U.S. Route 12

U.S. Route 12, or US 12, is an east-west United States highway running from downtown Detroit almost 2500 miles (4000 km) to Grays Harbor on the Pacific Ocean in the northwest corner of the state of Washington. As a throughfare, it has mostly been supplanted by I-94 and I-90, but remains an important road for local travel.

Termini

The highway's eastern terminus is in downtown Detroit at the corner of Michigan and Cass. Its western terminus is in Aberdeen, Washington at an intersection with U.S. Route 101.

Since the highway's creation in 1926, the eastern terminus has always remained within a few blocks of this point.

1926: Cadillac Square at the convergence with US-10, US-16, US-25, and US-112. US-12 goes along Grand River.
1956: US-12 was rerouted along the Lodge Freeway ending on Jefferson; the terminus moved four blocks southeast to the corner of Woodward Avenue (US-10) and Jefferson Avenue.
1962: US-112 is decomissioned and its entire old route becomes US-12. US-12 now runs along Michigan avenue and again ends at Cadillac square.
1970: US-10 is rerouted from Woodward to the Lodge Freeway and Jefferson. At this time US-12 apparently is extended along Woodward to again terminate with US-10 at Woodward and Jefferson, though with the designations flip-flopped from their 1956 routing.
2001: The City of Detroit and the Michigan Department of Transportation in a series of jurisdictional transfers moves the terminus back four blocks to again be at Cadillac Square.
2005: In another transfer, the US-12 terminus is moved back another four blocks to end at Cass Avenue.

The western terminus was gradually extended westward until it met up with the Pacific Ocean.

1926: The original ending was at Miles City, Montana.
1939: AASHTO approved a request to extend US-12 to Yellowstone National Park.
1959: Extended to Missoula, Montana.
1962: Extended to Lewiston, Idaho.
1967: Extended to Aberdeen, Washington to its present terminus at US-101.

States traversed

The highway passes through the following states:

Washington

The western terminus of U.S. 12 is located in Aberdeen, Washington. A large portion of old two-lane U.S. 12 was replaced by Interstate 82 and Interstate 182 between Yakima, Washington and Pasco, Washington, though the freeways are still cosigned with the U.S. 12 designation. The old two-lane highway now bears the name "Wine Country Road". The highway loosely follows the eastbound leg of the Lewis and Clark Expedition between Wallula, Washington and Clarkston, Washington, thus being marked as part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. The east end of the highway in the state is at Clarkston, Washington, where the highway crosses the Snake River into Idaho.

Idaho

U.S. 12 follows the Clearwater River from Lewiston, Idaho to Orofino, Idaho, continuing up the middle fork of that river and up the Lochsa River to Lolo Pass at the Idaho/Montana border. This portion of the highway is also designated as part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Most of the highway running though the state is within the Clearwater National Forest.

Montana

North Dakota

U.S. 12 is a two-lane highway that runs 87.47 miles (140.8 km) through Adams, Bowman, and Slope counties in southwest North Dakota. The speed limit is 65 miles per hour on rural segments, with slower posted speeds within the cities of Marmarth, Rhame, Bowman, Scranton, and Hettinger. U.S. 12 meets with U.S. 85 in Bowman; the routes are multiplexed for a short distance through the city.

South Dakota

Minnesota

Wisconsin

From Elkhorn, Wisconsin to near the Illinois/Wisconsin state line, U.S. Route 12 is a freeway with a 65 m.p.h speed limit. As U.S. 12 nears Madison, Wisconsin, it merges with U.S. 14, U.S. 151 and U.S. 18 to form the West Beltline Highway, a four to six-lane freeway that encircles the south and west portions of the city, with a speed limit of 55 m.p.h.

Illinois

In Illinois, U.S. Route 12 is an arterial surface road that runs from Richmond southeast to Des Plaines. It then turns due south through the Chicagoland metropolitan area, joining with U.S. Route 45. U.S. Route 20 joins U.S. 12/45 in Stone Park. In Hickory Hills, U.S. 45 continues south, while U.S. 12/20 runs due east in the southwest suburbs. From Hickory Hills, U.S. 12/20 runs east to the Lake Michigan lakefront, and then joins with U.S. Route 41 as all three routes travel southeast into the state of Indiana.

Indiana

In Indiana, U.S. Route 12 is a historically significant route the winds along the southern coast of Lake Michigan. It runs from an interchange with the Indiana Toll Road, multiplexed with U.S. Routes 20 and 41 in Whiting to Michiana Shores at the Michigan state line. A large portion of this segment is known as the Dunes Highway.

Michigan

U.S. 12 is now the only U.S. highway route still serving downtown Detroit, whose street grid was laid by Augustus Woodward to have a five-way intersection of the roads that would become U.S. 12, U.S. 10, U.S. 16, U.S. 112, and U.S. 25. US-24 still travels through Detroit from Puritan to 8 Mile Road on the far-west-side.

Major cities

History

Former ferry crossing

In 1925, US-12 in Michigan was originally proposed to run from Detroit to Ludington, Michigan, and across Lake Michigan via car ferry to Manitowoc, Wisconsin and continue into Wisconsin on what later became US-10 in those two states. Also, US-12 originally went into Wyoming before being rerouted into Montana, and was proposed to go into Oregon, but did not.

Old Route 12 in Michigan

Old U.S. 12 in Michigan runs from downtown Detroit to Chicago. It was replaced by Interstate 94 in 1962, and the state of Michigan re-routed the U.S. 12 designation to the former route of U.S. Highway 112.

It was an old highway that ran through the middle of the major towns and cities of Michigan between Detroit and Chicago. In most cases the road is still there, and is named either Michigan Avenue, Old U.S. 12 or the Red Arrow Highway, named after a World War I army division. It is still possible to drive the highway from downtown Detroit all the way to The Magnificent Mile in Chicago, with only a few places in which one is required to navigate around the interstate highway. The major break in Old U.S. 12 is in the middle of Michigan half way between the village of Parma and the city of Albion. It is at this point that I-94 cuts south to some degree and bisects the old highway, forcing a motorist to navigate north on smaller roads.

Prior to 1956, the Detroit-Ann Arbor segment of U.S. 12 was routed directly through Ann Arbor, through Plymouth Township, Livonia, and Redford Township, into Detroit, along the Plymouth-Ann Arbor Road corridor to Plymouth Road's eastern terminus at U.S. 16, Grand River Avenue. U.S. 12 continued on Grand River Avenue, co-signed with U.S. 16, into downtown Detroit. Except for the co-signed Grand River Avenue segment, this route was designated as M-14 when U.S. 12 was rerouted to the Detroit Industrial and Willow Run Expressways, which became I-94 in 1962.

The highway is considered an important historic road like Route 66. Some of it had been the original Territorial Road of Michigan laid out in the early 1800s.

Michigan cities on old route

Listed east to west:

For a detailed discussion of the current U.S. 12 in Michigan, see the link for the old U.S. Highway 112, which received the designation U.S. 12 in the early 1960s.

Related US Routes

U.S. Highway 112 (decommissioned)
U.S. Highway 212
U.S. Highway 312 (decommissioned)
U.S. Highway 412 (not a "child" of US 12)

Notes

US 12 is referred to as Rand Road in Chicago's northwest suburbs. Rand is an original name for the area around Des Plaines, Illinois, the location where the road resumes its westerly direction.

References

External links