incarnation of BUS US 223 would survive until March 26, 1956 when another new bypass of Adrian was built. The first BUS US 223 was deleted to allow the designation to be used on the routing of the first US 223 bypass. This first bypass became the current alignment of BUS US 223.

In the current routing, BUS US 223 follows M-52 (Adrian Highway / Main Street) and a former route of US 223 through downtown. The southern terminus is at US 223 at an intersection with M-52 near downtown Adrian. The business loop follows M-52 north into downtown on Main Street. At Church Street, the BUS US 223 turns northwest and follows that street to Maumee Street. The loop follows Maumee Street west out of the center of town back to the main highway. The northern terminus of BUS US 223 is an intersection with US 223 northwest of downtown Adrian.

Major intersections

External links

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