M-72 (Michigan highway)

M-72 marker
M-72
Map
M-72 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length156.552 mi[1] (251.946 km)
Existedc. July 1, 1919[2]–present
Tourist
routes
Lake Michigan Circle Tour
Major junctions
West end M-22 at Empire
Major intersections
East end US 23 at Harrisville
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountiesLeelanau, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Crawford, Oscoda, Alcona
Highway system
M-71 M-73
M-206M-208 M-209

M-72 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan, running from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan across the northern part of the Lower Peninsula. The highway connects M-22 in Empire with US Highway 23 (US 23) in Harrisville. It is one of only three Michigan state trunklines that cross the Lower Peninsula, shore to shore. In between, M-72 runs across Northern Michigan woodland, agricultural areas of the Leelanau Peninsula near Traverse City, and the Au Sable River watershed. The trunkline also provides access to Camp Grayling, a National Guard training facility near the city of the same name. Traffic levels along the highway vary from approximately 800 vehicles a day on the east end to over 32,000 vehicles near Traverse City.

M-72 was first designated as a state highway by 1919 along a segment of its current route. It was extended southward in the mid-1920s and westward in the 1940s. One section of the modern highway added to M-72 in 1940 previously existed as M-208 in the 1930s east of Grayling. Another section of highway near Empire was disconnected from the rest of M-72 until the gap was eliminated later in the decade. All of M-72 was completely paved by the early 1960s. The highway was rerouted in a few places in the 1950s, and the last new segment shifted in 1973 near Kalkaska.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference PRFA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference MSHD19LP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).