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129-651: The Merchants Building is a commercial building located at 206 East Grand River Avenue (at Broadway Street) in Downtown Detroit . It is also known as the Broadway Merchants Building . It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Merchants Building was designed by Bonnah & Chaffee in 1922 for John Barlum (who also constructed the Barlum Tower ). Throughout its history,

258-490: A Doodlebug . The cars were self-propelled units resembling a passenger car, with a baggage compartment and a coach section for passengers that GTW used on its Detroit to Port Huron and Richmond to Jackson routes until 1953. GTW also had another gasoline-electric locomotive referred to as a box-cab, built by Brill in 1926. Originally built for the Long Island Rail Road , GTW purchased it in 1934 and numbered it 7730. It

387-612: A U-1-c class 4-8-2 Mountain type. The Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois , has No.  6323 , a U-3-b class 4-8-4 , and No. 8380, a P-5-g class 0-8-0 , as part of its collection. Locomotive No. 4070 , an S-3-a 2-8-2 Light Mikado , has been used in excursion service by the Midwest Railway Preservation Society and as of 2021 was being restored back to service in Cleveland, Ohio . As of 2012 ,

516-612: A co-owner of the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad (C&WI), beginning in 1883. It performed passenger and express car-switching duties at Chicago's Dearborn Station . GTW was also part of a group that created and shared ownership in the Belt Railway Company of Chicago , which connects every rail line in the Chicago area. By 1919, GTW's parent, Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, was suffering financial problems related to its ownership of

645-456: A common point with US 10 (Woodward Avenue) and US 12 (Michigan Avenue), which had replaced US 112 less than a year earlier. US 25 ran through the square on Fort Street and Gratiot Avenue . The history of Grand River Avenue, and US 16 in Michigan, dates back to before the earliest settlement of Michigan by Europeans. The route has been the basis for an Indian trail,

774-892: A corporate image and restructuring program to consolidate all of its U.S. railroads under the CN North America brand. Grand Trunk Western, along with other CN owned subsidiaries, would see their images replaced with the CN logo and name. All GTW corporate identification and that of its new corporate cousins, the Illinois Central Railroad (acquired by CN in 1999) and Wisconsin Central Ltd. (acquired by CN in 2001), are referred-to with CN's name and corporate image. However, while each railroad's locomotives would eventually receive CN's logo and black, red-orange and white paint scheme, they would still retain their respective reporting marks. Despite

903-533: A junction with Grand River Avenue that also marked the end of the business loop and the eastern end of I-96 at the time. From there, US 16 continued along Grand River Avenue the rest of way into Downtown Detroit. Along that routing, it intersected US 24 at Telegraph Road and M-39 at Southfield Road. US 16 continued past the eastern terminus of M-14 at Plymouth Road, which until 1956 had carried US 12 , which had then been concurrent with US 16 to Cadillac Square . There US 16 terminated at

1032-643: A mainline from shipping ports in Portland, Maine , to rail connections in Chicago through the southern part of the Province of Canada that would serve Toronto and Montreal . In 1859 the Grand Trunk completed its route to Sarnia , Canada West, and began a ferry service across the St. Clair River to Port Huron. GTR leased the Chicago, Detroit and Canada Grand Trunk Junction Railroad to reach Detroit and from there then ran over

1161-478: A maze of different branches of Grand River Avenue running through Old Town. Currently, East Grand River Avenue and North Grand River Avenue bridge between sections of Grand River Avenue, in addition to Grand Avenue which runs along the Grand River near downtown. While Lansing's Latino community supported the proposal, the business community opposed it. One shop owner said she would have $ 10,000 in costs associated with

1290-588: A memorial capacity; the street would still be officially named Grand River Avenue. Born in Grand Rapids in 1884, Arthur H. Vandenberg was appointed to the United States Senate upon the death in office of Woodbridge N. Ferris in 1928. Vandenberg, a Republican , served as a member of the "isolationist bloc", and was an active opponent of the New Deal policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt . The senator declined

1419-443: A mile (equivalent to $ 1.08–1.89/mi in 2023 ). The horses were exchanged every 12–15 miles (19–24 km) with the speed averaging around 8–10 miles per hour (13–16 km/h) with few obstacles. Congress further aided the road in 1835 with an appropriation of $ 25,000 (equivalent to $ 780,000 in 2023 ) for a 20-foot-wide (6 m) road on 100 feet (30 m) of right-of-way. These improvements included removing brush and debris and

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1548-761: A name change, adding, "I think there's many beautiful ways to honor such an incredible man. Changing five blocks of a street doesn't seem to do justice." Another business owner cited the work the Old Town Commercial Association has done to market the area using the Grand River Avenue name, marketing that would be useless after a name change. The compromise solution reached in August 2010 was to rename lot 56, where Old Town holds festivals, to Cesar Chavez Plaza. Street signs would be installed marking parts of Grand River Avenue as Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, but only in

1677-507: A network of trackage connecting all of lower Michigan's major manufacturing cities when it acquired a lease on a short branch of the Chicago, Kalamazoo and Saginaw Railroad giving it access to Kalamazoo, Michigan . A few years before, in 1902, GTW had gained access into Ohio with its shared ownership of the Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad . The line was a small carrier that had a multi-track mainline bridging Detroit and Toledo, Ohio , and

1806-521: A new bypass freeway was built just to the south of the old bypass as part of the "Brighton–Farmington Expressway" and the route through downtown was designated Bus. US 16. The original plans for I-96 called for it to replace US 16 and to run parallel to Grand River Avenue all the way from Farmington into downtown Detroit. In 1959, the Farmington bypass freeway was given the I-96 designation in addition to

1935-698: A nomination for Vice President in 1936. In the aftermath of World War II, Vandenberg's world view changed significantly. He helped to draft the United Nations Charter and worked to secure its unanimous ratification in the Senate. He also worked to secure passage of the Marshall Plan and helped to establish the North Atlantic Treaty Organization . After his death in 1951, Michigan residents wanted to memorialize Vandenberg. The following year,

2064-572: A part of the state highway system c.  1930 as a part of M-114 , which was a beltline around the Grand Rapids area. By 1942, the trunkline was completed and reassigned a Byp. US 16 designation along the southern and western legs. The designation connected to US 16 in Walker Township (now the city of Walker) and ran south along what is now Wilson Avenue over the Grand River into Grandville . From there it turned easterly along what

2193-639: A pathway for European settlers, a state highway , a part of the US Highway System , and a section of the Interstate Highway System . The chief transportation routes in 1701 were the Indian footpaths that crossed the future state of Michigan; the Grand River Trail was one of these thirteen trails at the time. In 1805, Detroit created 120-foot (37 m) rights-of-way for the principal streets of

2322-460: A route by acquiring three railroads it had already been sending some of its Chicago-bound trains on since 1877. The Chicago and Lake Huron Railroad, the Chicago and Northeastern Railroad (C&NE) and the Peninsular Railway of Michigan and Indiana together formed a direct route from Port Huron through Flint and Lansing, Michigan , to Valparaiso, Indiana , where it connected into Chicago on

2451-583: A section of Grand River Avenue in Old Town Lansing for César Chávez , the Mexican American civil rights activist. The group "Lansing for Cesar E. Chavez" was raising funds to rename the section between Oakland and Pine streets in Old Town. Previously, a section of Grand Avenue was renamed for Chávez in 1994, but the voters overturned the decision. The renaming proposal was even mentioned as a way to untangle

2580-621: A short stretch of the Detroit–Howell Plank Road was still made of planks; most of the other plank roads had been converted to gravel by this time. On May 13, 1913, the Michigan Legislature passed the State Reward Trunk Line Highway Act (Public Act 334 of 1913) that created the original state highway system. In that act, Grand River Avenue between Detroit and Grand Rapids was included as Division 9 of

2709-681: A subsidiary company called the Grand Trunk Western Railway Company. The name derived from the fact that GTR's rail lines west of the St. Clair and Detroit rivers were referred to as its Western Division . The lines had also operated under the name Grand Trunk Railway System. Pontiac also continued to become another important junction point when the Pontiac Oxford and Northern Railroad was acquired in 1909. It ran north from Pontiac to Caseville in Michigan's thumb region. By 1910, GTW had

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2838-550: A third Pacific, K-4a 5629 , that was used on excursions from the 1960s to 1970s, it was scrapped in July 1987, in Blue Island, Illinois . The first diesel locomotive to operate in regular service in Michigan arrived in 1938. It was GTW 7800, an EMC SC switching locomotive to work in Detroit. Previously, in 1925, GTW acquired from EMC an early motorized gasoline-electric railcar known as

2967-475: A type of swing ferry-barge . The barge was anchored by 1,000 feet (300 m) of chain. When the barge was loaded, it was released into the current to dock on the opposite side of the river. When this proved unreliable, Grand Trunk replaced it with the wood-burning steamer International II in 1872. It soon was joined in service by the steamer Huron . The ferries continued until 1891, when Grand Trunk completed its rail tunnel connecting Sarnia and Port Huron under

3096-405: Is divided vertically into three sections: the bottom two stories are the storefront area, the middle five floors are divided by metal spandrel panels with raised panels, and the top floor windows are divided by terra cotta shields. Grand River Avenue US Highway 16 ( US 16 ), also called Grand River Avenue for much of its length in the state, was one of the principal roads prior to

3225-917: Is in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood and was formerly the Pennsylvania Railroad's Levitt Street Yard. GTW also increased intermodal operations in Detroit In 1976, when it expanded its Ferndale, Michigan railyard into an intermodal facility it called GT MoTerm . The Elsdon Yard was closed and abandoned by 1990 and has been redeveloped. Detroit, Toledo and Ironton's former hump classification yard in Flat Rock, which GTW acquired from its 1983 merger with DT&I. It still serves as an important freight hub for Canadian National. Several interlocking and crossing gate towers were also maintained by GTW through its history. Grand Trunk Western's primary passenger trains were

3354-550: Is now 28th Street through Wyoming and Paris townships (now the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood) before terminating at US 16 in Cascade Township . The designation was used until the mainline US 16 was rerouted over the bypass in 1953. Business US Highway 16 ( Bus. US 16 ) was a business route in the Grand Rapids area in the 1950s and 1960s. When US 16 was rerouted to replace Byp. US 16 around

3483-869: The Maple Leaf , the International Limited , the Inter-City Limited and The LaSalle , which provided service between Chicago's Dearborn Station and Toronto Union Station . In 1967, GTW introduced The Mohawk as a fast through train between Chicago and Brush Street Station in Detroit. Passenger operations were handed-over to Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) on May 1, 1971. Amtrak's Chicago to Port Huron trains, known as its Blue Water Service , operate over GTW's route between Battle Creek and Port Huron. The railroad also operated suburban commuter trains between downtown Detroit and Pontiac, Michigan , from August, 1931 until January 1974, when

3612-614: The American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO, now AASHTO) to plan the United States Numbered Highway System , the route of M-16 was originally planned for inclusion in US ;18 . When the system was created on November 11, 1926, Grand River Avenue and M-16 became part of US 16 . In 1929, Allan Williams placed a picnic table on the side of the road along US 16 south of Saranac. Williams

3741-436: The Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad , in 1981. GTW management found it cost-effective to lease or purchase second-hand diesel locomotives. It purchased several former Rock Island GP38-2s after that railroad closed in 1980. Union Pacific sold GTW several surplus former Missouri Pacific SD40-2s after it had acquired that railroad. It was also common for GTW and CN to share steam and diesel locomotives when either of them

3870-547: The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway . The Association of American Railroads has considered the Grand Trunk Corporation as a single, non-operating Class I Railroad since 2002. Grand Trunk Western still exists as a corporate entity, but can now be considered a company on paper . CN refers to GTW's routes and operations in its corporate communications as the former Grand Trunk Western territory. Grand Trunk Western

3999-488: The E.H. Harriman Award for safety five times in the 1980s. Part of the railroad's new strategy in the 1970s and 1980s was to seek new routes to expand and compete in the long-haul railroad market. After Conrail took over the railroad operations of Penn Central in 1976, the Penn Central Corporation sought to divest itself of its subsidiary, the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad (DT&I). After petitioning

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4128-675: The Erie Canal in New York in 1826 brought new settlers to the Great Lakes region, and to the future state of Michigan. Many of these settlers began their inland journeys in Detroit. At first the Grand River Road was a "deep rutted, ditch bordered road". The road branched into two at Rouge (now Redford ); the southern branch roughly followed the modern route of Grand River Avenue and the northern route ran by way of Pontiac along Woodward Avenue and

4257-647: The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway . The Canadian government nationalized Grand Trunk and other financially troubled Canadian rail companies by 1923 and amalgamated them into a new government-owned entity, the Canadian National Railway. GTW became a subsidiary of the new entity and was reincorporated as the Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company on November 1, 1928, when nearly all of its lines were formally merged under

4386-744: The Grand Trunk-Pennsylvania Route . The SS Milwaukee sank, loaded with rail cars, in a storm after departing Milwaukee in October, 1929, with everyone aboard lost. Three new ships, the Grand Rapids , Madison and the City of Milwaukee , constructed between 1926 and 1931, replaced the Grand Haven and Milwaukee . The ships required a crew of 34 and, with strengthened ice-breaking hulls, operated year-round. At PRR's request, GTW moved its Michigan docks to Muskegon, Michigan , in 1937, where its subsidiary,

4515-552: The Great Western Railway in 1882 it also acquired the Detroit Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway (DGH&M), which Great Western had owned since 1877. The DGH&M gave Grand trunk a route from Detroit through Pontiac , Durand and Grand Rapids to Grand Haven, Michigan , where it began its Lake Michigan railcar ferry operations in 1902. The DGH&M connected with the Chicago and Grand Trunk at Durand and with

4644-714: The Interstate Commerce Commission , GTW won approval over a joint bid by Norfolk and Western and Chessie System to acquire the DT&;I in June, 1980. The acquisition increased GTW's trackage around Detroit's industries, including Ford Motor Company's large River Rouge Complex , DT&I's classification hump yard in Flat Rock, Michigan and routes south into Ohio with access to rail interchanges in Cincinnati, Ohio . As part of

4773-629: The Michigan Central Railroad's line from Detroit into Chicago. It was on the line from Port Huron to Detroit that a 12-year-old Thomas Edison held his first job as a newsboy and candy butcher onboard passenger trains. Grand Trunk established its own route to Chicago across Michigan when the New York Central Railroad 's William Henry Vanderbilt took over control of the Michigan Central in 1878. GTR sought to put together

4902-598: The Michigan Legislature dedicated the length of US 16 from Muskegon to Detroit as the Arthur Vandenberg Memorial Highway by enacting Public Act 70 of 1952. Vandenberg was not the only national figure honored with a memorial designation along the route of US 16 in Michigan. For a period from the 1930s through the 1950s, the highway used a few blocks of Washington Boulevard to connect between Grand River and Michigan avenues on its route through Detroit to its terminus at Cadillac Square . This street

5031-698: The Rock Island , in the 1970s. After inspecting the Rock Island's property and finding its trackage in need of costly repairs, GTW turned its attention in 1981 to acquiring the Milwaukee Road. GTW saw the acquisition of the Milwaukee Road (shorn of its Pacific Coast Extension and many of its midwestern branchlines) as an opportunity to expand its route further south and west to rail interchanges in Kansas City, Missouri , and Louisville, Kentucky . It would also afford GTW

5160-450: The 1930s and 1940s, had 73-inch (1.854 m) driving wheels with 60,000 pounds of tractive effort and would be used in mainline freight and passenger service. Six GTW U-4-b class 4-8-4 s built by Lima Locomotive Works would have streamlined shrouding and 77-inch (1.956 m) driving wheels, to be used only in passenger service. Other steam locomotives in GTW's fleet at the time included

5289-471: The 1950s by EMD GP9s and GP18s for freight and passenger service. The GP9s were rebuilt by GTW's Battle Creek locomotive shops into GP9Rs, with improved internal components and modern low-nose cabs. The next new motive power to be acquired was the EMD SD40 in 1969. These were GTW's first six-axle locomotives, and most lasted on GTW for at least four decades. GTW's most-dominant diesel locomotive in its fleet

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5418-649: The 1970s and, in 1975, GTW petitioned the ICC to end the service. Permission was eventually granted, and the last ferry sailed on October 31, 1978. The first river ferry service began in 1860, when the Grand Trunk Railway's tracks reached Sarnia, Ontario, and it had to transfer its passengers and freight across the St. Clair River to Port Huron, and onto the Chicago, Detroit and Canada Grand Trunk Junction Railroad to Detroit or its Chicago and Grand Trunk Railway route to Chicago. GTR started its St. Clair River ferry service with

5547-480: The Chicago, Detroit and Canada Grand Trunk Junction in Detroit. Durand became a major junction point for Grand Trunk when it continued to increase its mileage. It acquired the 96-mile (154 km) Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon Railway from Ashley, Michigan , to Muskegon, Michigan , in 1888. GTR obtained trackage rights to reach the line at Ashley from Owosso, Michigan , with the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railway,

5676-575: The Detroit River Tunnel. Eventually, GTW's parent CN took over sole responsibility for ferry operations on the Detroit and St. Clair rivers. The Detroit River ferry operation ceased running in 1975, when GTW was granted trackage rights to use Penn Central 's Detroit River Tunnel to connect with CN in Windsor. The start of construction of the Renaissance Center in Detroit in 1973 necessitated

5805-424: The Detroit Terminal Railroad with New York Central (NYC). By the 1970s Detroit Terminal was suffering financial losses, and GTW negotiated to sell its share to NYC's successors Penn Central and Conrail until it dropped its ownership in 1981. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, it acquired the Grand Rapids Terminal Railroad in 1906. In Bay City, Michigan, it owned the Bay City Terminal Railway and in Kalamazoo it took over

5934-400: The Grand Rapids–Detroit section of US 16 with a portion of Interstate 94 (I-94), with the remainder to be I-94N. MSHD submitted a recommended numbering plan for the Interstates in 1958 that showed I-96 following the US 16 corridor. When initially approved, the Muskegon–Grand Rapids segment of US 16 was to be numbered as I-196 while the remainder was part of I-96. Segments of

6063-514: The Grand River Avenue corridor was an Indian trail, a footpath used by the native population. The first European settlers to the area now known as Michigan also used this trail and in some areas enlarged it for the passage of wagons. In Detroit, Grand River is one of five major avenues (along with Woodward , Michigan , Gratiot , and Jefferson ) planned by Judge Augustus Woodward in 1805 that extended from Downtown Detroit in differing radial directions; Grand River Avenue extends northwesterly from

6192-447: The I-96 and I-196 designations west of Grand Rapids would be flipped, but at the time leading up to US 16's decommissioning in the state of Michigan, this had not yet been approved. ) The I-196/US 16 freeway traveled southeast of Norton Shores through woodlands in rural Muskegon County parallel to the former US 16 routing through Fruitport to Nunica in Ottawa County . The freeway turned more directly east in Nunica past

6321-481: The I-96 and I-196 designations, was decommissioned. Segments of the old highway were retained in the state highway system under different numbers. Sections through Portland, Lansing, Howell, Farmington and Detroit were given Business Loop (BL) or Business Spur (BS) I-96 designations. The section between Lansing and Webberville became part of an extended M-43 . Other sections in the Detroit area became parts of M-102 , M-5 , or unsigned state highway. After US 16

6450-452: The I-96 freeway. US 16 merged onto the freeway, and I-96/US 16 met the northern end of the US 23 freeway. I-96/US 16 continued east into Oakland County through Wixom and Novi . Near Farmington , I-96/US 16 continued to the southeast of the present-day I-96/ I-275 / I-696 / M-5 interchange along the current M-5 freeway. Grand River Avenue through there was Business Loop I-96 (BL I-96). The freeway ends at

6579-400: The ICC's approval, GTW was obligated to divest its half or buy Norfolk and Western's share in the Detroit and Toledo Shore Line. It purchased N&W's share in April 1981 for $ 1.9 million and completely merged the line into GTW later that same year. Grand Trunk Western sought to further expand its trackage by seeking to purchase one of the bankrupt Midwest railroads, the Milwaukee Road or

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6708-414: The Interstate Highway System showed a highway in the corridor. The General Location of National System of Interstate Highways Including All Additional Routes at Urban Areas Designated in September 1955 , showed generalized plans for the locations of Interstate Highways as designated in 1955. This also included a highway in the US 16 corridor. The 1957 approval for the Interstate Highway System replaced

6837-405: The Lansing–Howell Plank Road, a task the company completed by 1853. At Howell the road connected with the Detroit–Howell Plank Road, establishing the first improved connection direct from the state capital to Michigan's largest metropolis. The Lansing–Detroit Plank Road was a toll road until the 1880s, and it eventually evolved into the eastern part of the modern Grand River Avenue. By 1900, only

6966-873: The Mikado type 2-8-2s built by Baldwin Locomotive Works and Alco, primarily used in mainline freight service. 4-6-2 Pacific type and 4-8-2 Mountain type locomotives, also built by Baldwin and Alco in the 1920s, and 4-6-0 Ten-Wheelers built around 1900 began in mainline service but later were eventually both found mostly on branch lines and mixed train service. GTW also had a variety of other models of steam engines, including several 0-8-0 and 0-6-0 switching locomotives used to move rolling stock around in rail yards. Some of GTW's steam engines survive today as static park displays or in operation. Three are park displays in Michigan; they include two 4-6-2 "Pacifics" at Durand and Jackson and an 0-6-0 at Sidney Montcalm Community College Heritage Village . Steamtown National Historic Site has GTW No.  6039 ,

7095-411: The Milwaukee Road's route. It would also launch a marketing effort promoting the merger. However, as the Milwaukee Road became more successful, two other potential bidders, the Soo Line Railroad and the Chicago and North Western Railway , petitioned the ICC to purchase the railroad. Despite GTW's efforts, the ICC rejected its bid and, after a further bidding war between the Soo and the C&NW, approved

7224-414: The Muskegon Railway and Navigation Company, initially operated ferry loading and switching operations. GTW had also changed its route into Muskegon, with trackage rights over PRR's line from Grand Rapids. By 1968, GTW was shipping over 800,000 short tons (710,000 long tons; 730,000 t) of freight a year across Lake Michigan. However, the ferry service began running deficits of over $ 1 million annually in

7353-499: The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad. However, Vanderbilt owned the Chicago and Northeastern section of the route from Flint to Lansing and charged Grand Trunk higher rates to move its freight over the line. Vanderbilt soon sold the C&NE to Grand Trunk when GTR bought the other two lines in 1879 and proposed building its own route between Flint and Lansing just north of Vanderbilt's line. Grand Trunk completed its own route into Chicago from Valparaiso in 1880 and incorporated

7482-508: The Renaissance Center. It also obtained the former Penn Central Winona Yard in Bay City when it acquired that trackage from Conrail, in 1976. On Chicago's southwest side, GTW's Elsdon Yard served as its primary yard and locomotive facility there since the railroad laid tracks into the city in the 1880s. GTW also had a smaller transfer yard south of Chicago near rail junction Blue Island, Illinois. In 1975, GTW opened an intermodal freight terminal yard in Chicago known as Railport. The facility

7611-450: The SS Grand Haven and SS  Milwaukee , capable of carrying 26 freight railcars. In 1905, Grand Trunk assumed Crosby's interest and incorporated the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company to operate the ships. In Milwaukee, GTW interchanged rail cars with the Milwaukee Road, Chicago and North Western and the Soo Line. The ownership of the ferry company was shared with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) from 1927 until 1954, and sailed as

7740-549: The Soo Line's acquisition of the Milwaukee Road. The two roads were merged in January, 1986. During the 1970s and 1980s, Grand Trunk Western would continue to improve its efficiency and embark on efforts to improve its operating ratio. It had consolidated some of its operations, including dispatching in Pontiac, locomotive maintenance in Battle Creek and railcar maintenance in Port Huron. Its intercity passenger train operations would be handed over to Amtrak on May 1, 1971. Responsibility for GTW's commuter rail operation in Detroit

7869-430: The South Beltline and West Beltline sections of M-114 ) in the Grand Rapids area. The US 16 designation was moved in 1953 to replace Byp. US 16 while the former routing through downtown Grand Rapids was redesignated Business US 16 (Bus. US 16). MSHD had plans to upgrade the US 16 corridor to freeway standards in the middle of the 20th century. The first planning map in 1947 for what later became

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7998-401: The US 16 moniker, and the business route was redesignated as Business Loop I-96 two years later. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Grand Trunk Western grew out of a collection of 19th century Michigan rail lines which included: Grand Trunk Western began as a route for the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) to link its line to Chicago through lower Michigan. GTR's objective was to have

8127-425: The blue and white color scheme. With new management, the railroad implemented a new strategy to market to shippers and improve its performance. In 1975, the railroad adopted its company slogan: The Good Track Road. This slogan promoted GTW's track maintenance efforts at a time when many Eastern and Midwest railroads suffered from deferred maintenance. The company also encouraged better safety practices, which earned it

8256-425: The building has housed many business, including at least three furriers, Midwest Woolen Co., Kroger Grocery & Bakery, NY Life Insurance Co., a jeweler and shoe repair shop. The lowrise building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 25, 1983. The Merchants Building stands at 8 floors in height. It is built from steel and reinforced concrete, and wrapped with terra cotta . The façade

8385-478: The city's downtown. In the middle of the 19th century, the trail was expanded into a plank road that formed the basis for one of the first state trunkline highways as M-16 in the early 20th century. Later, the highway was rerouted to replace M-126 and create M-104 . Current segments of the roadway are still part of the state highway system as sections of M-5 , M-11 , M-43 or business loops off I-96 . The portion of Grand River Avenue in Detroit between I-96 and

8514-487: The city, Grand River Avenue included. This street plan was devised by Augustus Woodward and others following a devastating fire in Detroit. A ten-year project to construct a plank road between Detroit and Howell was authorized in 1820 along the Grand River Trail. Grand River Avenue was included as one of Five Great Military Roads by Governor Lewis Cass in 1825, along with the River Road, Michigan Avenue, Woodward Avenue and Gratiot Avenue. The Grand River Road, precursor to

8643-408: The city, and the eastern terminus was at the intersection between US 16 and Grand River Avenue southeast of Farmington. This highway was the original route of US 16 through downtown Farmington. In 1933, US 16 was routed onto a bypass route which had been constructed south of the city (the present-day Freedom Road) and the route through Farmington was retained as state trunkline. In 1956,

8772-439: The company sold its headquarters building on Lafayette Avenue in Detroit and moved to the new office-park complex Brewery Park. The complex was developed on the site of the former Stroh's Brewery near downtown Detroit. Locomotive performance was also enhanced with a rebuilding program of its EMD GP9s . By the 1990s, several miles of routes and facilities were abandoned or sold to regional rail companies. GTW would eliminate all of

8901-408: The company. GTW's predecessor Grand Trunk Railway also sought to expedite its rail service between Port Huron and Sarnia by constructing the world's first international submarine rail tunnel under the St. Clair River . The St. Clair Tunnel , completed in 1891, approximately 6,000 feet (1,800 m) long and hand-dug, allowed Grand Trunk to discontinue its ferry service across the river. The tunnel

9030-406: The construction of bridges across the Rouge , Shiawassee , Red Cedar and Grand rivers. The Grand River Road was a major route for settlers headed inland to Grand Rapids in 1836, as the shortest route for travelers coming from Detroit. An economic panic in 1837 drove settlers from New York to Michigan; these were the travelers who followed the Grand River Road. New settlements were created along

9159-447: The corporate re-branding, GTW's blue color scheme and its logo would persist on rolling stock and locomotives for several years while they were slowly either repainted or retired. CN also reintegrated managerial and some operational control of GTW, as it would gradually shift out of Detroit and into CN headquarters in Montreal. GTW would continue to maintain some office and dispatching functions from offices in suburban Troy, Michigan . All

9288-443: The designation was decommissioned when mainline US 16 was rerouted out of downtown Farmington, replacing US 16A. At the same time, the former route of the mainline through downtown was redesignated Bus. US 16 . Business US Highway 16 ( Bus. US 16 ) was a business loop through downtown Farmington along Grand River Avenue. Its western terminus was at the junction of US 16 and Grand River Avenue west of

9417-521: The east end of Saginaw Street in East Lansing . Grand River Avenue through East Lansing follows a tree-lined boulevard that forms the division between the campus of Michigan State University to the south and the rest of the city to the north. US 16 continued east in Ingham County through Okemos and rural parts of the county through Williamston and Webberville . Grand River Avenue crosses to

9546-473: The east into Livingston County through Fowlerville to Howell . In Howell, Grand River Avenue meets Hartland Road which carries M-59 ; the highway also met M-155 in downtown, which at the time provided access to the Howell State Hospital. In the approach to Brighton , Grand River Avenue passes through rural southeast Michigan lake country. In Brighton, Grand River Avenue crossed the western end of

9675-412: The eastern terminus of M-104 , and continued through more mixed forest and grassland terrain to serve the communities of Coopersville and Marne . As the freeway approached Kent County , it met the western terminus of M-11 which was the former routing of US 16 through the Grand Rapids metropolitan area . I-196/US 16 continued eastward around the north side of the metropolitan area through

9804-410: The end of 1970, GTW operated 2,154 miles (3,467 km) of track on 946 miles (1,522 km) of road, and that year it reported 2,732 million net revenue ton-miles of freight and 49 million passenger-miles. After several years of Canadian National subsidizing the financial losses of Grand Trunk Western, a new holding company would be established by CN in 1971 to manage GTW. The Grand Trunk Corporation

9933-543: The entire line from Port Huron to Chicago as the Chicago and Grand Trunk Railway . Over the next two decades through either leases or purchases Grand Trunk acquired several other branch lines in Michigan. It took control of the Michigan Air Line Railway through a lease in 1881. The line connected with the Chicago, Detroit and Canada Grand Trunk Junction at Richmond, Michigan , and ran to Jackson, Michigan , through Romeo and Pontiac. When Grand Trunk purchased

10062-544: The entire route of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton in 1997 to the shortline rail operator Railtex . By 1998, it had abandoned the entire former Michigan Air Line route except for a portion in Oakland County, Michigan , which it sold to Coe Rail . With the end of SEMTA commuter rail service to downtown Detroit, in 1983, GTW abandoned and sold its trackage from the Milwaukee Junction area to downtown Detroit. That line

10191-430: The excess of passengers. GTW U-3-b class 4-8-4 Northern-type locomotive 6319 led the first section of train #21 with 15 passenger cars, and GTW 4-8-4 Northern 6322 pulled the second section with 22 passenger cars. Steam was used on some freight trains until 1961. GTW's predecessor lines primarily used 4-4-0 American-type locomotives before the turn of the 20th century. Throughout its history, GTW has shared

10320-477: The former Pontiac, Oxford and Northern line north of General Motors' Lake Orion manufacturing plant by 1985. In 1987, the former Cincinnati, Saginaw, and Mackinaw and the former Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee routes north of Durand were sold to the Central Michigan Railway . Elsdon Yard, GTW's primary terminal and rail yard in Chicago, had been downsized and closed by 1990. It had also sold almost

10449-532: The freeway to Grand River Avenue. From there east, US 16 resumed its historic routing into the city of Lansing. Grand River Avenue carried the highway past the Capital City Airport and east to Larch Street, where US 16 turned south along US 27 north of downtown Lansing. At Saginaw Street, eastbound US 16 turned east on the one-way street , while westbound traffic ran a block north on Grand River Avenue. The two directions of travel merge at

10578-643: The intersection with Cass Avenue and Middle Street in Downtown Detroit is an unsigned state trunkline, sometimes referred to as Old Business Spur I-96 (Old BS I-96). At the time of its decommissioning, US 16 started its run through Michigan at the Grand Trunk Western Railroad docks in Muskegon. The SS Milwaukee Clipper operated as a car ferry across Lake Michigan , connecting Muskegon to Milwaukee, Wisconsin , where US 16 continued to

10707-420: The last GTW-painted SD40-2, 5936, was still operated by CN. Over its history, Grand Trunk Western has had rail yards and engine terminals located in Detroit, Battle Creek , Durand, Flat Rock, Flint, Grand Rapids, Pontiac, Port Huron, Blue Island, Illinois and Chicago. In each of these cities, GTW had engine terminals and facilities for locomotive maintenance, including roundhouses and turntables. Prior to 1900,

10836-429: The loop followed Cascade Road into Cascade Township where it reconnected to US 16 at the intersection with 28th Street. Bus. US 16 lasted until 1962 when US 16 was decommissioned in Michigan. US Highway 16A ( US 16A ) was an alternate route for US 16 that bypassed Farmington . It was designated in 1933 for a new highway that bypassed downtown along what is now Freedom Road. In 1956,

10965-545: The modern M-21 to the north of the Lansing area. From Bancroft , several trails branched off, including the northern branch of the Grand River Road and the Saginaw Trail . The two branches merged back together near Dewitt and continued west toward Ionia and on to Grand Rapids and Newton (now Grand Haven ). The early travelers plied the road in wagons pulled by oxen or horses, and drivers charged between four and seven cents

11094-532: The modern Grand River Avenue was named by Benjamin Williams, cofounder of Owosso . The original Native American name for the river was Wash-ten-ong sibi meaning "the river that extends far off", or "far into the interior", which was translated as La Grande Riviere , the French name for the river; this name was then applied to the name of the trail that paralleled at least half of the river's length. The opening of

11223-448: The nearly 3-mile-long (4.8 km) Chicago and Kalamazoo Terminal Railroad by 1910. Prior to moving its ferry operations to Muskegon, GTW also acquired the railway belt-line Muskegon Railway and Navigation Company in 1924. The company existed as a GTW subsidiary until 1955. For its entry into Chicago GTW, along with the Erie , Wabash , Chicago and Eastern Illinois and Monon railroads, was

11352-553: The now-defunct Southeast Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA) took over operating the commuter trains . Amtrak's Detroit–Chicago trains now originate or terminate over this former commuter line, making stops in the northern Detroit suburbs of Pontiac, Troy and Royal Oak, Michigan . Part of GTW's former route in Detroit, to Brush Street Station and its railcar ferry dock known as the Dequindre Cut , has been transformed into an urban greenway rail trail . Grand Trunk Western

11481-672: The only operating former GTW 4-8-4 locomotive is the U-3-b class No.  6325 on the Ohio Central System . One of the two 4-6-2 s in Michigan, K-4b 5632 , is on display in Durand. J-3-b No. 5030 was purchased in February 2021 by the Colebrookdale Railroad , which has the intent of restoring it to operating condition after moving it to Boyertown, Pennsylvania . Although there was

11610-450: The opportunity to connect directly with its corporate cousin, the DW&;P, at Duluth, Minnesota . Instead of initially placing a bid for the Milwaukee Road and seeking immediate ICC approval, GTW embarked on a strategy to improve the line's revenue and track maintenance. GTW and Milwaukee Road would enter into a voluntary coordination agreement where GTW would direct more of its shipments over

11739-591: The post-World War II construction of freeways in the state of Michigan . Before the creation of the United States Numbered Highway System in 1926, the highway had been designated as a state highway numbered M-16 . The modern route of Grand River Avenue cuts across the Lower Peninsula in a northwest–southeast fashion from near Grand Rapids to Detroit . Before the late 1950s and early 1960s, US 16 followed other roads between Muskegon and Grand Rapids, and then Grand River Avenue through Lansing to Detroit. In

11868-594: The predecessor of the Ann Arbor Railroad . Grand Trunk acquired a route into Saginaw, Michigan , in 1890 with the lease of the Cincinnati, Saginaw & Mackinaw Railroad from Durand to Bay City, Michigan . The line was the last to be held as a leased property until January 1943, when it was fully merged into Grand Trunk Western. By 1900 Grand Trunk united the operations of the Chicago and Grand Trunk Railway and all of its lines in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana under

11997-469: The present grade, that had been used as underlayment for the plank road surface in a low, swampy area. The logs had been in place for nearly 150 years. In 2004, the state transferred several blocks at the eastern end of Grand River Avenue to the City of Detroit. State trunkline control now ends at the corner of Grand River Avenue, Middle Street, and Cass Avenue. Community leaders in Lansing have proposed renaming

12126-423: The previous "tilted herald" and "Maple Leaf" logos. In 1960, when CN launched its new image, GTW had its own initials incorporated into the "wet noodle" logo and followed with CN's black red/orange and gray locomotive color scheme. However, to show its new autonomy from CN, in 1971 GTW began receiving its new locomotives in its famous bright-blue, red/orange and white scheme. Most of GTW's freight cars also received

12255-476: The railroad constructed its major locomotive repair shops in Battle Creek, while railcar repair and maintenance was handled by GTW's Port Huron car shops. The Battle Creek Shops were upgraded and modernized in 1907. The original Port Huron car shops were destroyed by fire in 1913 and rebuilt on a new 55-acre site at Griswold Road and 32nd Street. Its major freight yards were Durand Yard and Pontiac Yard, located in

12384-490: The river. However, GTW and CN reinstated the ferry service 80 years later, in 1971, with its Rail-Barge service to accommodate the larger freight railcars that were higher than the 1891 tunnel's height clearance . The St. Clair river barges discontinued service again in 1995, after the new, larger St Clair Tunnel was completed. Grand Trunk's river ferry service on the Detroit River connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario

12513-470: The road were upgraded in 1956 between Coopersville and Marne, Portland and Eagle, and Brighton and Farmington. By 1962, freeway construction allowed motorists to travel between Muskegon and the Lansing area on a freeway, bypassing the old Grand River Avenue route. The final connection between Lansing and Brighton was completed in late 1962. At that time, the US ;16 designation, which had been applied alongside

12642-502: The road, and Michigan petitioned Congress for the better part of the next decade for money to complete the work. When the state capital was moved to Lansing in 1847, an improved road was needed to the capital city. The first segments of roadway were privatized starting in 1844. In 1850, the Michigan State Legislature established the Lansing and Howell Plank Road Company, which set about converting various Indian trails into

12771-428: The route, every six miles (9.7 km) or so, that distance being a good day's travel by horse. Approximately 120 wagons left Detroit each day between August and November 1843. After statehood in 1837, Michigan assumed the costs for construction work to the Grand River Trail. At that time, about 60 miles (97 km) had been surveyed from Detroit westward. The new state lacked the money to continue improvements to

12900-566: The routes that make up GTW are part of CN's Midwest Division in its Michigan Zone. Grand Trunk Corporation, now formally headquartered at CN in Montreal, is the holding company for almost all of CN's U.S. properties, which include Grand Trunk Western, Illinois Central, Wisconsin Central, Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific and Great Lakes Transportation , which includes the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad and

13029-476: The same type and class designations of its locomotives with parents Grand Trunk Railway and Canadian National. Its locomotive road numbers would also be integrated into CN's roster sequence. By the first half of the 20th century, the railroad's largest steam power would be its Northern type 4-8-4 locomotives, called Confederations by CN. The locomotives, built by the American Locomotive Company in

13158-405: The section north of Grand Ledge was eventually redesignated M-100 . A second realignment moved M-16 to follow Grand River Avenue from Ionia through Ada. The former alignment became a part of M-21 . On August 7, 1926, the state completed paving on M-16, opening it to traffic as "the first paved highway across the state". The M-16 designation lasted for seven years. As the states were meeting with

13287-694: The ships. By the 1860s, Great Western made its railway dual gauge by adding a third rail to its tracks to accommodate rail cars of both gauges. Its first side-wheel steam ferry, the Great Western , arrived in 1866, and when first launched was the largest steel vessel on the Great Lakes . The Wabash Railroad contracted with Grand Trunk in 1897 to use its ferry service to connect Wabash's own route from Detroit through Southwest Ontario to Buffalo, New York . Wabash started its own service after 1910, when it acquired Michigan Central's ferries after that railroad opened

13416-601: The sides of freight cars and locomotives. The labels were read by automatic scanners at various rail yards. When Conrail was formed in 1976, GTW sought to acquire some of its routes in Michigan. It gained 151 miles (243 km) of trackage between Saginaw and Bay City as well as near Muskegon and Midland, Michigan . Several of GTW's cuts in its expenditures came from reductions in its workforce through changes it negotiated in union work rules. In 1978, it discontinued its Lake Michigan railcar ferry operations after several years of annual financial losses of over $ 1 million. By 1987,

13545-500: The southern and western sides of the city in 1953, the former route of the mainline through downtown was redesignated as the business loop. That loop followed Remembrance Avenue southeasterly to Leonard Avenue in Walker Township . From there, the loop turned easterly on Leonard over the Grand River to Monroe Avenue before turning south parallel to the river along Monroe into downtown. In downtown Grand Rapids, Bus. US 16 turned eastward on Fulton Avenue into East Grand Rapids . There

13674-505: The suburbs of Walker and Comstock Park . The freeway intersected the contemporaneous routing of US 131 along the East Beltline and curved south through the eastern edge of Grand Rapids to meet the end of I-96 east of downtown. There I-196 ended and US 16 was transferred to the I-96 freeway. I-96/US 16 continued southward intersecting Cascade Road, which was previously US 16. Cascade Road east of this interchange meets

13803-597: The system. The state highways were signposted starting in 1919, and on the first maps published on July 1 of that year, the Michigan State Highway Department (MSHD) had applied the M-16 number to Grand River Avenue across the state between Grand Haven and Detroit. M-16 was rerouted in the Lansing area in 1925, running along Grand River Avenue from Grand Ledge to East Lansing. The former routing through Downtown Lansing on Michigan Avenue became part of M-39 and

13932-471: The tunnel to CN and Canadian Pacific Railway in 1985. Eventually, CN sold its share of the Detroit tunnel in 2000 after the new St. Clair tunnel was completed. The railroad's first major line abandonment came in 1951 when it abandoned about half of the former Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon Railway line from Muskegon to Greenville, Michigan . That same year, Grand Trunk Western bought its headquarters building at 131 West Lafayette Avenue in downtown Detroit. At

14061-520: The two Michigan cities that were major GTW junction points. There is also Nichols Yard in Battle Creek, Tunnel Yard in Port Huron, Torrey Yard near Flint and East Yard near the Milwaukee Junction area in the Detroit enclave of Hamtramck . City Yard was the railroad's rail yard on the Detroit riverfront adjacent to Brush Street Station and its ferry slip dock. The yard, dock and station were eventually all removed and redeveloped by 1975 for construction of

14190-471: The west. From the docks, US 16 and M-46 traveled concurrently south and then east through downtown Muskegon. At Peck Street, US 16 turned south along Business US 31 (Bus. US 31). These two highways ran concurrently out of town to the south through Muskegon Heights to Norton Shores . There, the business loop ended at US 31 , and US 16 joined the I-196 freeway headed east. (Later,

14319-494: The westernmost part of Grand River Avenue, which carried US 16 east continuously to Downtown Detroit . M-50 also joined the freeway at Cascade Road headed east, and together I-96/US 16/M-50 continued through eastern Kent County. M-50 departed to the south near Lowell , and the freeway crossed into southern Ionia County . Passing south of Portland , the freeway crossed east into Clinton County . North of Grand Ledge , I-96 ended and US 16 followed Wright Road off

14448-445: The years immediately preceding the creation of the Interstate Highway System , US 16 was shifted from older roads to newer freeways. Later, it was co-designated as an Interstate. When the gap in the freeway was filled in around Lansing, the US 16 designation was decommissioned in the state. The freeway was solely designated Interstate 96 (I-96) east of Grand Rapids and I-196 west of that city. The original pathway along

14577-469: Was also inherited from its 1882 purchase of the Great Western Railway. Great Western's ferry service began after its rails reached Windsor in 1853. Because Great Western's track gauge of 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) was different from the standard American gauge of 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ), it had to transfer its cargo off railcars and onto

14706-614: Was created to shift full control of GTW operations to Detroit and begin a strategy to make the railroad profitable. CN's other American properties, the Central Vermont Railway and the Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway (DW&P), would also be placed under the new corporation initially for tax purposes. With the new corporation came a new autonomy for GTW from its parent CN. Grand Trunk Western had always shared equipment, color schemes and corporate logos with Canadian National. It shared CN's herald styles with its own name on

14835-449: Was followed by the acquisition of several GP38-2s into the 1980s. GTW also purchased its new locomotives without dynamic brakes ? since the company did not have any significant grades on its routes. GTW also inherited several locomotives, including its first 3,000-horsepower (2.2 MW) GP40-2s , from its acquisition of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad . It also rostered its first EMD GP7s when it obtained full ownership of

14964-449: Was in need of extra motive power. GTW also sent diesel locomotives for use to its fellow GTC subsidiary railways Central Vermont and Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific. As of 2012 , many GTW GP38s still wore their original blue, red/orange and white paint scheme and were found operating throughout CN's other US subsidiaries. However, since 1991, CN gradually retired, sold or applied its own paint scheme to GTW locomotives. As of December 2020 ,

15093-424: Was named in honor of George Washington for his service as the "father of his country". The street was named by Judge Woodward as a part of his general street plan for the city of Detroit in 1807. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] US 12 west (Michigan Avenue) – Ypsilanti Bypass US Highway 16 ( Byp. US 16 ) was a bypass route of US 16 in the Grand Rapids area. The highway became

15222-456: Was one of the last U.S. railroads to employ steam locomotives. It ran the last scheduled steam passenger train in the United States on March 27, 1960, on its train #21 from Detroit's Brush Street Station north to Durand Union Station . The run drew thousands of rail enthusiasts. With 3,600 passengers holding tickets, train #21 had to be run in two sections (as two separate trains) to accommodate

15351-530: Was one of three Michigan railroads, along with the Ann Arbor Railroad and Pere Marquette Railway , that operated separate railcar ferry service across Lake Michigan between Michigan and Wisconsin . Loading rail cars onto ships that had rails mounted to their decks, and ferrying the cars east and west across Lake Michigan, allowed railroads to bypass the congested rail interchanges in Chicago and move time-sensitive freight more quickly. GTW's ferry service

15480-555: Was originally operated by the former Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway (DGH&M), which Grand Trunk Railway acquired in 1882. DGH&M initially had agreements with ferry companies operating on Lake Michigan to transfer its passengers and freight onto ships bound for Milwaukee from Grand Haven, Michigan. GTW's rail car ferry service began in 1902 with an operating agreement with the steamship company, Crosby Transportation Company. The railway constructed ferry slip docks at Grand Haven and Milwaukee and had two steamships built,

15609-500: Was purchased equally by GTW and the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad, a predecessor of the Nickel Plate Road . GTW eventually took complete control of the line when it bought Nickel Plate's half interest from its successor Norfolk and Western Railway in 1981. Grand Trunk Western also owned or co-owned terminal switching railroad companies in some of the cities it operated in. Beginning in 1905, it co-owned equal shares of

15738-841: Was relegated to loading and unloading freight cars from GTW ferries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin . The unit was eventually converted to diesel power in 1939 and served in Milwaukee until 1960. GTW continued to dieselize its locomotive fleet in the 1940s and 1950s, primarily with models from EMD, which was owned by one of GTW's largest freight customers, General Motors. The exceptions were approximately 40 Alco S-2 and S-4 switching locomotives. Other diesel locomotives from EMD included several NW2s , SW900s and SW1200s , purchased for switching duties in rail yards and on branch lines . Grand Trunk Western's first mainline road diesel locomotives were almost two dozen EMD F3As , acquired in 1948. They were followed in

15867-523: Was rerouted to replace M-126, and the former route of US 16 between Nunica and Grand Haven was redesignated M-104 . Two further changes during 1941–42 rerouted the western end in Muskegon to end at the car ferry docks. Previously, motorists had to navigate from the western end along other roads to the ferry connection to the rest of US 16 in Wisconsin. The second change routed Bypass US 16 (Byp. US 16) along 28th Street and Wilson (previously

15996-428: Was the 2,000-horsepower (1.5 MW) EMD GP38 . The first GP38s were delivered in 1971, and were also the first locomotives to wear GTW's blue, red/orange and white scheme. It proved to be a versatile locomotive for GTW, used in switching and mainline service. The GP38AC was the first version to be purchased by GTW which had an alternating current alternator instead of the typical direct current generator . This

16125-468: Was the Ionia County engineer in charge of the various roads in the county, and that location is "what many consider to be the nation's first roadside table". The first change to the US 16 routing was made in 1933 when the highway was moved to bypass Farmington, with the old routing retained as a state highway. The next year, in 1934, M-126 was created between Nunica and Muskegon. In 1940, US 16

16254-410: Was the former route to Brush Street Station and its railcar ferry dock on the Detroit River. It is known as the Dequindre Cut , which has been transformed into an urban greenway rail trail . By the year 2000, engine terminals and maintenance facilities had also been eliminated or downsized in Chicago, Detroit, Durand, Pontiac, Port Huron and Battle Creek. In December 1991, Canadian National announced

16383-574: Was the last link in GTR's complete mainline from Chicago through southern Canada. In 1992, Canadian National began construction of a new, larger tunnel next to the original tunnel to accommodate double-stacked intermodal containers and tri-level auto carriers used in freight train service. The new tunnel was completed in 1994 and dedicated on May 5, 1995. GTW also gained trackage rights in 1975 to use Penn Central's Detroit River Tunnel between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario . Penn Central's successor Conrail sold

16512-451: Was transferred to the new freeway, Grand River Avenue lost its state highway status along most of its length. Today the roadway remains the " Main Street " of over a dozen Michigan cities and a scenic route through one of the state's most populated corridors. In 1995, major reconstruction work along Grand River Avenue in East Lansing uncovered rotting logs, buried about 2 feet (0.61 m) below

16641-504: Was turned over in 1974 to the regional transportation authority SEMTA . GTW moved into the intermodal freight business by creating intermodal transfer yards in Chicago in 1975, and suburban Detroit in 1978. The railroad's president at the time, John H. Burdakin, was also a proponent of the Automatic Car Identification (ACI) system. It was a means to identify the location of shipments and equipment with bar code labels on

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