Busiest Freeway in Michigan Outside Detroit is Just Three Lanes

Here's a fact that likely won't surprise many who live in the Grand Rapids area: The stretch of US-131 through the city is the busiest freeway in Michigan outside of the Metro Detroit area.

The lone north-south freeway through the region (as opposed to three east-west routes: I-96, I-196 and M-6) sees a tremendous amount of traffic funneling into the central city.

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So why is the freeway just three lanes wide in most spots?

From the M-6 interchange near 68th Street into the northside of the metro past the Walker city limits, the freeway runs with three lanes of traffic and an occasional fourth lane added as a dedicated exit lane.

Further north, in corridor of the quickly growing suburbs of Comstock Park and Rockford to Cedar Springs, the freeway goes down to two lanes.

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The question came up on the Grand Rapids subreddit of Reddit asking if the freeway should be expanded.

I think driving on 131, especially north into GR, there’s basically a 50/50 shot of it being stand-still traffic. One minor accident causes traffic for miles. Is this typical for all city highways, or should 131 be expanded to accommodate for the high traffic?

Of course the Michigan Department of Transportation does traffic studies and knows the capacity of the road.

The Design Dilemma: Why US-131 Was Built for a Different Era

The freeway section through Grand Rapids was constructed in the early 1960s being shoehorned into the neighborhoods south of downtown leaving little room for expansion.

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Many would argue that additional lanes counterintuitively won't ease traffic congestion.

It would appear that unless the region leans into mass transit, US-131 will remain its oft-congested self for the foreseeable future.

Every Interstate Highway in Michigan Has Quirks - Here They Are

Roads are intended to get you from here to there. And very few people think about the quirks of our interstate highway system. With being as long and as varied as it is, there is bound to be an oddity or two - and in fact, you can likely find a quirk with every interstate in Michigan. We think we have.

Gallery Credit: Eric Meier