M-71 (Michigan highway)

M-71
M-71 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length:	10.530 mi (16.946 km)
Existed:	c. July 1, 1919 – present
Major junctions
West end:	M-21 at Owosso
East end:	I-69 near Durand
Location
Counties:	Shiawassee
Highway system
Michigan State Trunkline Highway System Interstate US State Byways ← M-70 M-72 →

M-71 is a state trunkline highway in the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. It serves as a connector between M-21 in Owosso to Interstate 69 (I-69) near Durand. The highway runs along a rail line in a northwest-to-southeast direction in rural Shiawassee County connecting a few small towns along its path.

The highway dates back to the start of the state highway system in 1919. There were some changes made to the routing in the 1930s which increased its length. Two adjacent highways have been rerouted which affected the locations of M-71's termini. The last such change was made in the 1960s when the M-78 freeway (now I-69) was completed near Durand.

M-71 starts in downtown Owosso at the corner of Main Street (M-21) and Water Street. It follows Water Street southeasterly until it reaches Washington Street. The highway follows Washington Street south and over the Shiawassee River and turns southeasterly on Corunna Avenue. M-71 runs parallel to, and in between, the river and a branch line of the Canadian National Railway. Corunna Avenue continues this way through the community of Middletown and into Corunna. M-71 turns south through downtown Corunna on Shiawassee Street to McNeil Street. It is along this stretch of the highway that the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) measured the highest traffic volumes for M-71. In their 2009 survey, MDOT calculated that 10,577 vehicles used this section of roadway in a measurement called average annual daily traffic (AADT). This value is a count for the average traffic in a day for any average day of the year.