M-217 (Michigan highway)

M-217
Michiana Parkway
M-217 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length:	1.653 mi[2] (2.660 km)
Existed:	September 25, 2002[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	Elkhart County Road 17 at Indiana State Line
North end:	US 12 near Union
Location
Counties:	Cass
Highway system
Michigan State Trunkline Highway System Interstate • US • State ← M-216 M-218 →

M-217, also known as Michiana Parkway, is a multi-lane state trunkline highway in the U.S. state of Michigan. The Michiana Parkway, which extends into Indiana, was constructed as a joint effort of the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Cass County Road Commission and the Elkhart County Highway Department. Michigan's segment of the parkway is 1.563 miles (2.515 km) long continuing Elkhart County Road 17 north into the state.

Route description

M-217 starts at State Line Road on the Michigan–Indiana state line. It is the continuation of County Road 17 that runs due north to an intersection with US 12 in Porter Township in Cass County. The highway crosses farmland between the two termini.^[3] In 2008, 4,239 vehicles used the highway on a daily basis in MDOT's average annual daily traffic (AADT) survey. The survey calculated how many vehicles used the roadway on average each day. The 2008 counts also showed that 75 trucks were included in the total. For 2009, the figured dropped to 3,738 vehicles and 67 trucks.^[4] M-217 is not listed on the National Highway System (United States), a system of highways important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.^[5]

History

The Michiana Parkway was constructed from Elkhart County Road 4, just south of the "Elkhart East" interchange (Exit 96) of the Indiana Toll Road, to US 12 in Porter Township, Cass County, Michigan, along the boundary with Mason Township.^[1] The Indiana portion was an upgrade and extension of Elkhart County Road 17 to the state line; Michigan's portion was entirely new construction built by the Michigan Department of Transportation and numbered M-217.^[6][7] With the completion of M-217, MDOT and the Cass County Road Commission "swapped" roads on September 25, 2002. MDOT took over jurisdiction of M-217 and gave M-205 to the Road Commission. This route swap deleted M-205 as a state trunkline.^[8]

Major intersections

The entire highway is in Porter Township, Cass County.

Mile[2]	Destinations	Notes
0.000	CR 17	Indiana state line
1.653	US 12 – Niles, Coldwater
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Michigan Highways portal

1. ^ ^{a b} "Michiana Parkway Will Benefit Region". South Bend Tribune. October 6, 2002. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/southbendtribune/access/208487251.html?FMT=ABS. Retrieved April 29, 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "MDOT Physical Reference Finder Application". Michigan Department of Transportation. 2009. http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/prfinder/. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
3. ^ Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! Maps – overview of M-217 (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=41.767806&lon=-85.870464&zoom=15&q1=Constantine%252C%2520MI. Retrieved April 23, 2009. 
4. ^ "Traffic Monitoring Information System". Michigan Department of Transportation. 2008. http://mdotnetpublic.state.mi.us/tmispublic/. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
5. ^ Michigan Department of Transportation (April 23, 2006) (PDF). National Highway System, Michigan (Map). http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MDOT_NHS_Statewide_150626_7.pdf. Retrieved October 7, 2008. 
6. ^ Jackson, Adam (March 14, 2002). "County Road 17 Extension Finally Begins". South Bend Tribune. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/southbendtribune/access/111609479.html?FMT=ABS. Retrieved April 23, 2009. 
7. ^ Green, Eddy Okada (August 11, 2002). "Road Party Proves Popular". South Bend Tribune. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/southbendtribune/access/149195381.html?FMT=ABS. Retrieved April 23, 2009. 
8. ^ Bessert, Christopher J. (October 22, 2006). "Highways 200 through 229". Michigan Highways. http://www.michiganhighways.org/listings/MichHwys200-229.html#M-217. Retrieved November 12, 2006. 

External links

• M-217 at Michigan Highway Ends