Van Atta Connector

[Sandhouse]

The Van Atta Connector was part of an early plan for a complete freeway belt around Lansing. It would have carried traffic between Detroit and I-96 and US-127 north of Lansing, by way of an interchange with I-69. This was dropped from further consideration in the mid-1970's when it was realized that not that many people were itching to drive from Howell to Mount Pleasant, and those that were can be easily handled by US-127 through Lansing.

This was a much smaller plan than Michigan's other unbuilt freeway, which would have twinned I-75 between Oakland County and Midland. Get out your state map and draw a line between the north end of I-275, through Walled Lake and Commerce and White Lake Townships, to I-75 east of Holly, and then north around the east side of Flint and Burton, then curving west to join I-475 at Mt. Morris, then continuing west through Montrose and connecting with M-47 west of Saginaw. This enormous scheme was the result of extrapolating early-1960's traffic growth rates indefinitely into the future. This was abandoned with the end of the M-275 project around 1977, but it accounts for the east-west segment of I-475 north of Flint and the stub freeway on M-47, and the wide spot in the median of I-75 immediately east of Davisburg, where the interchange would have been.

[pumphandle]

Thanks to whoever added a citation and merged this in with the main I-96. I knew somebody on here would have solid information about the "unbuilt Okemos freeway" I had heard anecdotally about, and you did not disappoint.

The stuff about the canceled Detroit-area projects is interesting too.

[Burnsie]

The "spread median" on I-96 between Dobie Rd. and Meridian Rd. was to be the southern interchange for the abandoned Van Atta Connector. Here's a right-of-way map, showing where the ramps would be as well as when the land was acquired and ultimately sold off.

http://mdotcf.state.mi.us/public/ROW...m/sheet062.pdf

Another spread median, on I-75 between Flushing Rd. and Pasadena Ave., was to be the northern interchange for I-475 before plans changed.

http://mdotcf.state.mi.us/public/ROW...E/sheet015.pdf

The M-DOT ROW maps contain a wealth of info about the history of road development in Michigan.

[Scottathew]

The "spread median" on I-96 between Dobie Rd. and Meridian Rd. was to be the southern interchange for the abandoned Van Atta Connector. Here's a right-of-way map, showing where the ramps would be as well as when the land was acquired and ultimately sold off.

http://mdotcf.state.mi.us/public/ROW...m/sheet062.pdf

Another spread median, on I-75 between Flushing Rd. and Pasadena Ave., was to be the northern interchange for I-475 before plans changed.

http://mdotcf.state.mi.us/public/ROW...E/sheet015.pdf

The M-DOT ROW maps contain a wealth of info about the history of road development in Michigan.

This post was ridiculously fascinating. THANK YOU!