H-63 (Michigan county highway)

H-63 is a county-designated highway (CDH) in the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The highway parallels the Interstate 75 (I-75) corridor between St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie. The road is called Mackinac Trail after the Upper Peninsula branch of an Indian trail used before European settlers reached the area. Originally, the roadway was built as a section of US Highway 2 (US 2) before being added to the CDH system in the 1970s.

H-63
Mackinac Trail
H-63 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MCRC and CCRC
Length44.804 mi[1] (72.105 km)
Existedc. October 5, 1970[2]–present
Major junctions
South end I-75 / BL I-75 near St. Ignace
 
North end BS I-75 in Sault Ste. Marie
Location
CountiesMackinac, Chippewa
Highway system
County-Designated Highways
← H-60→ A-2

H-63 serves as a two-lane alternative to the I-75 freeway across the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula. Between the northern side of St. Ignace, the roadway has connections to two state highways before running concurrently with M-48 near Rudyard. H-63 ends on the south side of Sault Ste. Marie.

Route description

H-63 starts a winding trail at Business Loop I-75 (BL I-75) north of St. Ignace in rural Mackinac County. From there, the highway heads northward towards the Kewadin Casino. The road then passes within viewing distance of I-75 past the Horseshoe Bay Wilderness. As it continues, H-63 has a connection to the southern terminus of M-123 with access to I-75 via a connecting road to M-123. After crossing to the west side of I-75, H-63 has access to I-75 via a connecting road to the western terminus of M-134. The CDH runs to the north and into Chippewa County. As it does so, H-63 turns away from I-75 as the latter curves northeastward. South of Rudyard and into center of the community, H-63 runs concurrently with M-48 for about three miles (4.8 km).[3][4]

From Rudyard northward, H-63 turns northeasterly toward, and runs parallel to, I-75. At Kinross, there is an interchange between I-75 and M-80; H-63 has a brief concurrency with M-80 so that the latter can connect to all of the ramps in the interchange. The trail then crosses to the eastern side of I-75. Near Dafter, the CDH intersects M-28. Along this section, H-63 is roughly a half mile (0.8 km) away from the I-75 freeway at any given point as it continues northward to the Sault Ste. Marie area. H-63 terminates at its intersection with Business Spur I-75 (BS I-75) on the south side of the city.[3][4]

History

The first transportation route in the area was the Mackinac Trail, used by Native Americans before the Europeans arrived in the area; the trail in the area was the Upper Peninsula branch of a longer route that also connected the modern-day Saginaw with Mackinaw City and the Straits of Mackinac.[5] Until 1933, no roadway was built along the path of the Indian trail. After that year, US 2 was rerouted between St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie using the modern routing of H-63.[6][7] This placed the Mackinac Trail on the state trunkline highway system for the first time. In 1962 and 1963, the state transferred the highway to county control when US 2 was rerouted to follow the completed I-75 freeway.[8][9][10] With the transfer to local control, Mackinac Trail became a county road. Later, it was given the H-63 designation after October 5, 1970 as part of the County-Designated Highway System.[2] The designation on the 1971 state map follows the routing used today.[11]

Major intersections
CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
MackinacSt. Ignace Township0.0000.000 BL I-75 / LHCT to I-75 – St. Ignace, Sault Ste. Marie
4.6747.522 To M-123 north – Trout Lake
12.01519.336 To M-134 east / LHCT east – Cedarville
ChippewaRudyard Township22.29135.874 M-48 east – PickfordSouthern end of M-48 concurrency
Rudyard24.96440.176 M-48 westNorthern end of M-48 concurrency; access to I-75
24.82939.958 H-40 westEastern terminus of H-40
Kinross29.903–
30.161		48.124–
48.539		 I-75 – St. Ignace, Sault Ste. Marie
M-80 east – Kinross		Short concurrency at the western terminus of M-80 so the latter can connect to all of the ramps in the I-75 exit 378 interchange
Dafter Township38.38961.781 M-28 – Munising, Marquette
Sault Ste. Marie44.80472.105 BS I-75 / LHCT – Sault Ste. Marie
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also
  •  Michigan Highways portal

References
  1. Michigan Department of Transportation & Michigan Center for Shared Solutions and Technology Partnerships (2009). MDOT Physical Reference Finder Application (Map). Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  2. "County Primary Road Marking System Okayed". The Holland Evening Sentinel. October 5, 1970. p. 6. ISSN 1050-4044. OCLC 13440201. Retrieved May 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Michigan Department of Transportation (2010). Uniquely Michigan: Official Department of Transportation Map (Map). c. 1:975,000. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. §§ B11–D10. OCLC 42778335, 639960603.
  4. Google (September 21, 2010). "Overview Map of H-63" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  5. Mason, Philip P. (1959). Michigan Highways from Indian Trails to Expressways. Ann Arbor, MI: Braun-Brumfield. p. 18. OCLC 23314983.
  6. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (May 1, 1933). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:840,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ B11–D10. OCLC 12701053. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2016 – via Archives of Michigan.
  7. Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (September 1, 1933). Official Michigan Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:840,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ B11–D10. OCLC 12701053.
  8. Michigan State Highway Department (1962). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ B11–D10. OCLC 12701120, 173191490. Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  9. Michigan State Highway Department (1963). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ B11–D10. OCLC 12701120. Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  10. Michigan State Highway Department (1964). Official Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:918,720]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. §§ B11–D10. OCLC 12701120, 81213707. Retrieved October 17, 2019 – via Michigan History Center.
  11. Michigan Department of State Highways (1971). Michigan, Great Lake State: Official Highway Map (Map). c. 1:918,720. Lansing: Michigan Department of State Highways. §§ E10–E11. OCLC 12701120, 77960415.

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