Grandview Parkway (Michigan)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (February 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Grandview Parkway

Maintained by	MDOT
Length	1.88 mi (3.03 km)
Component highways	US 31 / M-37 / M-72 from Front Street to Division Street M-22 / M-72 from Division Street to East Traverse Highway
Tourist routes	Lake Michigan Circle Tour
East end	US 31 / M-37 / M-72 / Front Street in Traverse City, Michigan
Major junctions	Park Street in Traverse City Union Street in Traverse City US 31 / M-37 Division Street in Traverse City
North end	M-22 near Greilickville
Construction
Completion	1956

Guide signs at the eastern terminus of the parkway

Grandview Parkway is a 1.9-mile-long (3.1 km) parkway in Traverse City, Michigan, serving as a bypass of downtown Traverse City. The roadway runs from just north of the Leelanau County line to an intersection at Front Street just east of downtown. It consists of US Highway 31 (US 31), M-22, M-37, and M-72. Also, the entirety of the highway is concurrent with the Lake Michigan Circle Tour. The highway is just north of the Boardman River and south of West Bay, meaning that many recreational sites are on either side of the parkway. It is known to be one of the main sites of the National Cherry Festival, which takes place every July.

Route description[]

Downtown Traverse City from the Grandview Parkway intersection at Park Street

The parkway is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation. This highway is one of the busiest non-freeway highways in Northern Michigan,^{[citation needed]} despite it being 1.9 miles (3.1 km) long. The highway is partially on the National Highway System; west of Division Street, the highway is not part of the system.^{[citation needed]} However, the entire roadway is concurrent with the Lake Michigan Circle Tour,^{[citation needed]} a tourist route that encircles Lake Michigan.

New Murchie Bridge over the Boardman River in January 2018

The highway starts at a five-way dog-leg intersection at Front Street, US 31/M-37/M-72, Franklin Street, and Railroad Street. The highway then splits and travels westward, passing by the former site of Wequetong, the original settlement of Traverse City.^{[citation needed]} This is the beginning of the parkway running parallel to the TART Trail. The highway then crosses over the Boardman River at the New Murchie Bridge, implemented in 2017. After this bridge, there is a major interchange^{[citation needed]} at Park Street, which leads directly into downtown Traverse City. The north side of the roadway then runs parallel to , a major park/beach in Traverse City. Another major interchange^{[citation needed]} approaches, Union Street/Marina Drive, another major artery to Traverse City's Central Business District. This is also the entrance to the , constructed in 1933.^{[citation needed]} Next, the highway also passes along the , a public year-round park that was formerly the Traverse City Light and Power Plant, demolished in 2005.^[1]

Beyond Union Street, Grandview Parkway does not have any more busy intersections, while passing by more public beaches and volleyball courts. Finally, the highway reaches US 31/M-37 at Division Street, one of the busiest intersections in the county.^{[citation needed]} This is where US 31/M-37 split off the concurrency, and M-22 begins. This highway has no intersections for 0.63 miles (1.01 km), passing by many city parks and beaches, until reaching East Traverse Highway (County Line Road), where M-72 splits westward toward Empire. M-22 continues northward as Grandview Parkway for about 260 feet (79 m) until the parkway ends.^{[citation needed]}

History[]

Grandview Parkway eastbound at Hall Street in Traverse City

In 1953, a project was proposed to move traffic out of downtown Traverse City. It was to also to replace Bay Street and Front Street as the bayfront streets, as well as a former short street called "Barker Street"^{[2][failed verification]} This project was greenlit, and in 1956, the parkway was opened to traffic.^[3] This highway ran alongside the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in its entirety. In latter years, this railway was removed and replaced with the Leelanau Trail and TART Trail.^{[citation needed]}

In 2017, the terminus of Garland Street in Traverse City was realigned from Grandview Parkway to Union Street, giving it a more "19th century look".^[4] This left Old Garland Street as a driveway to the headquarters of Traverse City's Tourism Bureau.^{[citation needed]}

Also in 2017, the Murchie Bridge, which carries Grandview Parkway over the Boardman River, was replaced due to age.^[5]

Future[]

Traverse City sign just north of the northern terminus of the parkway

There have been proposals to add roundabouts in many locations on Division Street, including its northern terminus at Grandview Parkway.^[6] Another roundabout has been proposed at the Union Street intersection, which is one of the busiest in Grand Traverse County.

References[]