(abbreviated '''I-196''') is a long
Freeway Spur route in the
U.S. State of
Michigan linking
Grand Rapids ,
Holland ,
South Haven , and
Benton Harbor .
I-196 changes direction although it is a through route. It is a north-south route from its southern terminus at exit 34 off
Interstate 94 near Benton Harbor to the junction with
U.S. Highway 31 just south of Holland. It is an east-west route from this point to its eastern terminus at the junction with
Interstate 96 /
Michigan State Highway 37 on the east side of Grand Rapids. The total length is 80.6 miles. It may be proportionally the longest spur Interstate in proportion to its 'parent', Interstate 96, in the entire
Interstate Highway System .
At first, Interstate 96 was planned to run from
Detroit to
Lansing to Grand Rapids to Benton Harbor, and I-196 was to be a spur route from Grand Rapids to
Muskegon . However, I-96 from Detroit to Grand Rapids and I-196 from Grand Rapids to Muskegon was completed a few years before the segment from Grand Rapids to Benton Harbor. Thus it appeared as if I-196 were simply a continuation of I-96. Before the Grand Rapids-Benton Harbor segment was completed, the Michigan Department of Transportation petitioned federal highway officials to switch the interstate designations west of Grand Rapids. Permission for this switch was granted in 1963.
I-196 is known as the , or simply the '''Ford Freeway''', after the 38th
President Of The United States , whose political career began in Grand Rapids. This name generally refers only to the section between Holland and Grand Rapids.
There are two business loops and one business spur along I-196:
- Business Loop in South Haven : From Exit 18 to Exit 20.
- Business Loop in Holland - Zeeland : From Exit 44 To Exit 55. This route is no longer signed west of US-31 as the City of Holland wanted local control of the roads the route follows. Signs remain east of US-31 for the five miles to Exit 55 in Zeeland.
- Business Spur in Exit 83B. Eastbound, this route is on Chicago Drive through Wyoming and Grandville Ave. to Franklin Ave. in Grand Rapids, where it ends at US-131.
Bolded cities are officially-designated
Control Cities for signs.
