U.S. Route 112
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| U.S. Route 112 |
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| Length: | 207 mi[1] (333 km) | ||||||||
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| Existed: | 1926[1] – 1962 | ||||||||
| West end: |  US 12 in New Buffalo |
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| Major junctions: |
 I-94 in New Buffalo US 31 in Niles US 131 in White Pigeon I-69 in Coldwater US 127 in Somerset Center US 23 in Saline I-94 in Ypsilanti |
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| East end: | US 12 in Ypsilanti |
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U.S. Route 112 (US 112) was a largely east-west highway route across the southern portion of the U.S. state of Michigan between New Buffalo and Ypsilanti. At each end, the route terminated at the original U.S. Route 12.
As part of the shortest route between Detroit and Chicago, it was considered a likely corridor for an expressway along its route before the Indiana Toll Road and Interstate 94 made such a highway largely unnecessary.[2]
Part of old US 112 was the Old Sauk Trail, an Indian trail.
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[edit] Route description
All of US 112, except for a bypass of Niles, was an undivided surface road. It passes through terrain full of lakes suitable for recreational use.
US 112 was a heavily-traveled alternative to the more urban US 12 in the pre-Interstate era between Detroit and Chicago. West of Sturgis, US 112 (now US 12) is very lightly traveled because of the nearby Indiana Toll Road. West of Coldwater, the routing of US 112 was generally flat but curvy. East of Coldwater, US 112 passed through the scenic Irish Hills.
It intersected Interstate 94 east of New Buffalo; U.S. Route 31 west of Niles, U.S. Route 131 in White Pigeon; Interstate 69 just east of Coldwater; U.S. Route 127 near Somerset Center, U.S. Route 23 east of Saline; and Interstate 94 west of Ypsilanti.
[edit] History
In 1925, US 112 was originally proposed to run from Oshkosh to Fremont, Wisconsin on what later became U.S. Route 110.[3]
In 1926, between Edwardsburg and Adamsville, it made a sharp turn to the southwest along what was first US 112S and later until 2002 M-205 in Michigan, then Indiana's State Road 19 and former State Road 112 to connect to US 20 west of Elkhart, Indiana.
In 1961, Michigan completed I-94 between New Buffalo and Ypsilanti along the corridor of the old, more northerly and urban, US 12 to the north and removed signs for US 12 parallel to and along the freeway. Michigan redesignated the intrastate US 112 as US 12, which has been little altered since 1961 except to give access to new freeways.
Michigan designated this highway the Pulaski Memorial Highway in honor of the Polish Count Kazimierz Pułaski, a hero of the American War of Independence.[4]
[edit] Suffixed routes
U.S. Route 112S or US 112S was a spur route of US 112 in the 1930s. Originally, it had been part of US 112 before the latter route was relocated to go through Michigan's southwestern most counties. When US 112 was relocated to New Buffalo, the former US 112 going into Indiana became US 112S. This would continue only a couple of years or so, when the Michigan portion of US 112S would become M-205. In December 2003, the M-205 designation was removed, and today it is a county road.
[edit] See also
- M-112 (Michigan highway), a loop route in the Metro Detroit area and the initial designation for the Willow Run Expressway and Detroit Industrial Freeway
[edit] References
- ^ a b US Highways From US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz.
- ^ Michigan Highways: Highways 10 through 19 (US-12 entry)
- ^ 1925 US Highway Plan, from US Highways From US 1 to US 830
- ^ Michigan Department of Transportation: All Memorial Highways
