THE NATIONAL SYSTEM OF INTERSTATE AND DEFENSE HIGHWAYS:
A GEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

By
Thomas E. Niedringhaus

AN'ABSTRACT
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of.Arts
in.Michigan.State University

East Lansing, Michigan

Department of Geography
1959

Approved Waié‘tdl fiqgmég,

Thomas E. Niedringhaus

ABSTRACT

In 191.1 President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed the Interregional
Highway Committee for the purpose of studying the feasibility of a.Feder-
allyhsponsored, national system of highways. The Committee submitted a
report to Congress recommending the establishment of an interregional sys-
tem of highways not to exceed h0,000 miles, financed in part by the Fedamfl.
government and.in part by state governments. These recommendations were
enacted into law by the FederaleAid Highway Act of l9hh, and, thus, the
National System of Interstate Highways was created. The Federalind High-
way'Act of 1956 made provision for the completion.of the national system
to modern design standards within a period of about 13 years with the
Federal government furnishing 90 per cent of the funds needed for construc-
tion. This law also officially changed the name of the system to the Na-
tional System of Interstate and Defense Highways.

Among the many problems which might be considered in connection with
the construction of the Interstate System, the problem of most geographic
interest is the location of the Interstate routes. Since location implies
the chorographic approach, or the study of a phenomenon in its spatial
context, the major purpose of this thesis is to describe the spatial ar-
rangement of the Interstate highways in their national, state, and local
settings.

The spatial arrangement of highways can be described in terms of
geometric position on the earth's grid, and this is best accomplished by

use of cartographic techniques. In order to explain the spatial arrangement

Thomas E. Niedringhaus

of Interstate highways reference must be made to the causal factors of
location. Causal factors may be classed as: (l) situation factors—-those
elements, or element-complexes, of the physical and cultural environment
which effect the general location of Interstate routes, and thereby limit
possible locations to fairly restricted areas; and (2) site factors-those
elements, or element-complexes, of the physical and cultural environment
which characterize the ground upon.which the highway actually stands, and
thereby limit possible locations to a specific area.

The approach used in this thesis is to examine these situation and
site factors, and relate them to the spatial arrangement of highways.
Study of these factors indicates that they are characterized by consider-
able areal differentiation. It is the conclusion of this thesis that the
areal differentiation of the American physical and cultural landscape is
basic to an understanding of the observable spatial arrangement of

Interstate highways on national, state, and local levels.

THE NATIONAL SYSTEM OF INTERSTATE AND DEFENSE HIGHWAYS:

A GEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

By
Thomas E. Niedringhaus

A THESIS

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts
in.Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan

Department of Geography

1959

(aw/~57
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author wishes to express his appreciation for the assistance of
numerous individuals, representing various organizationa'whose coopera-
tion:made the writing of this thesis much easier and more interesting
than it would otherwise have been. Dr. Lawrence M. Sommers, of the De-
partment of Geography, Michigan State University, was initially reapon-
sible for the general idea of a geographic analysis of a highway problem.
Mr. Theodore Forbes and Mr. Carl McMonagle, of the Highway Traffic Safety
Center, Michigan State University, provided valuable assistance in con-
tacting officials of the Michigan State Highway Department. Mr. Barry
Bengrey and Mr. Malcolm.Noble, of the Michigan State Highway Department,
furnished.important source materials, includhng maps, which contributed
greatly to the parts of the thesis concerned with Michigan. Mr. David R.
Levin, of the Federal Bureau of Public Roads, forwarded an official check-
list of locational criteria for Interstate routes which.proved to be a very
useful source material. Dr..Allen K. Philbrick, staff cartographer of the
Department of Geography, Michigan State University, provided valuable as-
sistance in the design and execution of the illustrations. Finally, the
author wishes to express most sincere thanks to Dr. Clarence L. Vinge, of
the Department of Geography, Michigan State University. Dr. Vinge served
as the author's major adviser for this thesis, and contributed greatly to
it with original ideas, assistance in the technical prdblems of organiza-
tion and writing, and the provision of several source materials not

readily available elsewhere.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF IILUSMTIOIE C O O O O O O O O O O O O O C O O O O O O O .
STATmmNT OF PROBW O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0
Chapter

I. FEDERAL AID FOR.INTERSTATE HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION-
ORIGIN OF PROM O O O C O O O O O C O O O O O O O O O 0

Federal Government Interest in Highway
Construction

The Classification Problem: Road Systems
The Interstate System

II. THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM IN ITS NATIONAL SETTING . . . . . . .

Situation Factors
Selection of original routes
Relation of original system to situation
factors
Physical environment
Cultural environment
Site Factors
Design and construction standards
Physical environment
Cultural environment
The Spatial Arrangement of Interstate Highways

III. THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM IN ITS MICHIGAN SETTING . . . . . . .

Situation Factors
Physical environment
Cultural environment
Population
Productive facilities
Transportation facilities
Military and defense
establishments
Site Factors
Physical environment
Surface configuration
Natural vegetation
Cultural environment
Motor-vehicle traffic flow
Land use

iii

Page

TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT.)

Chapter Page
Relocation of Interstate Highways in Michigan 66
The Spatial Arrangement of Interstate Highways 67

IV. THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM IN ITS LOCAL SETTING: CASE .
STUDIES OF MICHIGAN URBAN AREAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

General Principles 72
The Small City — Howell 76
The Medium City - Lansing 82
The Large City - Detroit 86

v. SUMMARY'AND CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

BIBIIIW O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 99

iv

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure Page
1. Graph Illustrating Selection of Original System . . . . . . . l9
2. The National System of Interstate and Defense Highways . . . 36
3. ‘Major Indian Trails Leading to and from Michigan . . . . . . US
h. Diagram Illustrating Urban Settlement Pattern of Michigan . . 1.6
5. Interstate Highways in Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

6. The Howell By—Pass -- An Interstate Highway
ApproachingasmallCity..................79

7. Interstate Highway Locations in the Lansing Area . . . . . . 87

8. Interstate Network - Detroit Metropolitan Area . . . . . . . 9h

. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

This thesis presents a description of the National System of
Interstate and Defense Highways. It consists of discussion of the ori-
gin and development of this System (hereafter referred to as the Inter-
state System), analysis of the causal factors of location, both pmical
and cultural, and graphic portrayal of the spatial arrangement of Inter-
state highways. The following ideas are given major emphasis:

(1) road classification,

(2) the Interstate System in its national setting
with primary attention directed to causal factors of
location} and resultant spatial arrangement,

(3) the Interstate System in its Michigan setting,
sharper geographic focus on a smaller region, and
(h) the Interstate System in its local setting,
based on case studies of several Michigan cities

of different population size.

CHAPTERI

mom AID FOR measure-mom! CONSTRUCTION-
(BIGIN or mm]:

This thesis is basically concerned with roads and highways. How-
ever, the terms "road" and “highway," as commonly used, have broad mean-
ings. For the purposes of this paper, ''road" shall mean a trackless
path on the earth's surface over which motor vehicles can travel from
place to place. ”Highway" shall mean a main road, or through road, open
to the use of the public for travel from place to place; the term is not
applied to private or access roads intended primarily for use by local
inhabitants. Thus, all highways are roads, but not all roads are
highways.

During the Twentieth Century the road has become an important and
widespread feature of the American landscape. Serving as links between
states, regions, and communities, roads are fundamentally significant to
the present economic well-being of the United States. The road has
reached its greatest importance since the advent of the motor vehicle.
In total mileage, amount of funds allocated to their development, and
quality of construction, today's roads are far ahead of the roads of an
other period in the country' s history. The American people, by their
econmic and social acceptance of the motor vehicle, have magnified the
significance of the road. Many desirable results have accrued from this

ability to produce and willingness to purchase motor vehicles. These

2

include greater mobility for more people, an enormous increase in the
total value of transportation, extension of effective transport facil-
ities to marw previously unserved locations Astruction of the virtual
monopoly of intercity transport long held by the railroad, plus new
beneficial effects on the general living standards of the people.1
Unfortunately, the blessings are mixed Ilth serious problems.
The large nmber of preventable traffic accidents on the roads, the lack
of adequate traffic capacity on many of these facilities, and the traffic-
induced blight in urban areas are too well documented and known to war—
rant further cement here. Iany reasons for these problems could be
cited, but the one of major interest to this thesis is the lack of prep--
erly located roads of the quality and character needed to accomodate the
large volumes of traffic.
Several possible solutions for the problems associated with the
nation's roads have been suggested. Among these are the following:
(1) Limit the number and type of motor vehicles allowed
on the roads, and regulate then by forcing all motor-
vehicle operators to obey more stringent traffic laws.
Regulation could doubtlessly be greatly improved if
electronic guidance equipment was installed on sue of
the roads. Even so, major improvements on the nation's
road netwrk would probably be needed. .
(2) Encourage modes of transportation other than that
of noncommercial motor vehiclesuthat is, bus, taxi-cab,
rail, and air transportation.
(3) Provide new and improved road facilities specifi-
cally designed to eliminate, or alleviate, problems
associated with roads. Although this solution is very
expensive, the increased taxes from motor-vehicle users

will help to pay the cost, and the induced economies of
motor-vehicle ope ration will benefit the entire nation.

 

lTruman c. 31ng and Herrill J. Roberts. Tmrtation: Prin-
0121“ ”Id hablme (N.Y.: lchrai-Hill 800k COe, Ime, 9 2 Pa 100.

All of these proposals have some degree of merit, and all have
drawbacks. Solution three is the one presently being given major empha-
sis by the Federal and state governments. Funds for the large amount of
construction work necessary for this solution are furnished by Federal-
aid and state-matching funds.

The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse that part
of the Federal-aid highway netvmrk officially designated the Rational
System of Interstate and Defense Highways (customarily referred to as
the Interstate Systea) . The description of this System involves dis-
cussion of origin and development, analysis of musical and cultural
localisation factors, and the spatial arrangement of the highways. The
geographic approach is both systematic and regional; the Interstate
System is analyzed according to general principles, and examined in its
national, state, and local settings.

Federal Goverment Interest ingijghly Construction

 

The interest of the Federal govement in highways reached a peak
with the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.1 This Act is the latest of the
several laws which form the basis for the current Federal-aid highway
progral. The Federal-aid highway program has many phases and consists
of many projects; but essentially it involves the payment of funds to
the various states by the Federal goverment, on a matching basis, for
the purposes of higtuay construction. Federal-aid pants to the states
are strictly for construction of state, county, and municipally owned
roads. In addition the total Federal highway program includes funds for

 

10.3., 70 Statutes at Lag-:33 371: (1956).

the construction of all roads on Federal property, such as National
Forests and Parks, and Indian Reservations. The Federal agency in con-
trol of these operations is the Bureau of Public Roads of the Department
of Genome.

The Act of 19161 is the framework on which the present Federal-
aid program is built. Subsequent laws have functioned mainly as amend-
ments, the most important of which are those of 1921, 1914b, and 1956.
The general tone of Federal-state relationships was set by the Act of
1916. This Act authorizes Federal payments to be made to the states
for the purpose of constructing, or improving, rural post roads. Honey
was apportioned to the states in the following mamer: "One-third in
theratiowhichtheareaofeachstatebearstothe totalareaofall.
the states; one-third in the ratio which the population of each state
bears to the total population of all the states, as shown by the latest
available Federal census; and one-third in the ratio which the mileage
ofruraldeliveryandstarroutesineachstatebearstothetotalnile-

2

age of rural delivery and star routes in all the states at the close of

the next preceding fiscal year."3
The Lot of 1921h initiated a classification of primary and second-
ary roads, and thereby served to concentrate the expenditure of Federal

__A fl..—

1U.s., 39 Statutes at Laggg 355 (1916).

2A rural delivery route is one served by a civil-service employee
working out of a single post office and delivering only to rural bom-
holders. 1 star route is one served by a civil service employee to may
work out of several post offices and delivers mail to small towns,
hamlets, and rural boxholders.

3U.s., 39 Statutes at Large 355 (1916).
“0.3., 58 Statutes at Leg; 838 (1921).

6

funds on the more truly national roads. The Act of 191.13 provided for
the inclusion of urban areas within the scenes: Federal aid, and offi-
cially adopted the Interstate System. This Act also made available to
the states the large amount of knowledge based on research of the Bureau
of Public Roads and President Roosevelt's Interregional Highway Com-
mittee. These data formed the basis for selection of specific routes of
the System.

The most recent law, that of 1956, does not represent a radical
departure from previous Federal-aid highway laws. It retains the tradi-
tional relationship between Federal and state goverments; the Federal
government furnishes monies and correlates, supervises, and approves
state activities; the states match Federal funds according to a fixed
ratio, and take the initiative for planning and for letting contracts
to private construction firm.2

In several respects, however, the 1956 Act does differ from earlier
laws. Three major innovations found in the 1956 Act are: (l) the long-
range view, or the plan to complete the Interstate System within a
period of approximately 13 years in all the states; (2) the tremendous
increases in Federal funds allocated for the completion of this System;
and (3) the increase in the Federal share on this System from 50 per cent
to 90 per cent of the total construction cost. Thus, the most signifi-
cant fact about the current Federal—aid highway program is the concen-
tration of effort on the nation-wide region-linking Interstate System.3

 

10.5., 62 Statutes at Large 1105 (19th).

20.55., Department of Commerce, A Ten Year Natimaljim Pro ram,
Report to the President, Washington, 355, P. 7.

30.8., 70 Statutes at large 37h (1956).

9 Classification Problem Road Systems

In subsequent portions of this thesis comtant reference is made
to the Interstate System, and occasional references to other systems.
It is necessary, therefore, to consider the classification problem in
greater detail.
Many different road classifications are possible. For purposes
of administration and fund allocation the most significant classifies—-
tion is one based on function. The need for a functional classification
has long been recognised. Experience of highway administrators and
others responsible for the operation of the Federal, state, and local
road networks indicates that the differences in road use should be given
recognition by grouping roads into systems according to their predomi-
mnt functional characteristics. These groupings pemit highway adminis-
trators to adopt standards of construction commensurate sith traffic
volumes, peak-hour flows, and traffic composi‘l'.ion.:l
Three interrelated functional characteristics are recognized to be
fundamental in the fomulation of a method of road management. From
these functional characteristics, a thnefold classification of roads
may be derived, as follows:2
(1) Through roads -- the more heavily traveled roads
connecting city sith city, city filth tan, or town vith
town. These roads acconodate the through, or long,
motor vehicle trips. Roads having this function conprise

 

10.8., Federal Works igency, Public Roads Administration, m
Practice in the U.S.i., Washington, D.C., 191:9, P. 60.

2Michigan State Highway Dept., "HighIay Classification in lichigan,"
I. Eliseographed Report, Lansing, Nov. ,.l953, P. l.

the smallest segment of the nation's road netwm'k.
(2) Community roads -- major roads’uithin a city, or town,
and sithin its hinterland, and connecting the two. These
roads facilitate commity life and, also, are the col-
lector roads for traffic destined to the through roads.
Trips on these roads average a shorter distance than on
through roads. leasured by mileage this class of roads
is much more extensive than through roads.
(3) Land-access roads -- minor roads within a city and
within its hinterland shich provide access to land. Trips
on these roads average shorter distances than either through
or community routes, but the total mileage is much greater
than the other segnents of the nation's road network.
Although many roads serve more than one of these functions, one function
is usually dominant. The dominant function of each road is the basis
for the administrative classifications, uhich are discussed in the
following paragraphs.

The administrative classification of American roads had its origin
in the assumption of highway responsibility by the state and Federal
governments early in the 1900's, respomive to the emergent demands of
notor-vehicle owners and operators. At the beginning of the century,
the present distinctions were practically nonexistent. Direct respon-
sibility for road administration fell almost canpletely upon the county
and lesser administrative agencies. The motor vehicle changed the

purely local nature of road traffic, and brought about the entry of
state and Federal agencies into the highway administrative field.1

 

10.5., Federal vorke Agency, Public Roads Administration, 1.13!!!
Practice in the U.S.A., op. cit. , P. 60.

The state highway systems were generally designated before the
Federal systems, but both were chosen by use of the same basic prin-
ciples. Each system was intended to include the roads of through and
community service rather than those of land-access service. Although
state systems vary from area to area, they are usually referred to as
either state highways or state trunklines. In Michigan, for example,
there is only one state highway system and the routes which comprise it
are called state trunklines. All land-access roads and some comunity
roads are variously classified into county, township, or municipal
systems depending on the agency which has the predominant interest in
them.1

In like manner, the functional characteristics of roads are the
basis for the present administrative classification of the Federal-aid
highways. Three Federal systems presently exist: (1) the Primary Sys-
tem; (2) the Secondary System; and (3) the Interstate System. Extensions
of Primary and Secondary roads into urban areas can, for some purposes,
be considered as separate systems also.2

Cmparison of the functional classification of roads with tin ad—
ministrative classification indicates the following relationships:

(1) The Primary System -- through roads selected in each
state by the state highway department, subject to Bureau

of Public Roads approval. As originally stipulated in the
Federal Highway Act of 1921, this System is not to exceed
seven per cent of the total mileage of public reads in each
state, exclusive of mileage within national forests and

parks, Indian or other Federal reservations, and within
urban areas. However, when the original seven per cent is

 

10. Donald Kennedy, "Planning of the Highway,” Hi hwa in Our
lational Life, ed. Jean Labutut, Rheaton J. Lane (Princeton, fi.J.:
Princeton U. Press, 1950) Pp. 66-76.

2Ibid.

10

constructed to Bureau of Public Roads standards, a state .
may petition for additional mileage. As of July 1, 1951: this
system consisted of 23h,h07 miles of urban and rural routes,
some of which was already completed to Bureau of Public

Roads standards but most of which needed more construction
work. The Federal-aid share on the Primary System is 50

per cent of the construction cost.

(2) The Seconm -- community roads selected by

the state highway departments with the cooperation of .
local govermnental agencies, and again subject to approval
by the Bureau of Public Roads. In making these selections,
farm-to-market roads, rural mail routes, public school bus
routes, county roads, and certain township roads are eligible
for consideration providing they are not part of the Primary
System. The Secondary System is basically a rural system,
but may have urban extensions under certain conditions. As
of July 1, 19514 this system totaled h82,972 miles 'of urban
and rural roads, some of which has been completed to stand-
ards but most of which still needs more construction work.
The Federal share on this System is 50 per cent of con--
struction costs, the same as on the Primary System.

(3) The Interstate System - After the passage of the first
Federal-aid-to—highways law in 1916 , responsible officials
began to recognize the need for a modern, interconnected
highway system designed to high standards, of national im-
portance, and of more limited extent than the Primary System.
To study such a system and take action if deemed feasible,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 19141 appointed a group

of experts known as the National Interregional Highway Com--
mittee. This group submitted a report to the President, and
subsequently to the Congress, which recommended the estab-
lishment of an interregonal system of approszately 3h,000
miles.2 The President asked Congress to act on this recas-
msndation, and in 19“; the Federal-aid Highway Act was
passed. It designated, in general terms, the National Sys-
tem of Interstate Highways, and limited this system to
h0,000 miles. The functions of these roads are predominantly
through-transportation service.

None of the Federal or state systems contain roads which have land-
access as their predominant function. It is a recognised principle

‘ 1.1.2.13-

2
11.8., Congress, Home Interregional Him 78th Cong. 2d Bass.
19%, House Document 379, 1"th , , ’

3
In the 1956 Highway Act this name was officially changed to the
National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.

11

that these roads are better managed and financed on the local level than
on the state or Federal levels. Thus, there exists no Federal or state
system which is designed exclusively for land accesse

The Federal and state systems usually overlap. That is, a road
may be both a state trunkline and a Federal-aid highway. However, the
state systems are more extensive than the Federal-aid systems, with
some state trunklines not being included in the Federal systems. In

, .

other words, the Federal-aid systems are rationally selected portions
of the state systems that are of major national importance.

The Interstate System

The Interstate System is the single most important group of through
highways in the nation. Although it represents only 1.2 per cent of all
the road mileage in the country, it carries nearly 20 per cent of all
the motor-vehicle traffic. It links h2 of the 50 state capitals, every
city of over 300,000 population, and about 90 per cent of all cities over
50,000 population. The System serves 65 per cent of the urban population
and us pm- cent of the rural‘population. It passes through 37 per cent
of all the counties in the nation; and these counties contain over half
the population and market nearly 50 per cent of all farm products sold.1
The general locational criteria for the Interstate System are as

follows:2

"There shall be designated within the continental United
States a Rational System of Interstate Highways, not ex-
ceeding ho,ooo miles in total extent, so located as to

10.3., Dept. of Comerce, Bureau of'Public Reads, "The Interstate
Highway Program Moves Ahead," Memorandum, Feb. 13, 1958-, .Pp. 2-3.

211.3., 62 Statutes at large 1105 (19M) Sec. 7.

12

connect by routes, as direct as practicable, the principal
metropolitan areas, cities, and industrial centers, to
serve the national defense, and to connect at suitable
border points with routes of continental importance in the
Dominion of Canada and the Republic of Mexico. The routes
of the National System of Interstate Highways shall be se-
lected by Joint action of the state highway departments of
each state and the adjoining states, as provided by the
Federal Highway Act of 1921 for the selection of the
Federal-aid system. All highways or routes included in
the National System of Interstate Highways, as finally ap-
proved, shall be added to the Federal-aid highny system,
if not already included in that system."

The recommended optimal mileage proposed by the 191:1 report, In—
terregional Highways, was only 33,920 miles. This mileage, although in—
cluding rural and urban-penetrator sections of the system, purposely
did not make any allowance for circumferential routes required in the
larger cities for the dual purposes of by-passing through traffic and
assembling other traffic to and frcm the several quarters of the city.
Because the proper location and necessary mileage for these urban routes
can be determined best by detailed study of the conditions and needs of
each city involved, the Interregional Highways Report simply estimated
that the aggregate of these auxiliary routes would not exceed 5,000
miles. Thus, 33,920 miles were allotted for interregional and intercity
connections and 5,000 miles for special urban routes. This is a total
of 38,920. The figure of 140,000 is based on 38,920 plus 1,080 miles re—
served for contingencies. When the System is finally completed to the
specified design standards it will total about h0,000 miles. In the
event it should prove necessary to exceed this limitation, Congress has

authorized an additional 1,000 miles.1

 

10.3., Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Public Roads, ”Criteria for
Selection of Interstate System Routes ," Memorandrn, Washington, D.C.,
Jule 27, 1956,” e1'2.

13

m

The Federal-aid highway program is designed to improve our pres-
ently inadequate road network by constructing modern highways where they
are most needed. Tremendous sums of money, running into billions of
dollars} are being furnished to the states by the Federal goverment
from receipts of highway-user taxes.2 In order to spend this money
wisely, and in the places where highway use indicates the most urgent
need, functional classifications of roads are necessary. This results
in the designation of road systems. 0f the three Federal systems in
existence, the Interstate System is the latest to be selected, has the
least mileage, is the most intensively used, requires the highest design
and construction standards, will be the most costly per mile to build,
and will be the first system to be completed as an interconnected,
nation-wide group of highways of uniform high standards. The highways
of the Interstate System will have as their major function the furnishing
of through transportation service, par excellence.

 

lThe 1956 Act contained an estimate that the 13-year Interstate
System program would cost the Federal government 2h.85 billions of dol-
lars. This figure has been revised upward slightly because of more
accurate estimations and rising costs. '

zFederal monies for the financing of the Interstate System case
from three types of highway-user taxes. These are: (1) line fuel
consuned on highways, Federal tax of 3 cents per gallon; 2) a tax of
$1.50 per 1,000 pounds imposed on ccmercial vehicles weighing 26,000
pounds or more 3 (3) the total proceeds from the excise taxes levied on
the weight of rubber tires, and half the proceeds of the levy on the
manufacturer's prices of new trucks, buses, and trailers.

CHAPTER II
THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM IN ITS NATIONAL SETTING

Among the many problems associated with the construction of the
Interstate System are planning, financing, land acquisition, technical
considerations, and location. Although it is recognised that all of
these problems are important, and vital to a thorough understanding of
the Interstate System, it is impossible to discuss all of them adequately
in this analysis. The problem of most geographic interest is that of the
location of the Interstate routes. Location implies the chorographic
approach, or the study of a phenomenon (the highway) in its spatial con-
text. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the spatial arrangement
of the Interstate System in its national setting.

The spatial arrangement of Interstate highways can be described in
tens of gemtric position on the earth's grid. Causal factors of the
spatial arrangement of Interstate highways can be classed as: (1) situ-
ation factors—those elements, or element-complexes, of the physical and
cultural environment which effect the general location of Interstate
routes, and thereby limit possible locations to a fairly restricted area;
and (2) site factors—those elements, or element-complexes, of the

physical and cultural environment which characterize the ground upon

which the highway actually stands, and thereby limit possible locatims
to a specific area.1

JSee A. E. Smiles. The Geo of Towns. (London: William
Brendon & Son, Ltd. , 1953) . - . 7

1h

15
Situation Factors

[any different elements, or element-complexes, in the physical and
cultural environment could conceivably be situation factors, but not all
are of equal importance in effecting highway location. Situation fac-
tors of relevance in effecting highway locations are often referred to,
by highway engineers, as control areas, denoting by the areal ccntext a
general location. Site factors of relevance in effecting highway loos-
tion are often referred to as control points, denotirg a more specific
location than control area.1

Control areas may exercise either primary or secondary influence
on the location of any highway. For example, assume a through highway
to be constructed between Detroit and Chicago. Detroit and Chicago
would, by definition, be primary control areas. However, several
smaller, but important, cities lie in the general area between these two
metropolises. The new highway cannot connect all of them without being
too circuitous. Those cities which the highway does connect are called
secondary control areas, because they do have some influence on the lecap
tion of the highway but are not as important controls as are Detroit and
Chicago. A
Selection of oriflnal routes.

Situation factors were important considerations in the original
selection of routes for the Interstate System made in 19111 by the Inter-
regional Highway Committee. In making these selectims, the first step
was to specify the basic controls to be used in choosing the routes which

lSee Arthur Bruce and John Clarkeson. Hi Desi and Construc-
tion. (Scranton, Pa.: International Textbook Co., 1930} Pp. 37:53.

 

16

would connect the variom regions of the country. The origami system
was very general; the principal controls used in choosing this system,
and in limiting its total extent, were;L
(l) the interconnection of the larger cities in all the
regions of the nation,
(2) the accomodation of short-trip traffic in and about
lesser centers to the extent consistent with the first
control, and
(3) the creation of a system having the highest possible
intensity-of-use while still satisfying the requirements
of the other controls .

The larger cities in each census region were cmsidered to be tin
focal points for the region in which they were located. Iith this in
mind, the interconnection of the larger cities in each region with the
larger cities in the other regions became the most important control in
selecting the general routes caprising the Interstate System. Several
facts tend to justify this approach. Basic among these are the follow-
1113: (I) nearly 90 per cent 1‘ all traffic moving on through highays
has an origin and/or destination in a city; (2) notondvehicle traffic
steadily increases with closer prorieity to cities, and on trans-city
connections of main routes, traffic rises to volumes far greater than the
general levels on mral sections; (3) the heavily traveled sections of
am highway system, including the Interstate, lie mainly within relatively
narrow cones of traffic influence around cities of 10,00c or sore,

 

10.3., Congress, House, Interregonal Him, op. cit. , P. 1:0.

17

population; and (h) the larger the city the wider is its sons of traffic
influence and the greater is its traffic generating power.1

These facts, plus the obvious relationship between large cities
and population and industrial concentrations, make it evident why the
prime control in selecting Interstate routes was the interconnection of
the larger cities in the various regons of the country.

The second major control used in the original selection was the
acccmodation of short-run traffic. This criterion is justified on the
basis of factual information gathered by various planning surveys which
indicates that most trips are short. For sample, traffic counts show
that about 85 per cent of all trips are for less than 20 miles, and only
about 5 per cent are for more than 50 miles. For this reason it was de-
cided to avoid connecting the principal regional centers by drawing -
straight lines between them. It was considered better practice to con-
meet as many of the smaller urban centers en route between major centers
as was practical without making the route too circuitous. Thus, the
larger, or more important, cities became primary control areas, while the
smaller centers were considemd to be secondary control areas, unless
they were too far from the direct route between the primary control areas.
It should be stressed that the selection of the secondary control areas
to be connected by the System was basically a matter of Judpent on the
part of the members of the Interregicnal Highway 0.1%». But in mak-
ing these selectims the situation factors (such as population distribu-

tion, industrial developeent, and military establishments) discussed later
in this chapter were taken into account.2

 

IIbid.

2Ibid., P. la.

18

The third major control used in selecting the component parts of
the Systa was the principle of mas-inn utilisation, or the selection of
a system which would have the hi west average hourly traffic volume per
mile of am possible group of highways that might be chosen. To illus-

trate how this principle is related to route selection, cmsider to

possible Interstate Systems :1

(l) The first System would connect all communities in the
United States classified as urban, and would include a
rather large part of the total rural road mileage in the
nation. This system would serve a very substantial part of
total highway traffic, but its average intensity of use
would be low because of the inclusion of much lightly
traveled mileage.

( 2) The second system which might tentatively be considered
would connect only the very largest cities of the nation,
perhaps those over one million population. A few trans-
continental highways could accomplish this. But many fairly
large, important cities would not be included in this sys-
tem, and it would serve completely and conveniently only a
small part of has total, long-trip traffic. This systu
would also be of relatively low average intensity of use.
This results from the fact that the largest cities of tte
nation are concentrated in the northeastem and California
areas. To connect these widely. separaud areas would re-
quire a large percentage of the system's mileage to pass
through sparsely populated territory; and this would re-
sult in a low average intensity of use for the system as a
whole.

If the foregoing is an accurate analysis, it is reasonable to as-
sme that somewhere between a small system and an extensive one, there
should be a system of optimal extent which would have the highest average-
daily traffic volume2 of any group of interconnected, regim-ldnlcing
highway in the nation.

 

1Ibid.

2The average-daily traffic value for any point on a highway is
equal to the total umber of motor vehicles which pass that point during
a period of one year, divided by 365.

19

To find the optimum mileage a number of systems of various sizes,
both larger and smaller than experts thought would be the probable opti-
mm, were selected, and the average-daily traffie volume of each was
plotted against its extent in miles. In such manner a curve eould be
formed, the maximum ordinate of which, representing the largest average-
dsilv traffic volume. would correspond to an abscissa indicating the

mileage of an optimum system. figure 1 illustrates this relationship is
graphieal fora)

Figure 1. Graph Illustrating selection of Original Systan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

g ssoo

H

83

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I1 :- w

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h 0

dab \
d

$8

g’ sooo '
E 0 so so so so

Total Length of Systus Investigated
Thousand Miles

Five tentative systems were planned and mapped. By computing .the
average-daily traffic volume per mile on rural sections for each of these

systems. it was discovered that the 89,300 mile system had the highest

1
Iblds. P0 49.

20

average intensity-of—use. To further check the trend, two more systems
were planned and mapped; one of 33,000 miles and one of 36,000 miles.

The 36,000 mile system proved to have an average-daily traffic volume
Just slightly less than the 29,300 mile system, and the 33,000 mile sys-
tem had a slightly higher average-daily traffic volume. By subtracting
from the 36,000 mile system certain of the more lightly traveled sec-
tions, it was found that a system of 33,920 miles offered the maxim
average-daily traffic voltme for any group of highways seleowd according
to the principle of regional interconnection}

This is the system which was recomnended to Congress, and which
was enacted into law in the Highway Act of 19%. The figure 33,920 does
not include the approximate 5,000 of circumferential and distributor
routes which are designed to make the Interstate System more effective
in urban areas.2 Table 1 indicates average-daily traffic volues per

mile on rural sections for each of the systems studied, including the
recomended one.3
Relation of Qr_igina1 System to Situation Factors.

The criteria used in selecting the routes for the original System
resulted in a general plan and a system of limited extent. In selecting
specific routes, state highway officials, who bore the responsibility for
the final locations of Interstate highways, used these Federal recom-
nendations, and also considered the dtuation factors of particular rele-

vance to their own areas. These situation factors which are of most

t;g;g., Pp. 51-52.

21bid.

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importance in effecting man's judgment concerning the location of Inter-
state highways nay be grouped as follows:1
(1) Physical environment, including

(a) climate

(b) landfoms and drainage

(c) earth resources

(2) Cultural environment, including distribution of

(a) papulation

(b) productive facilities

(c) transportation facilities

(d) military and defense establishments

Mical enviroment.- Physical aspects of man's enviroment are

more likely to be important, in the direct sense, as. site considerations,
or in detenaining the specific position of the highway than as situation
factors effecting the general location. However, in mountainous or hilly
areas, landfom conditions may have significant bearing on the general
location of routes. But the physical environ-ant is of far greater in—
portance to the location of the highsays of the Interstate System than
is indicated by direct consideration. This relates to the influence
which the pmsical environment has on the cultm environment. Distri-
bution of population and productive facilities, and the transportation
facilities needed to connect them, are all related to climate, surface
configuration, and earth resources. The physical environment acting in
conjunction with the cultural stage of a people occupying an area sets
limits on resource potentialities. This results in varied distributions
of cultural phenomena. It is these cultural phenomena which are lost

 

lsee Vernor 0. Finch and Glenn '1'. Trewartha. ical Elements of
W. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book 00., Inc., fig} P. 3.

23

significant in the location of Interstate highways; but the basic
influence of the physical environment is always apparent .

Cultural envirorment.- In line with the general recommendations

 

for location of the original system, the present Interstate routes bear
a close relationship to population distribution and the resultant settle-
ment characteristics for the entire nation. The routes are designed to
connect, as directly as possible, the maximum number of cities of each
population size. They are located to provide maximmn service to the
major metropolitan areas of the nation, as well as to specific cities.
Although the distribution of rural settlements and population is not as
important to locational theory as are urban settlements and populatim,
the density of rural population is given serious consideration. Thus,
the routes tend to pass through the nation's most populous bands of
rural settlement. To summarize, the routes have their principal termini
in the larger cities, but are located to pass through, or near, as many
as possible of the smaller clusters of towns and populous rural areas;L
The distribution of productive facilities is also an important
situation factor. The Interstate routes are designed to serve the major
concentrations of production, including manufacturing, agricultural,
and extractive industries. The provision of effective highway transpor-
tation service for as much as possible of the nation's manufacturing '
industry is especially important, because of the large volumes of truck
and employee passenger-car traffic generated by these productive facil-

ities. The routes also traverse, to the extent cmsistent with other

 

10.8., Dept. of Comoros, Bureau of Public Roads, Criteria for Se-
lection of Interstate Routes, 33. _c_§L__t_., Pp. 3-14.

 

2h

locational objectives, the areas of high perbacre value in marketed

1
crops.

The third cultural situation factor, the distribution of trans-
portation facilities, is an expression of the necessity to interconnect
the settlements and productive facilities of the nation. Roads and
highways are, of course, not the only transportation media available in
the United States. The nation also possesses several inland waterway
systems, a railroad network, pipelines, air routes with associated lend-
ing facilities, and electric-powered interurban, suburban, and urban
railways.2 Although the main function of the Interstate System is to
provide service to motor vehicles, the highways should also be located
so as to interconnect the other transportation media, provide highway
service to and from their major terminals, and complement than to the
extent possible.

The distribution of military and defense establishments is of
direct importance in the location of the Interstate routes. The major
types of establishments included in this category of control are military
facilities, sirfields, proving grounds, arsenals, and defense industries.
One of the original basic purposes behind the establishment of the Inter-
state System was the Federal responsibility to provide for the defense of
the nation. Since many of these strategic places and activities rely
heavily on highway transportation for their supplies and mobility, it

se-s quite logical that routes financed primarily by the Federal govern-
ment should be located in close proximity to the principal military and
defense-related establishmnts in the country.

IIbid.

23mm Daggett. Princi les of Inland Tr rtation. (New York:
Harper Bros., Inc., 1955} P. 3.

25

In 191;? the Secretary of Defense appointed a special committee to
study the relationship between national defense and the Federal-aid
highway system. The report which was submitted to Congress as a result
of this stub had the support of the entire National Defense Establish-
ment. Some of the major points brought out in this report are quoted
in the follcllng paragraph:1

"The lational Military Establishment considers a relatively
small 'connected system of highways interstate in character,‘
constructed to the highest practical uniform design stand-
ards, essential to the national defense. Subject to the
development of more complete basic information the Depart-
ment of National Defeme considers the Naticnal System of
Interstate Highways and certain other routes of high stra-
tegic importance to be the principal 'connected system of
highways interstate in character' essential to the national
defense. The general location and extent of these strategic
routes are the subject of continued consideration and the
Commissioner of Public Roads ‘11 be currently advised,
within security limitations, as to the location and potential
traffic considerations which fight be helpful in the improve-
ment of such highways. It is considered important that
wherever feasible there be incorporated in the design and
construction of this system the controlled or limited access
principle. This is considered important to preserve the ef-
fectiveness and efficiency of the system by preventing ribbon
development with direct access and cross traffic, which will
ultimately create excessive congestion, and to make possible
the exercise of a high degree of control over its me for
high priority civilian and/or military traffic in event of
an emergency."

It is so obvious not that the situation factors discussed above
show marked differentiation in their areal distributions. For example,
the larger cities of the United States are not distributed evenly over
the land, but are concentrated within relatively small areas of the
nation. likewise, productive facilities, especially manufacturing in-
dustries, are unevenly distributed. In fact, nearly all situatial factors,

10.8., Congress, House, Hi Needs of the National Defense, House
Dost-ant No. 2149, 81st Cong., ess., June , , . Illa-115.

 

26

both physical and cultural, are characterised by areal differentiation.
is is shown later in this chapter, the areal differentiation of situation
factors helps to explain the spatial arrangement of the Interstate Syst.
in its national setting.

Site Factors

 

Site factors, or those elements of the physical and cultural en-
vimment which characterize the ground upon which the highway actually
stands, are important in effecting the specific location of a highway.
Consideration of the various relevant site factors is intimately re-
lated to two other aspects of the highway location problu. These are:
(l) route surveys, and (2) design standards.

Route surveys involve mechanical techniques which are designed to
give the highway its final, geometric location. Ihen plans for a raw
highway have been cmpleted, or its situation determined, the various
route surveys are conducted by civil engineers. These surveys are of
three types: (1) the reconnaissance—a rapid and approximate examination
of the site controls in the entire area around the proposed highway, the
purpose of which is to eliminate from consideration the impracticable
routes so that the more promising ones may be studied in greater detail;
(2) the preliminary survey—provides more erect and detailed information
concerning the routes that appear promising by analysis of the reconnais-
sance survey; and (3) the final location survey-the actual fitting of
the highway line to the ground. Ihen the final location survey has been
completed, the highway has been stained on the ground, and an accurate map

27

and profile sheet have been drawn, the actual construction of the highway
may be started.1

Before starting these route surveys, however, a frame of reference
must be established upon which the engineers responsible for highway lo-
cation can base their decisions regarding the relevancy, or irrelevancy,
of the various site factors. For the Interstate System, the framework
on which all site considerations rest is the design standards which have
been specifically adopted for this System.

Design and Construction Standards.

The design and construction standards for the Interstate System
were not selected arbitrarily. On the contrary, they were chosen as a
result of many research activities relating to the volume and character
of highway traffic, motor-vehicle capacity of roadways, physical factors
involved in pavements, base courses, and subgrades, plus years of
experience in designing and constructing roads.

The design and construction standards, adopted by the American 18-
sociation of State Highway Officials and approved by the Bureau of Public
Roads in July 1956, are based on such considerations as ;2 (1) amount of
motor-vehicle capacity which the highway should have on a daily basis,
and especially during peak hours of traffic flow; (2) control of access;
(3) elimination of road intersections and railroad crossings at grade;
(1;) design speeds of at least 70, 60, and 50 miles per hour for flat,
hilly, and mountainous topography respectively, and 50 miles, per hour in

_._.‘_‘

' 13am Rubey. Route Survgand Construction. (N.Y.: MacMillan
cae, 1956) Pe he .

2U.S., Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Public Roads, Geometric Desi
Standards for the Natimal System of Interstate and Defense Rifle,
July 17, 19%, P. 1.

28

urban areas; (5) limited gradients; (6) shoulders adequate for all high-
way conditions; (7) minimum width of paved surface and a minimum number
of traffic lanes; (8) minimum width of right-of-way; and (9) type and
alinealent of bridges and other structures.

All of these design requirenents have some effect on site con-
siderations. Among the design requirements which will most effect the
sites for Interstate highways are those for control of access, wide
rights-of-way, and limited gradients. A controlled access highway (com—
monly referred to as a parkway or freeway) is especially designed for
through traffic, and to which motorists and shutting property owners
have only a restricted right of entry, light, air, and view. In most
cases controlled-access facilities are multiple-lane, divided highways
paved with a high type surface such as portland-cement concrete. Com-
mercial vehicles are excluded from parkways; freeways are open to all
customary forms of motor vehicles.1 The Interstate System, when completed,
will consist of a network of freeways, except in those few areas where
traffic cnd cultural development is not sufficient to warrant control of
access.

Right-of—way refers to the publicly-owned property devoted to
highway use. For various reasons right-of-way widths in this country
have remained relatively stable once established. Among the reasors
for this permanency of right-of-way in a country where traffic con-
ditions have changed so radically are '(l) the tendency for settlement
to follow in the direction of highway improvements, and consequently,
(2) the induced commercial and residential land use concentrations

 

1David Levin, Public Control of Highway Access and Roadside Develtm-
slant, Federal Works Agency, Public Works Dept. , Wash. , D.C., 191:3, P. 7.

29

along many highways. Thus, many main roads have been enclosed within a
wall of their own making, and to widen the right-cf-way on the present
site would be too expensive to be justified economically.1

The combined effects of controlled access and wide rights-of-way
require that the Interstate highways be constructed on new sites to ful-
fill the adopted design standards witlnut creating economic or social
disutility. To cmtrol access on the highways comprising the original
Interstate routes would mean the virtual destruction of those commercial
enterprises directly dependent on the highway for customer access, and
would render hardships on individuals whose residences abut on the high-
ways. The same is true with right-of-uway requirements, except, in this
case, to widen the right-of-way would involve goverment purchase and
destruction or movement of shutting property rather than its strangula-
tion. Because these two standards are basic to a modern, safe, efficient
Interstate System, it is imperative that new sites be selected for the
routes.2

The design nquirasents for limited gradients also effect site con-
siderations. Gradients are computed as a function of vehicle speed, and
since all sections of the Interstate System are being designed for speeds
of at least 50 miles per hour, gradients should not normally be greater
than 5 per cent (a 5 foot rise or decline in a horizontal metance of
100 feet). The exception to this rule is in terrain with considerable
local relief where gradients 2 per cent steeper may be provided. These.
requirements have a decided effect on the selection of a site. Level

 

J'David Levin, "The Pemanence of the Right-of-Iay in a Changing En-
vironment," Win Our National Life, pp. cit., Pp. 281—289.

2U.S., Congress, House, Interregonal Him, 3. £13., P.8h.

able w
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30

areas are favored wherever they are available. If they are not avail-
able without uneconomical deviations from the planned general route,
expensive cut-an d-fill techniques must be employed to maintain the re-
quired horizontal alinement. Other considerations being equal, the high-
way location engineer will look for a site which reduces the amount of
cut and fill to a minimum.1
mucus Environment.
Elements of the plvsical environment which may be site cmtrols
are as follows:
(1) surface configuration, including

(a) local relief

(b) earth materials-bedrock and soil

(c) drainage characteristics

(2) natural vegetation
Surface configuration refers to the relief and slope characteris-

tics of the various types of landforms. These factors—relief and slope-
can be vital in controlling the site of the highway, especially in hilly
or mountainous terrain.2 Earth materials associated with surface configu-
ration msy be extremely important in the control of site. Bedrock cut-
crops of arm extensive size are usually avoided, although the highway may
pass close to them for scenic purposes. Highways should not be located
on unstable bedrock or bedrock which is liable to lateral movement.3
Soils likewise influence the site of the highway, withsoum soils being

 

2"Bruce and Clarkeson, log. 31.3., Pp. 37-143.
2

American Association of State Highway Officials, A Pcli on Geo-
gtric Design of Rural Him, (Wash., D.C.x AASHO, 19355 P. 53.

33m“ and Clarkeson, log. git.

31

excellent as road foundations while others are very poor, or even
unsatisfactory.1

. The drainage characteristics of land are also important site con-
trols. Good natural drainage is always desirable for a highway site;
if it cannot be obtained because of the necessity of heeding other fac-
tors, it must be provided artificially. Rivers and streams must be
avoided or bridged. Lakes, or other large bodies of water must be
avoided as sites, for obvious reasons. Natural vegetation may be an
important site control especially in wooded areas.2
Cultural Environment.

Cultural features and characteristics of the land are also impor-
tant in detemining sites for Interstate highways. The following two
general classifications include those cultural ractcre which are primary
and secondary controls in site considerations:

(1) motor-vehicle traffic flow
(2) land use

If one factor can be rated the most important site determinant, it
is motor-vehicle traffic flow. Although traffic considerations do not
dominate site detereinations to the exclusion of all other factors, no
modern highway is located without close scrutiny of the traffic situation
and especially the desire lines of traffic movement between origin and
destinations.

lotor-vehicle—desire lines of movement are determined by origin-
destination surveys (0-D surveys). Highway engineers consider these

 

5 lusno, a relic; on Geometric Design of Rural 11511315, op. cit.,
Fe 3. - , —

2Ibid.

32

surveys to be the most satisfactory and accurate method of estimating
the volume of traffic that would use a new highway were it to be con-
structed. The 0-D technique involves the establishment of certain cor-
dons, or lines, which intersect all highways focusing on an area. Count-
ing stations and interviewers are situated on these cordons where they
intersect the highways. Each vehicle which passes the cordon is stopped,
the driver is interviewed, and information is obtained as to where his
trip originated and to ilere he is destined. Data from these surveys
are usually plotted on maps. The lines which are plotted indicate the
major-desire movements of traffic, or the direction that vehicles would
travel if they could go from origin to destination by the most direct
route.1

In general, the site of the highway should coincide as closely as
possible to the densest concentration of desire lines of movement. Since,
however, other factors besides traffic must be considered, it is not al-
ways possible, nor even desirable, to fit the new highway onto the exact
position of the desire lines.2

Land use, including cultural features associated with nan's occu-
pance of the land, is likevise an important site factor. Sites for high-
ways are usually chosen on the least valuable and least intensively used
land within any areas. This is not always the case because of various
other site considerations which may tend to discourage utilisation of the

low value, low intensity-of-use land.

 

111. N. Grunow, "Location Needs to Get Full Benefits from Freeways,"

groceedingg of Amarican Society of Civil Engineers, Journal of him
Division, Vol.13, Paper 129h, July 19 7, Pp. 1-10.

2mm A P ghway
, olic on Arterial Hi s in Urban Areas (Wash. D.C.:
usno, 1957) FEE—L. . ’ ’

33

‘Land use may be considered under the headirg cf two basic divi-
sions. These are: (1) urban, and (2) rural. Each of these categories,
of course, contains many subdivisions. The difference between urban and
rural land uses is primarily a matter of degree rather than kind, al-
though some land uses are found in urban areas that are rare in rural
areas, and vice versa. In rural areas the possibilities for highway
sites are usually greater than in urban areas because of less develop-
ment and consequent wider range of available, satisfactory locations for
a highway. The urban area, in contrast, is usually congested, little
land is unused, and the possibilities for highway sites are severely
limited.1

Each of the subdivisions of the basic land use types (agricultural,
residential, commercial, recreational, manufacturing, etc.) offers variant
possibilities and poses different problems for highway sites. For example,
if a highway is to be located through a highly pmductive agricultural
area, it should remove as little of the better land from production as is
physically attainable. This requirement, of course, would not be impor-
tant on unused land. If manufacturing or commercial uses are found in
the area through which a highway is to pass, the facility should be lo-
cated to serve these establishments. The recreational area may prcude
a special case. Here, scenic values, general esthetics, and recreational
roadside development may be of prime importance in controlling the site.

In surmnary, highway site determinations are usually more complex

and expensive to solve in urban areas than they are in rural areas. This

 

S 1AASHO, A Policy on Geometric Design of Rural Highways, 22. 212.,
Fe 3.

311

is largely the result of inherent differences in intensity of land use
found in the two situations. Interstate highways in rural areas are
designed for high speeds, and thus require a site which will provide
better alinement, longer views, and greater lateral clearances than do
similar highways in urban areas. But in urban areas, although speed and
other design requirements may be lower than for rural areas, there is
less choice of site than in open areas, ald route termini controls are
more rigid.1

The site factors discussed above, like the situation factors dis-
cussed previously, show marked differentiation in their areal distribu-
tion. For example, some areas of the country, such as the Central Low-
lands, have relatively little local relief, while others, such as the
Rocky Mountains and Appalachian Highlands, are characterized by con-
siderable local relief. likewise, some areas, such as the ncn'thern gla-
ciated parts of the United States have an abundance of earth materials
desirable for road construction, while other areas, such as the Mississippi
delta plain, are lacking such materials. In fact, marly all site fac-
tors, both physical and cultural, are characterised by areal differen-
tiation. In the next section of this chapter, chscussion is centered on
the manner in which the areal differentiation of situation and site

factors effects the spatial arrangement of Interstate highways.
The Spatial Arrangement of Interstate Him

The spatial arrangement of highways refers to the location and
distribution of these facilities on the earth's surface. hem what has

 

1Ibid.

 

 

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site is
tributi
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35

been previously said about the areal differentiation of situation and
site factors, it should be expected that the Interstate routes are dis-
tributed in somewhat uneven fashion over the nation. Also, it should be
expected that spatial arrangement of the Interstate routes bears a defi-
nite relationship to the distribution of the various situation and site
factors discussed. Although it is not the intended purpose of this
thesis to indicate the areal differentiation for all the situation and
site factors, it should be valuable to show, in cartographic form, the
relationship between the spatial arrangement of one situation factor
and the spatial arrangement of the Interstate System.

Figure 2 shows the spatial arrangement of the Interstate routes in
relation to the spatial arrangement of the Standard Metropolitan Areas of

tha muons 1

It is evident that the majority of the Standard Metropolitan
Areas in each region of the country are served by one, or more, Inter-
state route. The only states which have more than two unserved astro-
politan areas an Texas with h, and Iowa with 3. Several routes, how-
ever, pass through territory which has no metropolitan area. These

routes are Justified on the basis of other factors, the most important

of which are the desire for an interconnected system and balanced re-
gional distribution. Host of these latter routes have termini in centers
which, although not populous enough to rate metropolitan status, are of

considerable regional importance.

 

11 Standard Metropolitan Area is a county, or group of contiguous
counties, which contains at least one central city of 50,000 inhabitants,
or more, except in New England where it is defined by a population density
criterion of 150 persons, Or more, per square mile. For more detailed
information see, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, County and
City Data Book, 1956, Washington, D.C., 1957, P. xi.

 

. d d J‘
82 63.3388... » .oe . o o. .2.

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N tour.

37

Casual examination of Figure 2 indicates that the Interstate routes
serve every region of the country. Closer examination, however, indi-
cates regional differences in density of network. The eastern half of
the nation, including the North and the South,has a significantly denser
network than does the Nest. This is basically a result of differences
in the physical and cultural environments of the areas. In the humid
North and South, agriculture forms the basis for the support of a large
umber of people, while in the arid and semi-arid Nest, agricultural
possibilities are more limited. Topograplw, local relief, and soil con-
ditions are likewise more favorable in most parts of the North and South
than they are in the Nest. _In the North are found most of the nation's
larger cities and its densest concentration of productive facilities,
as well as fairly dense concentrations of rural populatim. In the
South are found relatively closely spaced regional centers of large sise,
and some of the nation' s densest concentrations of rural population.

Each of these broad regions (the North, the South, and the Nest)
exhibits cmsiderable internal contrasts. The nation's densest network
of Interstate routes is in the North, roughly coinciding with the
American Nanufacturing Belt. The American llamfacturing Belt, of course,
contains much of the urban population of the nation, a preponderance of
the manufacturing industries, and a significant share of the natim' s
agricultural production. The Smith has its dmsest concentration of
routes in the area near the southern extremity of the Appalachian Nountsins
where the Piedmont Upland and the Ridge and Valley Section of the
Appalachian Highlands meet. Here, as indicated in Figure 2, is a con-
centration of metropolitan areas in the young, but rapidly developing,
industrial region of the South.

38

Other regional contrasts are noticeable in Figure 2. In the ex-
treme northern portions of the East, the neflork is broken into ten-
tacles. This is particularly evident in northern Ninnesota, northern
Wisconsin, northern Michigan, andNaine. In these areas climatic and
soil conditions are not as favorable for agricultural production as they
are further south, and this has resulted in lower population demities,
smaller urban centers, fewer manufacturing establishments, and conse-
quent lower density of Interstate routes. The South also has some
poorly served areas. The most obvious of these are the predominantly
agricultural Delmarva Peninsula, the poorly drained North Carolina
coastal plain, and the Everglades area in Florida.

West of the 100th Meridian, or at the edge of the Great Plains, the
Interstate network thins noticeably in response to various physical and
cultural factors. These factors include the general aridity or semi-
aridity of much of this area with consequent united possibilities for
agriculture, the rugged mountainous terrain which is widely distributed,
and the sparse population. In the American Nest, settlements are basically
of the oasis type, with urban centers being surrounded by relatively empty
areas. Examination of Figure 2 indicates that throughout much of the Nest,
metropolitan areas are few and dispersed, especially in comparison to
parts of the humid North and South. However, most of the major centers
in the Nest are connected by more than one Interstate route. These
centers include Albuquerque, Denver, Cheyenne, Butte, Salt Lake City,
Phoenix, Portland, and Seattle.

In and approaching California the network again attains a demity
comparable to the North and the South. This is particularly noticeable
in the vicinity of Los ingeles and San Francisco. These two cities mark

39

the cores of what might be called the California urban-manufacturing
region. The nation's only region of Mediterranean climate is found in
California, and this has helped to attract large numbers of people for
recreational and agricultural pursuits. Recently, the area has also be-
come a major manufacturing section of the nation, and this has tended to
further increase the population. Much of the remainder of the state,
outside the zone of Mediterranean climatic influence, is either desert
or mountain, and does not have population densities or agricultural
production comparable to those in the urban-manufactming region.1

In statuary, the various physical and cultural situation and site
characteristics show considerable areal differentiation over the face of
the nation. Probably the single most important locational criterion in-
volved in the distribution of Interstate routes is motor-vehicle traffic
flow, both actual and potential. But motor-vehicle traffic flow is ef-
fected by numerous other factors, the most important of which are popu-
lation and prodm tive-facility distribution. And, furthermore, the loca-
tion of population centers and productive facilities can themelves be
traced to the historical development of ' the American cultural landscape

based in large part on areally differentiated natural resources.

 

18cc, Edward A. Ackerman, "The National Environment of Urban Growth
and Highway Construction," The New Him Challenge to the Metropoli-
tan'Area, Urban Land Institute, Technical Bull., No. 31, Wash., D.C.,
NO'e, 1957s

 

CHAPTER III
THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM IN ITS MICHIGAN SETTING

In.many respects the‘flichigan portion of the Interstate System is
representative of other regions in the nation; on the other hand, cerb
tain characteristics of the state have produced a spatial arrangement of
Interstate routes which is unique. This chapter is devoted to an analysis
of the situation and site factors peculiar to Michigan,'which have ef-

fected the spatial arrangement of Interstate highways.
Situation‘Factors

The situation factors of Michigan that have been important con-
trols in the general location of Interstate routes may be broadly
classified as follows:1

(1) physical environment, including
(a) climate
(b) landforms and drainage
(c) earth resources
(2) cultural environment, including distribution of
(a) population

(b) productive facilities

tfibove, P. 22.

ho

hi

(c) transportation facilities
(d) military and defense establishments
Physical enviroment.

The physical enviromaent of Michigan, especially its climate, land-
fcrms, earth resources, and land-awater relationships, is a basic situ-
ation control. However, the first three of these plusical elements-
climate, landforms, and earth resources—are mainly inortant in an in-
direct sense as far as their influence on Interstate-route locations is
concerned. These elements have influenced the cultural environment of
lichigan, which, in turn, has effected the general location of Interstate
routes. However, Michigan's peculiar land-water relatimship has had
direct influence on the location of the Interstate network.

The physical setting of Michigan is dominated by its position rela-
tive to the world's largest system of inland, fresh-water lakes: The
Great Lakes. llichigan is nearly surrounded by these large lakes, ani is
divided by thm into tIo separate peninsulas that have only recently been
physically united by a bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac. The sig-
nificance of this peninsular location mid the Great Lakes is that lili-
tations are automatically set on the directions of approach available to
through routes entering the state. Re-ennination of Figure 2 indicates
that Interstate routes enter, or leave, Eichigan from the south only;
There is no other possibility for a land route into lichigan from American
points except from northern Wisconsin into the Upper Peninsula, a route
not presently included on the Interstate System. In addition, sites for
roads from Canada into Michigan are restricted to relatively small areas
aromad the straits of the Detroit River, along the St. Clair River, and
near Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula. In each of these cases,

bridges 0
these rea
isolated

The
sources-
Hichigan.
21m (K3;
Iith varn
growth oi
30.115 inc
180 days
sula; th1

T01
America 1
Although
break th
garter-3.11
source b
llEldor d1
mum
other 8!:

lmtion

he

bridges or tunnels are necessary to make the desired connections. For
these reasons the northern parts of the state have tended to be more
isolated than they might otherwise have been.

The other physical factors—climate, landforms, and earth re-
sources—have a strong effect on the general cultural situation of
Michigan. Climatically, Michigan is part of the Humid Continental re-
gime (KBppen Daf and Dbf) , and consequently has marked seasonal contrasts

with warm summers and cold winters.1

Precipitation is adequate for the
growth of vegetation and crops throughout most of the state (average of
30.16 inches per year). Average length of growing season varies from
180 days in the southwest to 80 days in small areas of the Upper Penin-
sula; thus, in most of the state a variety of crops can be grown.2
Topographically, Michigan is chiefly part of that huge area of North
America known as the Central Lowlands. Michigan is, thus, a plains area,
although here and there minor relief features and mildly rough country
break the monotony of flat or gently rolling terrain,3 Plains areas are
generally the best sites for human habitation providing climate and re-
source bases are also favorable. These areas do not, in general, pose
major difficulties for modern highway construction, provided they are
well-drained. Only the western half of the Upper Peninsula has relief and
other surface conditions which might exercise dominant control over highway

location, and this area of the state has no Interstate route at present.

 

1Finch and Trewartha, Physical Elements of com, 9:33. 333.,
Appendix, Plate III .

 

2Bert Hudgins, Michigan: Geographic Back rounds in the Development
of the Commonwealth. (inn Arbor, Mich.: Edwards Bros., Inc. , 1958)
Ppe 31’37e

3lallace Atwood, The iogreflric Provinces of North America.
(Boston: Gin and Co., 19 0 Pp. 136-189.

 

 

1:3

Iichigan is fairly well endowed with earth and vegetative resources.
Iater resources of the land are outstanding for human habitation, although
the law swamps in the state were a deterrent to early settlenent.
Iichigan's podzolic soils (in the north) and grey-brown podzolic soils
(in the south) are generally fair to good for agricultural use, although
there are considerable differences even within small areas. Economic
minerals are widely distributed and have added greatly to its habitation
possibilities. The native vegetation of Michigan, largely mixed breed-
leaf and needleleaf forest, has likewise contributed greatly to the de-
velopment of the state, although years of exploitation have reduced the
virgin forests to a mere remnant of their former extensive cover.

lichigan, though relatively a small area, does have great internal
contrasts. Its areally differentiated fundament modified by the cultural
stage of the people has resulted in the varied distributions of cultural
phenomena. It is the cultural phenomena of Iichigan which are most sig-
nificant in the general location of Interstate highways 3 but the basic
influence of the physical environaent is always apparent.

Cultural environment.

The cultural enviroment d lichigan is a product of the people who
inhabited the state, the physical environment which they found, and the
resultant historical development. These factors have influenced the pres-
ent distributions of population, productive facilities, and transportation
facilities.

Distribution of population.- Detroit was the first permanent white
settlement in lichigan; it was established by the French in 1701 on the

1th

straitsl of the river between what are now known as Lakes St. Clair and
Erie. For many years after Detroit was settled it remained an isolated
outpost in the wilderness. Not until Detroit became part of the United
States in 1796 (de facto control), after which the Michigan Territory
was opened for settlement, did pressure grow for penetration of the in-
terior of the Lower Peninsula. Detroit was quite naturally the center
for this outward movement, and major Indian trails leading out of the
Detroit area served as the first inland routes. These major Indian
trails (Figure 3) were the Sauk, St. Joseph, Grand River, Saginaw, and
Gratiot trails.2

These trails became the approximate sites of the Terli torial Roads,
so-called because they were constructed with Federal money while llichigan
was still a Territory. Relationships between the Indian trails and Terri-
torial Roads were as follows: (1) Grand River Road - Grand River Trail 3
(2) Chicago Road —- Sank Trail; (3) Territorial Road - St. Joseph Trail;
(14) Saginaw Road - Saginaw Trail; and (5) Fort Gratiot Road -- Gratiot
Trail. 1 military road of importance was also constructed during the

3

Territorial Period. This was the famed Detroit-Fort Meigs Road which

traversed a historic barrier to land comunication, the Black Swamp, and,
thus, finally gave Detroit effective land connection with the area to the
)4

south.

 

1The French translation of "a straits site" is detroit, from which
is derived the name of the river and the city.

2i. E. Perkins, The Historical Geo ra of Detroit. (Taming:
Michigan Historical Commission, 1913) Pp. iii-iv and 133-151;.

3The old site of Fort Meigs is now called Toledo.

 

hfloger L. Morrison, The History 3:11 Developnent of llichl an Hi -
gigs—Kniversity of Michigan Official Publicaticns, Vol. 39, No. , 1938,

hS

 

 

MAJOR INDIAN TRAILS
LEADING TO AND FROM MICHIGAN

 

Gooqauaun-

SOURCE:

so:

WARRIORS PATH
sIOTO TRAIL
GREAT TRAIL
NARONING TRAIL
SHORE TRAIL
IROOUOIs TRAIL
NORAwK TRAIL
SAUK TRAIL 3°"
ST. JOSEPH TRAIL

GRAND RIVER TRAIL

SAGINAw a NAcxINAw TRAIL
SAULT a GREEN BAY TRAIL
POTOIIIAc TRAIL

WABASH TRAIL

MONTREAL TRAIL

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T. NIEDRINGIIAus. Ieee
715'

 

 

Figure 3

h6

The importance of these early roads relates to their influence
on the population distribution Of Michigan. With Detroit as the center,
population waves moved out over the Territorial Roads to establish new
settlements. Many of these settlements were dispersed farmsteads; but,
at favored sites along the roads, urban settlements developed. The urban
settlements established along these Territorial and military roads are,
at present, the major urban settlements of Michigan.

The relationship between the Territorial Roads and the majOr urban
settlements of Michigan can be illustrated by use of a generalized dia-
gram. In this diagram let I represent a focal point. Through this
point draw four straight lines, none of which is extended in a due east

direction. This would appear as follows:

Figure )4. Urban Settlement Pattern of Michigan

N
?

 

e—x

If Detroit is considered to be point X, and the Territorial Roads aid
military road to be the lines, it can easily be proved that every city
in Michigan of 25,000 people, or over, lies either at the center, along
one of the lines, or in close proximity. This unique arrangement can be
traced to the physical setting of Michigan and the historic evolution of

population distribution. Examination of Figure 5 shows that, with certain

h?

extensions and additions, this arrangement is basically similar to the
arrangement of the Interstate routes in Michigan. This similarity is no
accident.

Several other population characteristics of the state also in-
fluence the location of Interstate routes. In 1950 Michigan had a popu-
lation density of about 112 people per square mile. However, this popu-
lation was distributed in markedly uneven fashion. If a line were to be
drawn between Muskegon and Bay City west-east across the state, about
86 per cent of the total population1 would be found living south Of
this line, although over half the area of the state lies to the north.
Furthemore, every available indicator shows a trend towards an even
higher percentage of total population in the southern half of the state.2

likewise, the urban-rural totals and ratios Of population show em-
siderable geographic variation. Michigan is, today, essentially an urban
state. The 1950 census indicated that about 71 per cent of the popula-
tion resided in urban places. This contrasts rather sharply with the
national average of 56 per cent. Most Of the urban population of the
state is concentrated to the south of the aforementioned Muskegon-Bay City
line. The 31 largest population centers of the state are located to the
south or this line,3 ani, or mere, the larger are distributed according
to arrangement outlined in the above diagram. And to describe the popu-
lation distribution of Michigan at even sharper focus, it should be noted

 

lThe population of Michigan in 1956 was 7,516,000 (est.). See U.S.,
Dept. of Comerce, Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract Of the
United States, 1557. 78th Annual Ed., 1957"""1‘, P. o.

 

2Hudgins, 199. 9333., Pp. 111-112.

3
Ibid., P. 112.

 

 

INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS IN MICHIGAN

 

 

 

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AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC FLOW
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I49

that about one-third of the people are settled in the Detroit Metropolitan
Area. A
To smarize, the population distribution of Michigan is funda-
mentally important in understaniing the reasons for the location of In-
terstate highways in Michigan. The straight-line, radial arrangement
focusing on Detroit, is also the basic pattern for Interstate highways.
Examination of Figure 5 should confirm this.
Distribution of Jroducuve facilities.- A second cultural factor
of importance in the location of Interstate highst in Michigan is the
distribution Of productive facilities. In order of importance the major
classes of productive facilities found in Michigan are as follows:1
(1) manufacturing
(2) tourist and resort trade
(3) agriculture
(Ii) exploitation of natural resources
Michigan is a major manufacturing state. In 199; the state had
12,711 manufacturing establishments which made it the seventh ranking
state in this respect. Value added by manufacture in Michigan was nearly
nine billion dollars and placed the state in fifth position.2 Although
Michigan has several manufactures of importance, transportation equipmalt,
particularly motor vehicles, is by far the leading me. The manufacture
of motor-vehicle units and parts dominates Michigan's economy acre com-

pletely than does a single industry in any other large state. To

 

he Mfiigan State Highway Dept., Higggay Needs in Michigan, Lansing,
19 ’ Po 0

2U.S., Dept. of Commerce, Bureau Of the Census, Statistical Ab-
stract or the United States, 1957, 32. ‘gi_t., Pp. 792-793.

 

50

illustrate this, consider the fact that in 195k motor-vehicle units and
parts alone accounted for over one-third of the total value added by all
manufacturing in Michigan.1

Of special significance to any analysis of situation factors in
Michigan is the fact that highways are an essential elemnt in the
motor-vehicle production process. The highway is as much a part of the
assembly line as the machine that makes engines or the conveyor belt
which moves needed parts. Mass production of bulky motor-vehicle pro-
ducts depends on an uninterrupted flow of materials and parts from many
subsidiary plants to a single point Of final assembly. TO bring to-
gether at the assembly line thousands of parts from numerous suppliers,
at the time needed, without devotizg excessive space to storage, motor—
vehicle manufacturers rely heavily on truck transportation, and conse-
quently the highway netwark.

The Detroit Metropolitan Area (Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties)
is the primary center for Michigan.motor vehicle production. Other urban
centers in Michigan which are important manufacturers of motor vehicles
are Flint, Lansilg, and Saginaw. Numerous otter places, largely in the
southern half of the state, provide parts fa- the assembly plants lo-
cated in the above centers. Observation of Figure 5 indicates that all
of the major motor-vehicle production centers are served by one or more
Interstate routes.

Many other manufacturing industries are located in Michigan. Among

the more important of these are: machinery; fabricated metal products;

 

10.3., Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, U.S. Census Of
Manufactures: 19514, State Bu11., MC-121, (Michigan), 737—1 , ""'""Pp. 2-‘I7' .

2M.S.H.D., fli_gh_w_ay_Needs in Michigan, O . 33.3., P. 16.

51

primary metal industries; food and kindred products; chemicals and pro-
ducts; pulp, paper, and products; and printing and publishing. In addi-
tion to the transportation-equipment centers listed above, other impor-
tant manufacturing centers are: Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon-
Muskegon Heights, Battle Creek, Midland, Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, Bay
City, Port Huron, Jackson, and Monroe.1 Figure 5 indicates that all Of
these centers are located in the southern half of the state, and that
most Of these centers are connected by one, or more, Interstate routes.

The tourist and resort indie try is the state's second most impor-
tant economic base. Michigan has a number of natural features which are
of recreational value, and many of these are developed for the tourist
trade. Highways and motor vehicles are the means by which most people
travel to these areas, and for this reason, Michigan's second industry,
like the first, is fundamentally depenient on the state's highways. Un-
like population and manufacturing centers, however, recreational areas
are distributed throughout the entire state in fairly even proportions.
It cannot be expected, therefore, that an Interstate network Of limited
extent will furnish equal service to all recreational areas Of importance
in the state.

Agriculture is now the third most important general economic base
in Michigan, although at one time it was the leading industry. The
principal crops grown are com, hay, wheat, oats, field beans, sugar
beets, and various kinds of fruit. The state is also an important

producer of livestock and associated pmducts.2

 

1Hudgins, _1_o_c. 333., P. 111.

2Ibid., P. 70.

52

The southern section of Michi gan took an early lead in agricul-
tural production, largely because of accessibility. However, the south-
ern section has continued to hold this advantage because of such factors
as the longer growing season, the better quality soils, and the closer
proximity to the larger markets. The number and distribution of farms,
and the value of farm products sold by counties illustrate this fact
strongly.1

Highway transportation is vital to Michigan's agricultural pro-
duction. The truck has become a major farm tool, -with such diverse
agricultural producers as fruit and vegetable truck gardeners, special-
ized cherry growers, and dairy farmers depending almost exclmively on
highway trucking for their marketing activities.2

In the fourth ranking major industry of Michigan, the exploitation
of natural resources, highways are becoming increasingly useful. But
highways are not of such prime importance to mining as they are to other
industries. For movement of such basic resources as iron ore, coal,
petroleum, and limestone greater reliance is placed on rail, water, or
pipeline transport than on highway trucking. But even for these pro-
ducts, highway transportation is becoming more important on short hauls.
In the logging industry, truck transportation is making selective cut-
ting of small woodlots economical. Low-cost logging roads, largely in
the northern portions of the state, connected with the main highway

131w: B. Hill and Russell 6. Mawbyhmges of Farming in Michigan,
Spec. Bull. 206, Hichigan State Agricultural tation, Sept. 19 , Pp. 7.

zHudgins, log. _c_i_t_., Pp. 69-79.

 

53

network, convert forests from a one-time exhaustible resource into a
continuous steady-flow resource.

Distribution of transportation facilities.- The existing transpon-
tationnetworks of Michigan comprise another situation factor of rele-
vance in the location of the Interstate System. Basic geography would
tend to indicate that the state needs a well-developed tranSportation
netw0rk to facilitate economic activities, and connect widespread but
important centers. To illustrate this hypothsis, consider the fact
that the overland distance from Detroit to Ironwood, in the Uppa‘ Penin-
sula, is approximately the same as from Detroit to New York City.

The Great Lakes provide water transportation for max-w raw materials
which are extracted in, used in, grown in, or just transported through
Hichigan. The importance of this route should not be underestimated,
especially with the growth of traffic on the St. Lawrence Seaway. let
this transportation route is, for Michigan, largely peripheral; in the
interior of Michigan there is little available navigable water which
could be economically used to fom a consistent network interconnecting
with the Great Lakes system.2

Railroad service in Michigan is less developed than in many other
parts of northeastern United States because it lies out of the path of
most east-west transcontinental rail routes. Although rail routes helped
to build and settle Michigan, and are vital tc‘many heavy industries, they

are becoming relatively less important than they were several generations

A;— _‘A

¥M.s.H.D., Highway Needs in Michigan, gp.'git., Pp. 28-29.

2Ibid., P. 13.

Sh

ago. To illustrate, railroad-route mileage within the state was ap-
proximately 9,000 in 1910, but less than 7,000 in 191.6.1 Although rail
and.water transportation facilities are available to parts of Michigan,
and certainly should not be discounted, roads are necessary to comple-
ment these media, and to provide transportation to those areas unserved
by them.

The modern system of roads and highways in the state owes its
existence to successive generations of builders-Indians, early settlers,
soldiers, the Federal government, and.various state and local agencies.
The road network which they have created now totals approximately
109,600 miles, by far the most extensive transportation system in the state?

But despite this extensive mileage, the state is in need of major
road improvements. In l9h8 fortyhsix per cent of the road mileage within
the state was deficient in some respect. It was estimated that five-
sixths of aggregate expenditures required to overccme the above deficien-
cies were needed on through and community roads, which together comprise
less than one-third of the state's total road mi1esge.3 Thus, despite re-
cent construction, there is an especially strong need for expressways in
large urban centers, bybpasses around smaller centers, and.modern through-
highways to move the large motordvehicle volumes between the principal
traffic-generating areas of the state. The Interstate System will not so1°ve

these pr0b1ems completely,‘but it is designed and located to alleviate these
problems to the maximum extent at the minimum cost.

lIbide , PP. 13-Me

SS zlichigan State Highway Dept., Modern Highways for Michigan, Lansing,
l9 , P0 190

zlichigan State Highway Dept., Highway Needs in'Michigan,.gp.‘git.,

Pe 8-9e

55

Distribution of military and defense establishments .- Hichigan
contains many places and activities which are vital to the nation's
military plant and its defense security. Because, in all probability,
some of the more vital of these imtallations could not be identified
even with diligent research, little will be said about this factor here,
except to indicate its great importance to Interstate-highway locations.
In general, however, it is well known that Hichigan's defense industries
coincide rather closely with the major manufacturing centers of tin
state. It is also well known that a major United States AirForoe base
is located at Selfridge Field near Detroit, and that the Soo Locks, at
Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula, are considered to be one of the
most strategic points in the United States. Examination of Figure 5 in-
dicates that these areas are all served by Interstate routes.

.SM" Michigan situation factors show considerable differentia-
tion in their areal distribution. This is particularly true of the major
urban areas aid manufacturing establishments which are concentrated in
the southern part of the state, especially along the straight-line,
Detroit-focused design previously indicated. The intensity and type of
agricultural production also exhibits considerable areal differentiation
from place to place in the state. In fact, nearly all situation factors
in the state are characterised by some degree of areal differentiation.
is is discussed later in this chapter, this variance in distribution of
situation factors, along with the varying distributions of site factors,
helps to explain the spatial arrangement of the Interstate routes in
Michigan.

56

Site Factors

In Chapter II site factors were considered to be either physical
or cultural elements, and of primary or secondary importance depending
on their degree of influence in the location of a highway. Site factors
of relevance in effecting highway location are often referred to as con-
trol points, denoting a specific location on which the highway will
stand.1
ggzgical environment.

Elements of the physical environment in Michigan which are ime
portant site controls are as follows:

(1) surface configuration, including
(a) local relief
(b) earth materials-ebedrock and soil
(c) drainage characteristics

(2) natural vegetation

'§grface configuration.- The local surface-configuration variations
to be found from place to place in Michigan can be traced to the effects
of Pleistocene continental glaciation. It is impossible, here, to give
even a cursory treatment of glacial history and its resultant landforms.
It can be pointed out, however, that the glaciers and their meltwaters
both eroded and.deposited. In the western Upper Peninsula the process
was primarily erosion. In the eastern Upper Peninsula and.all of the
Lower Peninsula, deposition was the major result of glaciation. The

material which was deposited is known as glacial drift; the Lower

libon, P. 15.

57

Peninsula is covered by this material to an average depth of 100 feet.1

The features left by these glaciers range from relatively flat
outwash plains to hilly recessional moraines, with ridgelike rises
(eskers) , spoonshaped hills (drumlins) , gravelly --sandy hills and ter-
races (kames) , pools-marked plains (pitted outwash), extremely flat land
(former glacial-lake beds), and gently rolling terrain (till plaim) ap-
pearing from place to place in reasonably predictable associations. A
noteworthy characteristic of these glacial landforms is the general lack
of local relief produced by them. 'Although a few places in the state
have local relief of 1,000 feet or greater, most of the state has a
local relief of around loo-125 feet at the maximum.

Highway engineers, although perhaps not interested in glacial
history and landforms er se, are concerned with the surface configu-
ration in relation to road building. The engineer classifies terrain
according to the special design requirements or mechanical techniques
necessary to solve the site problem at that location. Thus, routes are
classified according to their relation to surface configuration as
follows:2

(1) Location along valleys - where flat grades are available,
but where floods and washouts may cause difficulties and
where sharp curves and bridges may be necessary if the
stream is meandering (as many Michigan streams do). This is
a fairly typical site for Michigan roads.

(2) Location along ridges or drain_age divides - where steeper

l‘t‘OOd, £92. Sin-Es, Ppe 198-205.

ZRUbey, 3.22. 31:20, PP. 5-7.

58

grades may be necessary, but where drainage and horizontal
alinement problems are usually minimized. Such sites are
also fairly common in Michigan.

(3) Location across the grain of drainage - where the route
crosses streams and valleys approximately at right angles.
Grades become fairly steep depending on shape of valley and
amount of fill material which can be economically used. Ex-
pensive structures may be mquired at stream crossings. Most
Michigan rivers and streams, however, are not wide and
valleys are not deeply incised.

(h) Location along hillsides - where the route gradient can
be controlled rather easily, but which necessitates follow-
ing the hillside curve with consequent frequent changes in
the horizontal alinement. This type of site condition is
not typical for most of Michigan because of the general lack
of hilly land.

(5) Location which traverses comparatively level terrain -

 

where little difficulty in gradient is encountered, but
where drainage problems may occur. Routes traversing level
terrain may be straight for long distances. This site con-
dition is typical for Michigan roads, many of which follow
arbitrary section or township lines.

(6) Location with relative disregard for topogaphy - gener-
ally found only in relatively level country where heavy and
important construction is involved and modern earth moving

equipment is available.

59

Many of the sections on the Interstate network in Michigan will
be placed on sites chosen with little regard for topography in the man-
ner described in (_6_) above. However, surface configuration in many
areas of the state exercise only secondary control over the location of
highways, and the construction work is on such a large scale that very
heavy earthmoving equipment will be used.

Another factor in the physical environment of Michigan that is an
important site control is earth material, including bedrock, glacial
drift, and soil. However, because Michigan bedrock is deeply buried by
glacial drift throughout most of the state, especially the part where
Interstate routes are concentrated, it can be discounted as a major site
control.

Michigan soils are derived frcm glacial drift which has been acted
on by climate, vegetation, and time to produce the inorganic-organic sub-
stance called soil. Beneath the soil, which does not extend far beneath
the land surface, is found the glacial drift, or soil parent material.
This is composed of unconsolidated sand, silt, and clay particles of
various sizes, and is characterized by lithological heterogeneity.1
However, for purposes of this discussion, both soil and parent material
are called soil.

Soils are important in highway construction because they are the
bed over which the pavement is laid, and in many respects this bed is
more important than the surface itself. The material underlying the
pavement consists of two parts. These are: (l) the base course, which

is immediately under the pavement and is usually, but not always,

 

litwood, _1_gg.. 3133., Pp. 198-200.

60

composed of material other than soil 3 and (2) the subgrade, which under-
lies the base course and is always composed of soil.1 '

For purposes of highway construction the physical properties of
soil are the basis for classification. These properties which are of
interest in highway site problems are cohesion, internal friction, can-
pressibility, plasticity, capillarity, stability, and drainage. These
musical characteristics control the performance of soil with regard to
shrinkage, expansion, frost heave, settlement, sliding, and lateral
flow.2

Soil properties, and consequent performance qualities, vary con-
siderably in Michigan. The variances in these qualities result pri-
marily from textural differences rather than lithological contrasts.
Therefore, in classifying material as to desirability for highway sub-
grades, a textural approach is used. Soil is thus classed according to
size of particles as follows:

(1) coarse sand - diameter from 2.0 to 0.25 mm.

(2) fine sand - a n 0.25 to 0.05 mm.
(3) silt - 6 a 0.05 to 0.005 mm.
(1;) clay - 5 less than 0.005 m.

Soil is commonly a mixture of various proportions of some, or all,
of these particles. Depending on the proportion of each type particle
found in the soil, it may be called sand, sandy loam, silty loam, sandy

clay loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, sandy clay, silty clay, or clay.3

 

lBruce and Clarkeson, 3.33. gi_t., Pp. 276 and 29h.
2Ibid., P. 27?.
3Ibid., Pp. 279-280.

61

Soils which contain significant proportions of organic materials, in
addition to the inorganic particles, are called peat or much:L

Based on the above textural and physical performance characteris-
tics, a soil quality classification has been evolved for highway con-
struction purposes. Each soil may be classed in one of eight different
groups which are numbered from A-l through A-B. A—l is the best soil
for highway use, and L-B is the poorest. The others are intermediate,
with the lower numbers being more satisfactory than the high. In general,
the low numbered soils consist of sandy material which has just enough
silt and clay to act as a binder. Clay and organics make the poorest
road foundations, while silts are intermediate in quality. For example,
1-1 soil is a uniformly graded material with both coarse and fine sand,
and is well bound. It contains 70—85 per cent sand, 10-20 per cent silt,
and 5-10 per cent clay. 1-1 is highly stable under all conditions, and
drainage problems are negligible. it the other extreme, 1-8 consists of
pests and mucks which contain 55 per cent, or less, sand constituent, are

poorly drained, and are incapable of offering support for any modern type

2
Me

In Michigan soils of. all eight types are found scattered through-
out the state. Many areas of 1-8 (muck and peat) are found in association
with former glacial lakes or swamps. However, there are also extensive
deposits of coarse and fine grained sands distributed throughout the

state, in association with moraines, outwash plains, kames, and eskers.

 

10rganic soils are formed as a result of vegetation growing under
very moist conditions such as shallow lakes or swamps.

2Imnrence I. Hewes. American Rig-$1 Practice. Vol. I, (New York:
J. Iiley and Sons, Inc., 192 Pp. 9.

62

For example, in 1955, 80 of the 83 counties in Michigan reported some

production of sand or gravel. lhen it is necessary to use soil for fill
material, or to replace an undesirable soil with a more satisfactory one,
the haul distance is usually not great.1

Drainage characteristics of the land is another factor in the
physical environment which influences site considerations. Like sur-
face configuration, drainage patterns in Michigan are basically the re-
sult of continental glaciation.2 Iithout going into the processes by
which the glaciers accomplished this feat, it can be said that drainage
in Michigan was canpletely disrupted and changed by the advances and re-
treats of the ice lobes. When the glaciers retreated for the last time,
they left behind an immature, unadjusted drainage pattern with a plethora
of lakes and swamps. The many lakes, although certainly a modern-day
boon to the tourist and resort industry, have acted as obstacles to the
road builders. Swamps have likewise acted as barriers3 to highway con-
struction, although most of them can be drained mre easily than lakes.
However, even when swamps are drained they are not good sites for roads
because (I the soil (muck and peat).

Natural vegetatio .- Natural vegetation is not as important a site
control as it once was. The location of heavily forested areas has con-
trolled highway sites in the past, but the virgin forests are largely
gone now. Although second growth has occurred in some of these areas,

 

J’I-Ian'y 0. Sorenson and Emery T. Carlson, Michigan Mineral Indus-
triesJ 355, State of lichigan, Dept. of Conservation, April 1937, P. 17.

 

ZHudglnB, &e 2%., Pp. 17-25.

3The Black Swamp between Detroit and Toledo, mentioned previously
in this chapter as a deterrent to settlement, was forned by a glacial
MOe

63

particularly the north, much of it is now devoid of trees and used for
agricultural or other purposes. The significance of natural vegetation,
for this reason, is not great, except perhaps in the northern parts of
the state. But even in the south, in those areas where wodlots still
exist, trees may have a decided bearing on site considerations.
Cultural environment.

Cultural elements of the environment which may be important site
controls are as follows:

(1) motor-vehicle traffic flow - including actual move-
ments and traffic-desire lines of movement, and

(2) land use - broadly differentiated as urban and rural,
and including features associated with Ian's occupance of
the land.

Motor-vehicle traffic flow.- Motor-vehicle traffic flow, both
actual and potential, is an extremely important site control in deter-
mining the location of the Interstate routes in Michigan. The locus d’
traffic-desire movements is particularly important as a site control.
Traffic-desire movements are the lines which vehicles would take between
origin and destination if they could go' by the most direct route; or,
stated differently, they are the major paths that motor vehicles would
take if they were unimpeded by obstacles and did not have to follow the
existing road system.

The principal direct factors affecting traffic-desire lines are
the volme and distribution of motor vehicle ownership. In comon with
many other situation factors, distribution of vehicle ownership is very
uneven throughout the state. In 19148 two-thirds of all motor-vehicle

registrations were in the 12 leading manufacturing counties in the southern

614

part of the state. Less than 11: per cent of the total registered vehicles
were found in the ncrthem part of the Lower Peninsula and the Upper
Peninsula.1

The importance of the distribution of motor vehicle ownership is
related to the direct influence which it exerts on the volume of traffic
flow. Areas with large numbers of vehicle registrations coincide almost
exactly with areas of maximum traffic flow. ind lines of maximm traffic
flow in rural areas are invariably between places which have a high
density and volume of vehicle ownership (principally urban areas). is
should be expected the most heavily traveled routes in Michigan are
found in the southern part of the state, particularly in, near, or on
highways leading between the larger cities. This is clearly indicated by
the traffic flow bands shown in Figure 5.2

Land use.- Land use is the second of the cultural factors which in-
fluence site considerations. is was previously mentioned in Chapter II,
land use my be broadly classified as either urban or rural. A large per—
centage of the urban land-use associations in the state are found in the
southern half of the Lower Peninsula, and especially along the lines in-
dicated in Figure 1:. Because highway-location problems reach their maid.-
mum difficulties in urban areas, it is to be expected that Interstate
problems will be more difficult in the southern, urbanized areas of the
state. A

The southern portion of Michigan also has a high percentage of the

valuable agricultural land. Where productive land is widespread, highway

63:‘gtchigan State Highway Dept., Highway Needs in Michi 52.“: 23. git"
Pp. .

2Michigan State Highway Dept. , _Alerage 2’; Hour Traffic Flow on the
Trunkline fiystem, 1957, (Map). -

65

location problems may become difficult and expensive to solve. The north-
on areas, in contrast, have a higher percentage of land devoted to such
uses as forests, mining, recreation, and idle categories than do the
southern.

To illustrate the differences betvmen urban and rural sections of
the Interstate System in both the north and the south, consider the es-
timated costs per mile for the completion of the System. Current estimates
indicate that urban portions of the System will average $5,985,000 per
mile of which about 29 per cent will be for right-of-way. This average
is composed of costs ranging from $525,000 per mile in St. Ignace (Upper
Peninsula) to over $12 million per mile on some Detroit sections where
expensive right-of-say, eight traffic lanes, and many structures are
involved.1

In rural areas present estimates are that cost per mile will average
Shh9,000. Host rural sections of the Interstate System require only four
traffic lanes, need fewer structures per mile, and right—of-way is not so
expensive as in urban areas. However, there is considerable differentia-
tion from place to place in the state. For exainple, costs will range
from $300,000 per mile in the Upper Peninsula to over $1 million in rural
areas adjacent to Detroit.2 '

Numerous traffic surveys in various cities have led to the general
hypothesis that traffic loci and flow patterns are dictated by the spatial
arrangemnt of land uses and the associated population distribution. From

this hypothesis, tum important corollaries have been deduced: (1) that

 

1Michigan State Highway Dept., Modern Highways for Michigan, 93. cit.,
P. 70. _

2Ibid.

66 .

the masber of vehicles entering and leaving a given unit of land in a
specific use can be reliably predicted; and (2) that the traffic flows
between land areas with a multitude of land uses can be estimated by
successive additions of trip—generating capacity of individual land uses}

From these studies it has been determined that commercial land-use
types are the most intense generators of traffic. In Detroit a recent
survey showed that daily motor-vehicle trips to comercial land
averaged 269 per acre as compared to 37 per acre for industrial uses
and 29 per acre for residential land. Although 80 per cent of'all trips
have either an origin or destimtion in residential land, this land is
more widely dispersed than commercial or industrial uses and does not
have the traffic generating power per acre that these other uses have.
The traffic generating power of commercial-land uses is the basic reason
why these developments are usually found along the through roads because
this type highway offers the best access for the greatest number of ve-
hicles. However, commercial development along through routes tends to
destroy the original function for which these highways were cmstructed,
namely, furnishing through transportation service to large numbers of
.vehicles.2
Relocation of Interstate Routes.

Site controls are given primary attention when the Interstate routes
in Michigan are relocated. Originally, when the Interstate routes were
selected by the State Highway Department and the Bureau of Public Roads

(acting 'on the recommendations of the Interregional Highway Committee)

J‘Ilichigan State Highway Dept. , Re rt on the Detroit Metropolitan
Area Traffic Stuq, Vol. I, Lansing, , .jB-hl.

2Ibid.

67

the locations coincided with existing state trunklines. For example,

U. S. 12 from Detroit to the Indiana state line, U. S. 10 from Detroit

to Saginaw, and U. S. 16 from Detroit to the Muskegon area were both state
trunklines and Interstate routes.

However, the design standards (especially control of access and
wide right-of—way) established for the Interstate System render the pres-
ent routes functionally obsolete. It is necessary to relocate nearly all
sections of the System, because most of these routes lie in the populous
southern half of Michigan and have been subjected to considerable con-
mercial, industrial, and residential roadside development; consequently,
it would be too expensive to construct the new highways on the old sites.
am of the relocated routes will closely parallel the old highways. If,
however, traffic-desire lines, surface configuration, soil conditions, or
other site factors indicate locations farther removed, the new highways

will be so positioned.1

_Spatial Arrangement of Interstate Highways in Hichigan

 

The Interstate System, for the nation as a hole, was originally
limited by law to 140,000 miles, and is now set at hl,000 miles. Of this
total allowable mileage, 38 ,5h8 had been actually selected as of September
1957. lichigan has been assigned approximately 1,038 miles of this total,
or a little less than 2.5 per cent of the national figure. 01‘ this mileage

861: will be in rural freeways2 and 1714 will be in urban expressways.3

 

1'Iliztallgan State Highway Dept. , Modern Highwap for Hichi_gan,o 92.
cit., P. .

2Includes all mileage outside of cities above 5,000 population or
urban areas adjacent thereto.

3Interview with H. s. Bengry, Michigan State Highway Dept., Planning
Coordinator, May 20, 1958.

68

These figures may be changed slightly when the final apportionments of
the 2,200 remaining miles allotted for Interstate circumferential routes
are made.

For the nation as a whole the System is expected to serve 20 per
cent of all motor vehicle traffic, although it includes only a little
more than one per cent of the total mileage of all public highways. The
Michigan.portion of the System.corresponds to these national averages al-
most exactly}

The locations of the proposed Interstate routes in Michigan are
indicated.in.Figure 5. Examination of this map reveals a fundamental
spatial arrangement which is related to the areal differentiation of the
various situation and site factors which comprise the physicalfland.cu1-
tural environment of Michigan.

The spatial arrangement of the Michigan routes is characterised'hy
two interrelated facts: (1) the concentration of mileage in the southern
part of the Lower Peninsula, and.(2) the focal position of Detroit as the
hub of radiating Interstate routes. The bulk of Michigan's Interstate
mileage lies south of the Muskegon-Bay City line; only a single tentacle
traverses the northern.Lower Peninsula'between.Bay City and.Mackinac
City, and the Upper Peninsula has only a short stretch from St. Ignace to
Sault»Ste. Marie. Nearly all of the routes concentrated in the southern
part of the state have one of their termini in Detroit (five out of seven
of the rural trans-city routes are so located).v These routes radiate out
of Detroit in each direction except east, which eventuality is plecluded
by the political difference encountered.by crossing the Detroit.River.

_— L

1Michigan State Highway Dept., Modern Higflays for Michigan, 22.
L“. ’ P. 66. a e

69

The reasons for this unique spatial arrangement have been alluded
to previously. The southern part of the state is the most heavily popu-
lated section in both urban and rural areas. All of the metropolitan
areas of Michigan are found south of Bay City, all the cities of 25,000
or more population, and the densest concentrations of rural population
in the state.:L

The southern half of Michigan also includes the main manufacturing
centers, the principal agricultural areas as measured by value of crops
produced per county,2 and all the counties which have high motor-vehicle
ownership totals.3 To illustrate, in ma the density of motor-vehicle
ownership in vehicles per square mile was 62.1 in counties traversed by
the Interstate routes. In counties not traversed by these routes, the
density was only 10.3 per square mile.h

Analysis of the reasons for the focal position of Detroit as the
hub of Interstate routes in Michigan indicates three interrelated factors
to be primarily responsible. First, Detroit represents the major concen-
tration of population in the state, with nearly a third of all inhabit-
ants. Second, Detroit is the major manufacturing center of llichigan, and
its principal product, motor vehicles, not only dominates the state's
econom but is extremely dependent on truck transportation for productive
operations. Third, and partially indicative of the other two factors, is

 

1U.S., Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 1921
22. 2.1.12. .

'

 

2Michigan, Dept. of Agriculture, Michigan Agricultural Station, June
1957, PP. 114.150 .

3 These are: Wayne, Oakland, Genesee, Kent, Ingham, Saginaw, Macomb,

Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Berrien, Calhoun, Jackson, Washtenaw, St. Clair, end
lonroe.

hU.S., Congress, House, Interregional Highways, 92. cit., P. 29.

 

70

the history of Detroit and its influence on Michigan settlement patterns.
The city was the first Michigan settlement, and it has retained nunber-
one ranking by a combination of natural advantages and good fortune.

The earliest roads in Michigan had one terminus in Detroit, and settle-
ment waves pushed out along these paths. This, in large part, is respon-
sible for Michigan's unique urban-settlement pattern in which the large
cities of the state all lie on relatively straight lines focusing on
Detroit.

This Detroit-oriented, straight-line urban settlement design is
economical, based on the amount of Interstate mileage needed to connect
major urban centers. The truth of this statement is indicated by estimates
that the average-daily traffic volume on rural sections of the Michigan
Interstate routes will be the third highest in the nation, being exceeded
only by traffic on rural sections in New Jersey and Delaware.1

The single tentacle to Mackinac Straits and northward to Sault Ste.
Marie merits special comment. Certainly, urban population centers, manu-
facturing activity, and traffic flow are not sufficient in this area,
compared with the southern part of the state, to merit the Interstate
emblem. This route is Justified, however, on the basis of: (l) connec-
tion with a Canadian route at Sault Ste. Marie, (2) the strategic im-
portance of the locks atrSault Ste. Marie, (3) service to the tourist and
resort industry (the second-ranking economic base of Michigan), and (h)
provision of minimm service to the Upper Peninsula which would otherwise

be without an Interstate connection.

 

JIichigan State Highway Dept. , Weeds in Michigan, 32. cit.,
P. 80. . ""'

CHAPTERIV

THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM IN ITS LOCAL SETTING:

CASE STUDIES OF MICHIGAN URBAN AREAS

Cities, in the modern exchange economy, are the focus of activity
in the areas which are tributary to them. In like manner, highway prob-
lems come to a focus in the city. In Michigan, where about three-quarters
of the people live in incorporated places, over half of all mileage driven
in the state is on urban roads. The concentration of motorhvehicle traf-
fic on urban roads is further demonstrated by the fact that there are
only 15,621 miles of urban roads in the state compared'with 93,998 miles
of rural roads.1 .

Not only is motor-vehicle traffic heavily concentrated in urban
areas, thus indicating a need for more rapid implementation of an improve-
ment program, but the problems involved in providing adequate locations
for the proper facilities are often.very difficult and expensive to solve.
This is especially true of the Interstate highways in urban areas. These
highways will be constructed with controlled-access features and.on.wide
right-ofdway; they will be, with some exceptions such as more closely
spaced interchanges, the same as the rural freeways. In urban areas they

are commonly referred to as expressways.

 

1Hichigan State Highway Dept., Modern Highways in Michigan, 92.
93., Pp. 66-67.

 

71

72

In Chapter III the urban-rural differentiation of highway location
problems in Michigan was discussed in general terms. This chapter is
primarily concerned with the urban-location problem. The approach used
is to outline general principles and to present case studies of three
‘Michigan.cities to illustrate actual Interstate-highway situations in
their local settings.

General Principles

Highway location in any urban area should be based on cooperative
planning by highway-location engineers and local-planning authorities.
This is especially true of Interstate routes because of their importance
to the basic road framework of the city in which they are located. Howe
ever, plans for a logical and efficient arrangement of highways within
the urban area are becoming increasingly difficult to carry out for a
variety of reasons. The large and expensive fringe developments around
most large cities have added to already serious problems of finding ade-
quate sites for new highways. On the Interstate expressways the necessity
for high design standards, including such factors as control of access,
bridging or closing of intersecting roads, interchange location, frontage
road (service roads which parallel the main highway) location, and the
possible abandonment of existing routes further complicate the studies.)-

Before the route location problem can be solved, it is necessary
to understand the morphology and functions of the American city; American
cities, including those of Michigan, are surprisingly uniform.in the mor-
phological arrangement of their principal sections. ,Although size, type

 

1Michigan: State Highway Dept., 26th Biennial Report of the State
Highway Commission, Lansing, 1958, P. 32.

73

of economic activity, physical site, and that intangible, "personality,”
may vary from place to place, a description of the zones of one city will
suffice for nearly all.

The focal point for the average city is the Central Business Dis-
trict (CBD). This district contains the large stores, office buildings,
and governmental functions, and is usually the cultural center for the
adjacent area. The CBD merges gradually into a secondary business area
vhich fringes the core. The secondary business district in turn blends
into a large area of mixed land uses and run-down buildings; this is
usually the slum area of the city. Surrounding the slum area is an even
wider area of residential property in various stages of depreciation.
This is the so-called ”blighted area." Beyond the blighted area lies
the newer residential developments which extend far out past the city
limits in the form of subdivisions. These subdivisions merge gradually
into farm land.1

Traversing all of these zones, arterial roads focus on the heart
of the city. Various road patterns connect these arteries and provide
access to local property. If the city is engaged in manufacturing or
wholesaling, much of this activity will be found along railroads vhich
penetrate the urban area. Although the CBD is the center of commercial
activity, the arterial roads have attracted many commercial establish-
ments. Thus, tentacles of roadside comercial developments are

characteristic of the urban area.2
The Bureau of Public Roads, in recommending criteria for the selec-

tion of Interstate routes in, or near, urban areas, was cognizant of the

 

1U.S., Congress, House, Interregional Highways, 92. _c_i_t., P. 53.

2Ibid.

7h

fact that the precise location of such routes should be decided by local
study to fit the needs of the particular community. However, in accord-
ance with the general morphological similarities of most American cities,
it was also realized that certain principles should be considered if the
routes were to provide a uniform, integrated system.

The principles which were evolved by the Bureau of Public Roads
relate to: (l) the situation of the highway vdthin the urban matrix,
and (2) the specific site of the highway. The following principles are
related to the situation of the highway:1

(1) Connection lith city-approach rural routes —- Interstate
routes in urban areas should provide adequate and safe con-
nections with the city-approach rural routes of the System
in order to provide through service for motor-vehicle traf-
fic moving in and out of the city to and from exterior points.
(2) Circumferential, or by-pass, routes -- Highways which
avoid the intensively developed areas of the city are needed
to serve motor-vehicle traffic that does not have an origin
or destination in, or near, the CBD. Such routes usually
parallel the fringe of the urban area and may serve as ar-
teries for through traffic by-passing the city, as distribu-
tors for the traffic movements between city-approach routes,
and to accomodate traffic with local origins and destinations
on the fringes of the urban area.

(3) Service to core of the city — In the larger cities the
Interstate highways should penetrate the city to the CBD,

111.5., Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Public Roads, Criteria for Se-
lection of Interstate S tem, 92. cit., Pp. 5-6.

 

75

because a very large proportion of motor-vehicle traffic on
such routes originates in or is destined to that quarter of
the city.

(h) Service to major trafficegenerating focalgpoints such as
transportation terminals -v Railroad terminals, wharves,
docks, and airports generate large volumes of traffic asso-
ciated with the essential interchanges between the various
media of transportation. Interstate routes should be so
located as to give convenient express service to these major
traffic-generating terminals within, and in the vicinity, of
cities.

(5) Relation to urban plannigg - Interstate routes are only
one element in the total transportation.system for any city;
they should, therefore, be located and designed in accordance
with official urbanptransportation.plans.

General principles for site considerations which would include all
cities are difficult to establish, because site conditions and consequent
problems vary greatly from city to city. However, it is recognized that
in.many cities wedges of undeveloped land exist between the flanking de-
velopments along the present major’arterial roads. ‘lherever such areas
are available, and consistent with other site requirements, they offer
the best possible sites for routes entering a city.1

In addition to these general principles which‘were to apply to all
urban places, the original Interregional Highway Report considered urban
location problems as falling into one of three separate categories depend-
ing on.the size and situation of the city. These three general classes,

 

1Ibid.

76

each of which exhibits a different Interstate route pattern, are: (l)
the small city; (2) the medium city; and (3) the large city. No definite
size limitations were placed on these classes, for it was realized that
relative position in respect to other urban places and the regional sig-
nificance of a city might cause it to be either less or more important
than size alone would indicate. Thus, these classes were established
only as broad guides, and.to indicate how'the typical city of each class
'would.be effected by Interstate routes. In the following case studies,
one Michigan city in each of these classes is examined and related to
these national recommendations. In considering each of these places,
situation and site factors are examined on the largest practical scale,
and the approximate location of the Interstate routes passing through

these urban areas is indicated.

The Small City -- Howell

 

Host small cities in the United States are not purposely connected
by Interstate routes. However, many small cities happen to lie along
important routes, and are served by an Interstate highway which usually
passes directly through the core of the city; The Interregional Highway
Committee's recommendations for the location of an Interstate route in a
small urban place call for the new facility to be wholly outside of the
city, or, in.other'words, to byhpass it. The former main highway could
be converted into a connecting road and would interchange with the Inter-
state route at points several miles on each side of the city. The major
reason for by-passing small cities is that most motorbvehicle operators
driving through them have little desire to stop, and thus these vehicles

77

add to the congestion on the main street without contributing substantially
to the city's economy.1

There are numerous small cities in Michigan which lie on routes des-
ignated as part of the Interstate System. Host of these cities will be
by-passed when the relocations for the System are constructed. Typical
of the small city which is to be by-passed by such a route is Howell,
Michigan.

The city of Howell, consisting of approximately h,500 people, is
situated on the northern edge of a recessional moraine and has a north-
south esker passing through it. To the north of the city the landscape
is gently rolling till plain; to the south the moraine becomes more
rugged and contains numerous lakes. The major functions of this city
are: (1) manufacturing and (2) service as a trade center to the surround-
ing area. Although there are several small manufacturing establislnents
in the city, the only large one is Howell Electric Motors Corporation
which employs about 1450 people.2

The trade area of Howell for most goods and services coincides
roughly with Livingston County, for which Howell is the county seat and
largest city. Except for the limited amount of manufacturing concen-
trated principally in Howell, Livingston County is an agricultural area,
with dairying and general farming being most important. Sanw soils,
the presence of hilly moraines, and numerous lakes in the southern part
keep Livingston County from being a first rate county in value of agri-

cultural production; nevertheless, it ranks higher than most counties in

 

1mm. , P. 71.

230.911, Mich., Chamber of Comerce, Existing_Industries - Howell,
Michigan, (Mimeographed distribution sheet).

78

the northern part of the state.1 In addition, the hills and lakes add
to the recreational value of this area.

The Interstate highway presently traversing Howell is U. S. 16. ‘
This highway is one of the main roads in Howell and passes through the
CBD. Howell is situated about half way between Lansing and the out-
slcirts of the Detroit Metropolitan Area, and is, thus, subjected to con-
siderable through traffic movements. State Highway Department plats call
for the construction of a new route on a different site than presently
occupied by U. S. 16 to serve as the new Interstate route in the Howell
area. The new facility, when constructed, will by-pass Howell to the
north, and will, thus, have its site on the till plain in that area.
This will negate topographic factors as a major site consideration, al-
though in some areas drainage may be a slight problem. If the till plain
soils are not satisfactory sites for the highway, the sandy materials
from the nearby eskers and moraines should be available for use.

The relationships between the new and old routes are indicated in
Figure 6. Observation of this map indicates that the new Interstate
facility will pass fairly close to the city but will be wholly outside
of the city limits; that all cross roads will have grade separations or
will be terminated; and that the Interstate highway will be connected by
modern interchanges with major through and cormnunity roads at close in-
tervals near the city and at greater intervals farther from the urban
area. It should also be noted that U. S. 16 will continue to function
as a service road into Howell; however, it will not be part of the

Interstate System.

 

1am and Hawby, mes of Fanning in Michigan, _1_og. 93., Pp. 5-7.

79

 

TH E HOWEL L BY-PASS

AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY APPROAOHING A SMALL CITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEGEND

 

TENTATIVE INTERSTATE
LOCATION
HIGHWAY INTERCHANGE

TERMNATED CROSS ROAD
PNED STATE MOI-MY

BITUMINOUS ROAD

_-

O

i? mm GRADE mum

=e

-

(I:

—_—_—__— NON-HARD enacts new \
I

 

CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT

 

can: moms»: STATE
0 I 2 3 mm 05mm

 

 

T. NIEDRINGHAUS, I059

 

80

When a city such as Howell is to be by-passed by an Interstate
highway, or the route is to be relocated, Federal law requires the State
Highway Department to hold a hearing for the purpose of considering the
economic and social consequences on the community, or area, in question.
Any individual or group may express their objections to the proposed re-
location at this time. A public hearing, for the above purpose, was
held at Howell on July 16, 1958.1

The official transcript of this hearing indicates that it con-
sisted of We general phases; in the first phase the State Highway De-
partment attempted to justify its selection of the proposed location,
and the second phase consisted of objections or statements of agreement
by interested individuals and organizations.

The State Highway Department representative presented the state's
case in brief, nontechnical form. It was pointed out that the present
location! of U. S. 16 marked the principal east-west route across central
Hichi gan. Because of the importance of this route it is imperative that
the new Interstate highway, which will replace old U. S. 16, be located
in such position that it could serve for many years. In arriving at the
tentative location, the State Highway Department considered the factors
of land conservation and least possible disturbance of present economic,
residential, or other developments. This latter factor ruled out any
possible expansion of the present route by widening the right-of-way of
U. S. 16, because of the economic costs and damages which would be in-
curred by such action. The proposed route was one of several studied by
the State Highway Department; and location engineers concluded that it

 

lMichigan State Highway Dept., ”In the Matter of the Proposed Re-
location of U. S. 16 from Brighton to “the West Livingston County Line,"
Public Hearing held at Howell, Mich. , July, 1958 (Typewritten).

81

would satisfactorily service the needs of Livingston County, and Howell,
for many years, and materially aid in the future industrial and population
growth of the area.1

It was further emphasized that the controlled access features to
be used on the new highway would stabilize local development plans, and
would prevent many accidents. Statistics for 1957 were presented which
indicated that an average of 16 vehicles per minute were passing a point
just to the west of Howell, on U. S. 16. Projectims indicated that
this figure would jump to 33 vehicles per minute by 1978. These statis-
tics were presented to the citizens of Howell, and the surrounding area,
as primary reasons why a radically new type of higlway facility was
needed in their area. As a final argument in favor of the proposed lo-
cation, several studies were cited which indicated that the total busi-
ness activity of a community rises when it is by-passed by a freeway.2

After the State Highway Department's arguments were presented, the
hearing was thrown open to discussion. No serious disagreements with
the proposed location were voiced at this particular hearing. Occasion-
ally, however, real objections are offered. These objections may be by
individuals whose businesses might be adversely effected by the reloca-
tion (such as gasoline stations along the highway), and/or by civic
groups who feel that the proposed location will damage plans for tie
future growth of their community or will remove valuable property for

the highway site. It may happen that certain information is brought to

 

1See James H. Lemly, Economic Consequences of Highways By-Passing
Urban Conmmnities, Research 35a aper No. 1, Georgia State College of
Business Administration, Sept. , 1956.

 

82

light at a hearing which will cause a re-evaluation of the proposed

location.1

The Medium City - Lansing

Recomendations for the medium-size city, served by only one In-
terstate route, were somewhat different than those for the small city.
In most medium-size cities, a substantial portion of the traffic in or
near the city has an origin and/or destination in the urban area, and
particularly in the CBD. Therefore, the Interstate route, instead of
simply by—passing the community, will pass through tie built-up area
closely adjacent to the CBD to provide access to that place for the
large numbers of motor vehicles wishing to enter it.

In a city of this size, the larger proportion of traffic has either
_an origin or destination in the city and does, therefore, not normally
wish to by-pass the city. But because of the relatively high absolute
volumes of motor-vehicle traffic present in and near these centers, a
considerable mmber of vehicles wish to pass throng: the city without
stopping. For this reason, it is recomended that an Interstate circum-
ferential route diverge from the main route outside the built-up area,
shirt the city limits on one side of tom, and rejoin the main route when
the city has been passed. Depending on the size and situation of the
particular city, another, or secondary, circumferential route may be

located on the opposite side of town from the first circumferential.2

 

1U. 8., Congress, House, Operations of_ the Federal Bureau of Public
,R__o_a__ds (Federal-Aid Highways in Michigan), House Report No. 2933, Bhth
Cong., 2d Sess., 1956.

2U.S., Congress, House, Interregional Highways, 92. _c_i_t_., P. 73.

83

The city of medium size, then, is similar to the small city in that
it is serviced by only one Interstate route. It differs in that it has
both a circumferential by-pass and an urban penetrator as part of the
Interstate System. In Michigan there are several medium-size cities
which illustrate this arrangement. The city chosen for this study is
Lansing. Although Lansing is the state capital, and in this respect is
not typical of the average city of its same approximate size, it is also
an important manufacturing and trade center.

Lansing is situated in the northwest corner of Inghal County at
the junction of the Grand and Red Cedar Rivers. Most of the city is lo-
cated on a till plain-which is trapped betwaen two relatively undeveloped
recessional moraines. In the year 181:7, although the town of Lansing
was nonexistent, the capital of Michigan was moved from Detroit to the
virtual wilderness known as Lansing Township. From this time, the town
experienced very rapid growth. Upon the city's final incorporation in
1859, it had a population of almost h,000, and by 1900 it had reached
16,000.1

At the turn of the century automotive manufacturing was begun in
Lansing, and its rapid expansion opened the way for significant indus-
trial development. This resulted in another influx of people who brought
the population to 32,000 by 1910, and nearly 80,000 by 1930. In 1955
there were an estimated 107,050 people in the city proper, md over
180,000 in the Lansing-East Lansing metropolitan area. This represents
one of the most significant clusters of population in Michigan, outside
of the Detroit area.

 

luichigan State Highway Dept., Lansin -East Lami ng Metropolitan
Area Traffic Study, Lansing, 19h8, P. 8.

8h

The importance of Larsing as an industrial center has continued to
gram. This is illustrated by the fact that Ingham County is the fifth
most important county in the state according to value added by manufac-
ture. The leading manufactures of the Lansing area are transportation
equipment, machinery, primary metals, and fabricated metal products. Of
these various manufactures, however, the concentration on transportation
equipment (motor vehicle units and parts) is marked.1

The city has also assumed importance as a major wholesale, retail,
and service center for central Michigan. For most products and ser-
vices its trade influence area extends for a radius of 25 miles, except
in the north where the radius extends for I40 miles because of the absence
of cities of comparable size in that direction.2

Lansing is situated on U. S. 16 (an Interstate highway) approxi-
mately 8h miles from Detroit and 63 miles from Grand Rapids. The city
lies nearly at the midpoint of the busiest cross-state route in central
Michigan, with heavy motor-vehicle traffic flows being generated in
Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Muskegon. In 1955 there was a total
of 102,826 motor-vehicle registrations (private, corporate, and public)
in lensing city. And a recent traffic count completed by the State High-
way Department showed 135,900 vehicles entering and leaving the Lansing
area every 21; hours on an average day.3 This represents considerable

movement in a fairly restricted area.

 

1U.S., Dept. of Comerce, Bureau of the Census, U.S. Census of
Manufactures: 19511, 22. 2133., Pp. 12-15.

2Michigan State Highway Dept., Lansing-East Lansing Metropolitan
Area Traffic Study, pp. _qi_t_..

3u1chigan State Highway Dept., Average 21. Hour Traffic Flow on
State Trunklines, 92. 93,.

85

A large percentage of the traffic moving along U. S. 16 near
Lansing has either its origin or destination in the metropolitan area,
and only a relatively small proportion of the total traffic approaching
the city intends to pass through without making an intermediate step.1
Although this is a relatively small proportion, in absolute volume it is
significant, and would add to the otherwise already congested roads in
Lansing. If the figure of 135,900 motor vehicles entering and leaving
Lansing on an average day is considered, and if it is estimated that
20 per cent of these vehicles would by-pass Lansing if they could do so
without inconvenience, it is evident that approximately 27,000 vehicles
moving through the Lansing area would by-pass the built-up area on an
average day. Not all of these potential through-vehicles travel on the
Interstate route (U. S. 16) entering the area, but many of thu do. Be-
cause of its position between Detroit and Grand Rapids, Lansing has a
higher percentage of by—pass traffic approaching the city along U. S. 16
than would normally be expected for a city of its size.

For the above reasons it was decided by the Michigan State Highway
Department and the local planning authorities, with the approval of the
Bureau of Public Roads, to provide both a circumferential route and an
urban penetrator for the Lansing area. The approximate, tentative posi-
tion of these routes is indicated in Figure 7. is shown on this map, the
circumferential route will pass to the south of the city, and the pene-
trator will enter the city on the east md west and pass close to the CBD

and the south-side industrial concentration along the Grand River. The

 

1For a city of Lansing's size, the average percentage for traffic
which wishes to stop in the city is 80, leaving 20 per cent which by-pass
the city if it could.

86

traffic flow bands on this map indicate a heavy concentration of motor
vehicles moving eastdwest through the Lansing area, but north-south
movements are also heavy. U. S. 127 is a major state trunkline, and

one of the most important north-south routes in.the state. Althouth it
is not a part of the Interstate System (in the Lansing area) it is being
constructed to standards approximately commensurate with Interstate high-
ways in the state. The extremely heavy volumes in the East Lansing area
may be attributed to the fact that U; S. 16 and M-78 are the only major
routes entering Lansing from the east, and the traffic-generating power

of a large educational institution, Michigan State University.
The Large City -- Detroit

Situation and site considerations are more complex in the large
city than is the small city or medium-size city. The large city, be-
cause of its regional importance, is usually the hub of several Inter-
state routes. The main routes enter the city and converge on the CBD.
They may, in effect, form a loop around the core, separating it from the
remainder of the city, but offering good express service to it. A num-
ber of circumferential routes may be necessary, depending on the particu-
lar size and situation of the city, to distribute traffic to the several
parts of the city, and to transfer through-vehicles from one main route
to another. It is possible in some of the larger cities that both inner
and outer belts of circumferential raites will be needed.1

The complexity of the Interstate network within the vicinity of

the large city leads to greater location difficulties than are found

lU.S., Congress, House, Interregional Highways, 22. 33.3., P. 73.

 

87

 

INTERSTATE HIGHWAY LOCATIONS
IN THE LANSING AREA

 

 

R‘s-4;; an... . ._

 

 

Locmcu -

(j new museum
_
):(

STATE ”LIVES

 

 

 

BRIDGE

CENTRAL BUSINESS
DISTRICT DATA: MICHIGAN STATE
STATE CAPITOL HWY DEWNT

 

MILES

 

 

T. NMNGHAUS, I959

 

Figure 7

88

elsewhere. The great numbers of people living and working together in
a limited area, the specialization and division of labor involved, the
wide variety of land uses, and the rapid and relatively uncontrolled
growth of the urban area all canbine to accentuate these problems.

Detroit is such a center, and consequently offers typical large-
city problems. Three million people live and work in the Detroit Stand-
ard Metropolitan Area (defined by the Bureau of the Census as Wayne,
Oakland, and Macomb counties), and the specialization and interchange of
products involved in their activities produces a great daily movement of
individuals and vehicles. A basic need for Detroit, as for other large
cities, is to secure and maintain effective functioning of this move-
ment by proper planning and expedient implementation of an efficient
transportation system]-

The primary reason for the existenceof so many people within this
area is manufacturing. The city of Detroit is the focal point for a
great industrial agglomeration located on the Detroit River and Lake St.
Clair, the connecting waterways between Lakes Huron and Erie. The city
lies at about the halfway point on the navigable Great Lakes system, and
thus has access to the natural resources, agricultural products, and
manufactured goods of the Great Lakes region.2

The industrial area of which Detroit is the focal point includes
1,965 square miles, and had, in 1950, 3,016,197 people. According to the

1951; Census of Manufactures there were 6,159 manufacturing establishments

 

1M.S.H.D., figport on the Detroit Metrgpolitan Area Traffic Stuq,
.02e 9—1-13" Ppe 13-18s

2City of Detroit, Economic Base of Detroit, raster Plan Reports,
City Plan Commission of Detroit, 1%, P. 2.

89

in this area (about half the state's total), h3h,365 production workers,
and total value added by manufacture of $14,713 ,167 ,000 (over half the
state's total). This is the nation's sixth largest industrial area in
terms of total population, but ranks third in terms of manufacturing
labor force.1 The focal point, Detroit, accounts for only 138 square
miles of land in this area, but has 70 per cent of the population and
total labor force, and 56 per cent of the manufacturing labor force.2

llany different types of manufacturing establishments are found in
this area. The most important, based on value added by manufacture, are:
(1) transportation equipment; (2) machinery, except electrical; (3) pri-
mary metals; (h) fabricated metal products; (5) chemicals and products;
(6) food and kindred products. Transportation eqmpment, particularly
motor-vehicle units and parts, dominates manufacturing with $1,915,108 ,000
value added by manufacture and 229,899 production workers (in 19510, al-
though it consists of only 281 establishments.3

Detroit is the focus of what is known industrially as the ”automo-
bile belt." And, as was pointed out previously, the motor-vehicle in-
dustry (a sub-division of tran5portation equipment) is very dependent on
highway facilities for its operations. It is, therefore, not difficult
to judge the importance of a completed Interstate System to Detroit's
future. Detroit certainly has as much to gain from rapid completion of

this System as any other city in the nation.

 

1U.S., Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, U. S. Census of
Manufactures: 19511, 92. cit., P. Ir.

201ty of Detroit, Economic Base of Detroit, 10c. cit.

3U.S., Dept. of Comoros, Bureau of the Census, U. S. Census of
Manufactures: 1951;, 22. git” Pp. 12-13.

 

90

However, despite their great importance, the location of Inter-
state highways through this urban area should not be considered independ-
ently. First, Interstate routes are only one element in the transporta-

tion system of Detroit, even though, perhaps, the most important. And,
A second, they cannot be considered alone in the urban area because they
are a part of , are effected by, and in turn influence the land use pat-
terns of the city. It is a recognized principle that Interstate high-
ways should be so located as to blend harmoniously with the planned land
use of the urban area.

Detroit illustrates this principle admirably. A large measure of
cooperation has existed between the various agencies which have juris-
diction over road and land use problems in the Detroit area. Real ef-
forts have been made to combine highway development projects with the
other important elements of urban planning. In February, 1958, an
article published on highway planning in Detroit contained a statement
by Glenn C. Richards, Public Works Commissioner for Detroit, in which he
indicated that the new urban expressways were being used as the major
structural elements of the Detroit Master Plan. It was pointed out that
«nymuorumunwbuuinmnutumewm-—&mmnnm
worth -- had been designed and located in accordance with the Detroit
Master Plan. Highway engineers and city planners have cooperated closely
in the expressway program, and strong hope exists that the highway can
become a positive and creative design element in the redevelopment of

Detroit.1

 

1"Detroit...Ylhere Planners and Engineers Talk to Each Other,"
Street Engineering, Vol. 3, No. 2, Feb., 1958, P. Ir.

91

In Detroit it is planned for the expressways and other major roads
to serve as the framework for a new urban arrangement developed along
advanced land-use principles. The new city, as seen by the planners,
involves three elements: (1) a central core; (2) sixteen relatively
self-sufficient communities comprising the surrounding city proper; (3)
155 unit-neighborhoods which will comprise the 16 cormmmities. lithin
this matrix there will be 145 major shopping centers and 27 industrial
districts.l

The Master Plan includes a scheme involving the ringing of the
core with an expressway loop, approximately one mile in diameter, from
which nine ramps will descend into the CBD. This core area is to be re-
vitalized, and highway planning has taken this into account. Five major
expressways will terminate at the loop, and much blighted propaty around
the fringe of the core will be removed to provide locations for these
new routes. The razing of property for highway purposes fill be accom-
plished in conjunction with plans for urban renewal.2

Outside of the CBD, the new expressways fill serve as boundaries,
or buffer zones, between communities or conflicting land uses, and fill
connect these areas with the core of the city. It is estimated that 75
of the 155 residential neighborhoods will be fithin 20 minutes drive of
the CBD. No section of the city will. be more than 30 minutes by expresswlsor
3

from the Detroit core area. -

Iith an urban Master Plan available and in full knowledge that

Detroit was badly in need of traffic relief, the next step was to conduct

 

1Ibid.
2Ibid., P. S.

3 .
Ibld.

92

a survey to determine what the form, amount, and location of this relief
should be. The City Plan Commission had previously completed a study,
but this was limited to the city proper. ‘What was needed was a metro-
politan area study. 'With this in mind, the city of Detroit, the'layne
County Road Commission, and Michigan State Highway Department, in co-
operation with the Federal Bureau of Public Roads, undertoOk the Detroit
Area Traffic Study. The purpose of this study was to insure effective
functioning of the huge traffic movements in the Detroit area by thor-
oughly understanding the nature of the movement, and devising the best
possible transportation system to serve it.1

This study was one of the most comprehensive ever*made of a large
city's traffic problems. Complete inventories were taken of all factors
in the environment of Detroit, and.area, which.could.be expected to in-
fluence traffic. These inventories were of two types; (1) fixed and (2)
moving. They consisted of such elements as the existing road system,
land use, population distribution, origin and destination of traffic,
and traffic flow patterns.2

in origin-destination survey was employed to establish the major
lines of traffic-desire movement in the Detroit area. Land use surveys
were taken‘because traffic is influenced to a large degree by existing
land use. This type inventory allows the identification of trip-
generating uses, and the probable effects of area growth and future land
use arrangements. The arterial road inventory was necessary to determine

the adequacy, or inadequacy, of existing road networks, and to delineate

 

lMichigan State Highway Dept., Report on the Detroit Metropolitan
Area Traffic Study, 32.‘git., P. 13.

2Ibid., Pp. 17-31.

93

areas which were lacking in proper motoravehicle traffic capacity.1

From these various inventories, and the interpretations made from
them concerning future volumes and spatial distributions of traffic, it
“was possible to devise a rational plan for the solution of Detroit area
traffic problems. The plan.which was evolved called for the creation
of an interconnected system of expressways including penetrators and
circumferentials, along with necessary connectors. Other solutions were
considered, but the expressway plan was accepted. most of the express-
Imys built to fulfill this plan will be part of the Interstate System.

All of the high-priority locations for this expressway system
stress the importance of the completion of the Interstate routes. This
is only natural because these routes will have more liberal financing
available, will connect with rural Interstate routes, and in every case,
it is believed their sites are fundamentally sound in terms of traffic-
desire movements and planned land use. The Interstate routes radiating
into Detroit and converging on the CBD will comprise the basic framework
around which the remainder of the city's arterial road system will be
designed.

Figure 8 shows the Interstate System network in the Detroit metro-
politan area. As this map indicates, five Interstate routes enter the
Detroit city limits where they eventually converge on the CBD (either
directly or by connector routes) and form a loop around that area. Two
Interstate routes, one north-south and the other eastdwest, will serve as
circumferential highways connecting the penetrators on the urban periphery

and providing byapass facilities. The traffic flow bands, which parallel

 

1mm” Vol. II, Pp. 92-107.

9h

 

INTERSTATE NETWORK
DETROIT METROPOLITAN AREA

 

 

    
  

   

 
  

'r“ ---------

 

LEGEND

 

'9°°°noooo
I; ~~~ AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC
ON STATE TRUNKLINES
(VEHICLES)

- - - INTERSTATE ROUTES
(CONSTRUCTED AND PRO-

POSED)
# HGHWAY INTERCHANGE
I/// WT CENTRAL RISI-
/ PISS DISTRICT
0 3 6 9
IILES

DATA; woman STATE
W MT

1'. W, I”.

 

 

Figure 8

II It. Shun,

95

major state trunklines, give some indication of the huge volumes of

motor vehicles which enter and leave the Detroit area on an average day.

CONCLUSION

The spatial arrangement of the Interstate-System highways in the
United States is strongly influenced by an areally differentiated physi-
cal and cultural environment. To the extent that these highways are in
harmony with the present and future human use of this environment they
should be valuable additions to the total transportation network of the
nation. It is the conclusion of this thesis that, in general, the pro-
posed locations for Interstate routes will be beneficial to the nation
as a whole, will strengthen the economy of Michigan, and will improve
the transportation situation in the three communities examined.without
having undesirable economic and social consequences.

However, it is realized that this thesis is by no means a complete
analysis of the Interstate System and the associated location problem.
In some areas it may well be that the Interstate locations are poorly
planned, and.will create more disturbances to landpuse plans and com-
munity organization than is gained.by the increased mobility of the
people. For this reason it is considered necessary to continue public
hearings so that the people most effected by the new locations will have
the opportunity to voice their opinions, in the best traditions of
American democracy.

The influence of the physical and cultural environment on the

location of Interstate highways has received the primary attention in

96

97

this thesis. But the Interstate highways, having once been put into
place, will themselves influence man's environment. Some of these ef-
fects may be very important.

One important effect will be a significant increase in the mobil-
ity of a population that already is highly mobile. This effect is worthy
of study by geographers, as well as many others, because of the economic
and social changes which will result.

Based on the evidence of prior studies, it also appears likely
that land-use and land-value changes will be a necessary concomitant of
the new Interstate highways. In the normal course of events, these
changes tend to follow in the direction of substantial highway improve-
ments. Because of the controlled-access features of these highways there
is little danger that these changes will adversely effect the traffic ca-
pacity and safety advantages of the Interstate facilities. The most dra-
matic changes in land use and.land value will be near the highway inter—
changes. It is reasonable to assume that these interchanges will be the
new sites for considerable medium and light manufacturing, commercial,
and residential developments.

Perhaps the most important effect of the new Interstate highways
relates to their great power to exercise desirable or disruptive in-
fluences on regions and communities. If the highway engineers and the
local and regional planners are able to meet on common ground, and if the
planners have constructive ideas to offer, there is no reason why the In-
terstate highways cannot be strong elements in the development of better
regions and communities. If the highways are improperly located with no
regard for’planned development or for economic and social consequences,

they will add to the already serious problems of urban sprawl, poorly

98

planned land use, and blighted property. Detroit is a good example of
a city which planned for the Interstate highways, and cooperated with
highway officials in fitting them into a comprehensive master Plan.
Because the Interstate highways will have important effects on the
economic and social balance of all parts of the nation, this thesis cm-
cludes that studies and evaluations by impartial but learned investiga-
tors should be continued. Their work, along with the continuous efforts
of Federal, state, and local highway authorities and regional and local
planners, should help to ensure the development of highways that are not
only valuable in themselves but that tend to appreciate the value of

other real estate.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ackerman, Edward., "The National Environment of Urban Growth and Highway
Construction," The New Highwayszfl Challe_ge to the __Metropolitan
A__r_e_a, Urban Land Institute, Urban Land Institute, Technical Bull.,
No. _31, Washington, D.C., November, 1957.

 

American Association of State Highway Officials, A Policy on Arterial
Highways in Urban Areas. (Washington, D. 0.: American Association
of State Highway Officials, 1957).

 

 

. A Policy on Geometric Design of Rural Highways. (Washington,
D.C.: American Association of State Highway Officials, 1951:).

Atwood, Wallace. The Physiographic Provinces of North America. (Boston:
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lOO

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