Interstate 196

Interstate 196
I-196 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-96
Maintained by MDOT
Length:	80.594 mi (129.703 km)
Existed:	1963 – present
Tourist routes:	Lake Michigan Circle Tour West Michigan Pike Pure Michigan Byway
Major junctions
South end:	I-94 / US 31 near Benton Harbor
	US 31 near Holland M-6 near Hudsonville US 131 in Grand Rapids
East end:	I-96 / M-37 near Grand Rapids
Location
Counties:	Berrien, Van Buren, Allegan, Ottawa, Kent
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Michigan State Trunkline Highway System Interstate US State Byways ← M-195 M-196 →

US 31 near Holland
M-6 near Hudsonville

Interstate 196 (I-196) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs for 80.594 miles (129.703 km) in the US state of Michigan. It is a state trunkline highway that links Benton Harbor, South Haven, Holland, and Grand Rapids together. In Kent, Ottawa, and Allegan counties, I-196 is known as the Gerald R. Ford Freeway, or simply the Ford Freeway, after the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford, who was raised in Grand Rapids and served Michigan in the House of Representatives. This name generally refers only to the section between Holland and Grand Rapids. I-196 changes direction; it is signed as a north–south highway from its southern terminus to the junction with US Highway 31 (US 31) just south of Holland, and as an east–west trunkline from this point to its eastern terminus at an interchange with I-96, its parent highway. There are currently three business routes related to the main freeway. There are two business loops (BL I-196) and one business spur (BS I-196) that serve South Haven, Holland and the Grand Rapids areas. Another business spur for Muskegon had been designated relative to the I-196 number.