Michigan Heritage Route
| Pure Michigan Byways | |
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Highway marker for Pure Michigan Byways
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Map of the Pure Michigan Byways
Historic Recreational Scenic |
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| System information | |
| Maintained by MDOT | |
| Length: | 980.877 mi (1,578.569 km) |
| Formed: | June 22, 1993 |
| Highway names | |
| Interstates: | Interstate nn (I-nn) |
| US Highways: | US Highway nn (US nn) |
| State: | M-nn |
| System links | |
A Pure Michigan Byway is the designation for a segment of the State Trunkline Highway System in the US state of Michigan that is a "scenic, recreational, or historic route that is representative of Michigan's natural and cultural heritage." The designation was created with the name Michigan Heritage Route by the state legislature on June 22, 1993, and since then five historic, seven recreational and six scenic byways have been designated by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and another two have been proposed. These byways have been designated in both the Upper and Lower peninsulas (UP, LP) of the state. The current name was adopted on December 30, 2014, and it references the Pure Michigan tourism marketing campaign.
To be listed as a Pure Michigan Byway, a road must be a state trunkline highway, and it must be nominated through a two-stage process. Candidates are evaluated based on a set of objective criteria by MDOT in a process that can take several years to complete. The criteria include a highway's relationship to sites or districts on the National Register of Historical Places, to recreational areas, or to scenic landscapes. Each candidate must be supported by local stakeholders, including the appropriate local units of government. Each byway has a local organization that produces a management plan for the roadway and the preservation of its surrounding environment.
According to MDOT, the department's Pure Michigan Byway Program works with local communities, organizations, and government agencies to identify roads that access Michigan's "unique recreational, scenic and historic cultural treasures". The program also attempts to preserve the unique and irreplaceable qualities of selected corridors, improve distinct roads in a careful and considerate way, and promote a greater awareness of and appreciation for the state's scenic, recreational, historical and cultural resources, according to the Federal Highway Administration. These actions provide economic benefits by stimulating tourism. Staffers for State Representative Peter Pettalia of Presque Isle said that the point of the program, in context of the 2014 change to the Pure Michigan Byway name, was to get people to drive the selected roads and spend money at local businesses.
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Wikipedia