US Highway 131 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US 131 highlighted in red
|
|||||||
Route information | |||||||
Auxiliary route of US 31 | |||||||
Maintained by INDOT and MDOT | |||||||
Length: | 269.956 mi (434.452 km) | ||||||
Existed: | November 11, 1926 | – present||||||
Major junctions | |||||||
South end: | I-80 / I-90 / Indiana Toll Road / SR 13 near Middlebury, IN | ||||||
|
|||||||
North end: | US 31 in Petoskey, MI | ||||||
Location | |||||||
States: | Indiana, Michigan | ||||||
Counties: |
IN: Elkhart MI: St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Allegan, Kent, Montcalm, Mecosta, Osceola, Wexford, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet |
||||||
Highway system | |||||||
|
US Highway 131 (US 131) is a north–south United States Highway, of which all but 0.64 of its 269.96 miles (1.03 of 434.46 km) are within the state of Michigan. The highway starts in rural Indiana south of the state line as a state road connection to the Indiana Toll Road. As the road crosses into Michigan it becomes a state trunkline highway that connects to the metropolitan areas of Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids before continuing north to its terminus at Petoskey. US 131 runs as a freeway from south of Portage through to Manton in the north. Part of this freeway runs concurrently with Interstate 296 (I-296) as an unsigned designation through Grand Rapids. US 131 forms an important corridor along the western side of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, running through rural farm and forest lands as well as urban cityscapes. Various names have been applied to the roadway over the years. The oldest, the Mackinaw Trail, originated from an Indian trail in the area while other names honored politicians. An attempt to dedicate the highway to poet James Whitcomb Riley failed to gain official support in Michigan.