Blue Star Highway | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by BCRC, VBCRC, and ACRC | ||||
Length | 41.609 mi[1] (66.963 km) | |||
Existed | c. May 5, 1970[2]–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | M-63 near Lake Michigan Beach | |||
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North end | BL I-196 / US 31 in Holland | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Michigan | |||
Counties | Berrien, Van Buren, Allegan | |||
Highway system | ||||
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A-2 is a county-designated highway in the US state of Michigan running about 42 miles (68 km) along the shores of Lake Michigan in the southwestern part of the Lower Peninsula. The county highway starts near the town of Lake Michigan Beach in Berrien County at an intersection with M-63 and follows Blue Star Highway through rural coastal areas. Running roughly parallel to its modern freeway replacement, Interstate 196 (I-196), A-2 passes through the cities of South Haven and Saugatuck before ending at an interchange with Business Loop Interstate 196/US Highway 31 (BL I-196/US 31) in Holland.
In the early part of the 20th century, what is now Blue Star Highway was part of two auto trails before becoming a state trunkline highway. In 1926, it was designated as a part of US 31 and kept that status until I-196 bypassed the roadway in the early 1960s. Two local business owners spurred the efforts to get the older highway restored to the state highway map in 1970, and the A-2 designation was created as a result.