Original Plans for Davidson East of I-75

[MicrosoftFan]

It's obvious that the Davidson would have run West down Davidson ave to the massive interchange at I-96, but I was thinking of how the Davidson would run from Conant to.... wherever where it was supposed to go. I've read down McNichols to gratiot, down M-53, connecting to Mound Rd, down Conant to a mixing bowl at City Airport, and more. So many snippets of route information I wanted to see if anyone can tell me the full original route from Davidson to wherever. Thanks.

[Funaho]

I'm pretty sure it was originally going to terminate at the never-built Mound Rd. Expressway

[MicrosoftFan]

I'm pretty sure it was originally going to terminate at the never-built Mound Rd. Expressway

Yes, although I think it might've been planned to stretch to I-94.

[EastsideAl]

There were several different proposed plans for the final route of the Davison freeway over the years. But the one thing that was consistent in all of the later plans was that it was going to connect to the planned Mound Rd. expressway.

When the Chrysler [[I-75) was extended north of the Ford [[I-94) in the late '60's the Davison freeway was also extended out from where it previously ended just east of Oakland to its present stub-end near Conant, in preparation for its eventual [[but never to come) extension further east. For a long time there was also a plan to extend the Davison past Mound, across Six Mile, and down Connor to the Ford Fwy. [[I-94), which is why the Connor - Ford interchange seems so overbuilt.

[EastsideAl]

There have been a few threads around here over the years on Detroit freeway planning and building. Here are a couple that I could find right away:

http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messa...tml?1160845287

http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messa...tml?1193091931

[dtowncitylover]

Davison Freeway. Davison Avenue. Davison. D-A-V-I-S-O-N.

[professorscott]

Referring to the Davison Freeway and the unbuilt Mound Road Freeway as two separate things is a little misleading. The overall plan was for effectively a single freeway that would start at the I-96/Davison interchange on the west side, proceed as an expressway along the current alignment of Davison Avenue, then turn north along the current Mound Road alignment [[again, as an expressway) to the existing Mound/696 interchange. Presumably there would have been exits for people who wanted to proceed further east on Davison Avenue or south on Mound Road. I never saw any plan taking the Davison Freeway east past Mound, as a freeway.

Mayor Young correctly saw one major effect of this as the utter destruction of the Davison business strip, which was then still pretty healthy, and was instrumental in killing it.

[EastsideAl]

Mayor Young correctly saw one major effect of this as the utter destruction of the Davison business strip, which was then still pretty healthy, and was instrumental in killing it.

Why do you think Mayor Young wanted to kill businesses on Davison? Or that Mayor Young had any significant hand in that plan at all, since the plans to extend the Davison freeway were in motion well before he was mayor? In fact, it was Young who stopped demolition for future freeway plans in Detroit in the mid-'70s.

[MicrosoftFan]

Referring to the Davison Freeway and the unbuilt Mound Road Freeway as two separate things is a little misleading. The overall plan was for effectively a single freeway that would start at the I-96/Davison interchange on the west side, proceed as an expressway along the current alignment of Davison Avenue, then turn north along the current Mound Road alignment [[again, as an expressway) to the existing Mound/696 interchange. Presumably there would have been exits for people who wanted to proceed further east on Davison Avenue or south on Mound Road. I never saw any plan taking the Davison Freeway east past Mound, as a freeway.

Mayor Young correctly saw one major effect of this as the utter destruction of the Davison business strip, which was then still pretty healthy, and was instrumental in killing it.

I still don't know why they didn't just build Mound as an expressway. It'd be met with little community opposition becuase no new land would be cleared- Mound is already like a half a mile wide.

[EastsideAl]

I never saw any plan taking the Davison Freeway east past Mound, as a freeway.

Actually, the plan to build out the Davison Freeway to the east and connect it to the Ford [["Crosstown") Freeway shows up in the early freeway plan discussed in the first thread I linked to above,



This idea remained in the plans for quite some time and shows up in several subsequent planning documents. As late as 1965 the Wayne County Road Commission was issuing planning reports about the proposed "Davison-McNichols-Connor Freeway" [[which was intended to run Davison to Mcnichols to Connor to the Ford Fwy.). But by 1975, when the whole plan was finally put on hold, the plan had been reduced to just extending the Davison so that it would flow right into the long-proposed Mound Rd. freeway.

[iheartthed]

Actually, the plan to build out the Davison Freeway to the east and connect it to the Ford [["Crosstown") Freeway shows up in the early freeway plan discussed in the first thread I linked to above,

That seems like a ridiculous freeway plan even for the 1940s.

[MicrosoftFan]

You don't hear much about West Side Davidson Freeway opposition. Why did they not build Mound Expy. Anyway?

[dtowncitylover]

D-a-v-i-s-o-n.

[1953]

It would be personally pretty convenient for me if they would extend the Davison to I-94 and build the Mound Round Expressway. Who do I call to get this plan put into action?

Also, can they add an off-ramp at Jos. Campau from the Davison? Why isn't there one there anyway?

1953

[downtownguy]

D-a-v-i-s-o-n.

l-o-l .

[MicrosoftFan]

D-a-v-i-s-o-n.

And now I'm getting it. And I feel stupid.

[MicrosoftFan]

It would be personally pretty convenient for me if they would extend the Davison to I-94 and build the Mound Round Expressway. Who do I call to get this plan put into action?

Also, can they add an off-ramp at Jos. Campau from the Davison? Why isn't there one there anyway?

1953

It would be convenient. But why invest precious highway dollars in a brown, dying city like Detroit when we can make M-59 10 lanes wide for us white people? </sarcasm>

On an unrelated note, I think that the Jefferson Ave Bridge not being fixed is a disgrace. If a bridge went out in Troy, Canton, or Novi I could guarantee it would be fixed by now. Poor Detroit and River Rouge.

And I do think that a Jos. Campau ramp would be good on the DAVISON.

[dtowncitylover]

And now I'm getting it. And I feel stupid.

Don't feel stupid, we all have those times when we pronounce a word one way and it's actually another or writing down a word you usually say and realizing that's not how it's spelled.

[MicrosoftFan]

Don't feel stupid, we all have those times when we pronounce a word one way and it's actually another or writing down a word you usually say and realizing that's not how it's spelled.

Model of Niceness

[Don K]

Don't feel stupid, we all have those times when we pronounce a word one way and it's actually another or writing down a word you usually say and realizing that's not how it's spelled.

How many area residents pronounce Lahser Road as though it's spelled Lasher? It's driven me up the wall ever since I moved here.

[Don K]

That seems like a ridiculous freeway plan even for the 1940s.

Yep, that would have been absolutely insane. But I've seen a similar map of Philadelphia, so the insanity of the time wasn't confined to Detroit.