Mainline history Formed by July 1, 1919, M-28 began in
Wakefield at a junction with then
M-12 and ran roughly along the current alignment to end at
M-15, east of
Covington. These two termini roughly correspond to the modern
US 2 and western
US 41 junctions respectively. M-28 was extended in 1927 along US 41 into
Marquette County and east over
M-25 through
Chatham,
Munising, and
Newberry, before ending in downtown
Sault Ste. Marie. At Negaunee, M-28 took the former routing of M-15 between
Negaunee and
Marquette for while US 41 ran along a portion of
M-35. This southern loop routing of M-28 lasted until approximately 1936, when M-28 was moved to US 41, and the former route became
CR 492. A new routing of M-28 in the Newberry area opened later that year, and a new M-28A (later
Bus. M-28) existed until 1953. Another realignment in 1937 marked the transfer of M-28 out of downtown
Ishpeming and Negaunee. This former routing later became
Bus. M-28. In the late 1930s, a highway numbered
M-178 was designated between M-28 south of Munising to M-94 in town. Since then, M-28 has run along the lakeshore through
Au Train. M-28 was extended along US 2 to the state line at
Ironwood, and the eastern end of M-28 through
Brimley was moved to a new alignment ending at US 2, in
Dafter in 1942. The eastern end was moved along US 2 back to Sault Ste. Marie in 1948, though the terminus was returned to Dafter in 1950. From 1952 to 1962, M-28 crossed US 2 at Wakefield going south and stopped at the
Wisconsin border, connecting with a county road. This segment of the highway (now Gogebic CR 519) was transferred back to the county in 1962. M-94 previously looped along Munising-Van Meer-Shingleton Road (now
H-58 and
H-15) north of M-28 between Munising and Shingleton. This routing was abandoned on November 7, 1963 in favor of the current
concurrency. The last significant change to the M-28 routing occurred on March 3, 1989, when the eastern terminus was moved east to
M-129. MDOT unveiled plans on March 31, 2009, to rebuild the intersection between Front Street and the eastern end of the Marquette Bypass during 2010. The previous intersection configuration dated back to the 1960s and had been labeled as "dangerous and [causing] significant traffic delays" by the designers of the replacement. A traffic study concluded in 2007 that the intersection would need either the roundabout or a traffic signal with several turning lanes to accommodate the traffic needs in the area. MDOT decided in favor of a two-lane, roundabout retaining the right-turn lanes from the previous intersection layout. These lanes will be used by right-turning traffic to bypass the circle at the center of the intersection. A section of the intersection was opened in July to traffic from the south that turns west. The lanes northbound into downtown were opened in the beginning of August, and the city held a ribbon cutting ceremony on August 19, 2010. The remaining lanes were opened the next day.
Historic bridges MDOT has highlighted five
historic bridges along the route of M-28 on the MDOT website. In
Interior Township,
Ontonagon County, the highway crosses the
Ontonagon River over a bridge built in 1929. Designed by the State Highway Department and built by the firm of Meads and Anderson, the Ontonagon River Bridge is one of only three
steel arch bridges in Michigan. The main span arch is long. A former routing of M-28 in
Covington Township crosses the Rock River. Although this section was bypassed by a new alignment of the trunkline in 1924, the bridge remains complete "with corbeled bulkheads and six panels recessed in the concrete spandrel walls." The
corbels and
spandrels are decorative features found in the concrete sides of the bridge. |alt=A river flowing between two banks covered in vegetation and trees. The river flows under a concrete bridge resting on four support piers into a lake in the background. Today, drivers cannot use the
Peshekee River Bridge south of US 41/M-28 in western
Marquette County's
Michigamme Township. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 as "Trunk Line Bridge No. 1" for its engineering and architectural significance. MDOT has listed it as "one of Michigan's most important vehicular bridges." It was the first bridge designed by the Michigan State Highway Department, the forerunner to MDOT, in 1914. It was bypassed by a newer bridge built over the Peshekee River on US 41/M-28 subsequently abandoned as a roadway. The replacement bridge was bypassed and demolished in 1995. The next historic bridge listed by MDOT along M-28 is
over the Sand River in
Onota Township in
Alger County. While not visible to motorists, the bridge, constructed in 1939, is the longest rural rigid-frame span in Michigan. Most bridges of this type were built in urban locations, and soil conditions in the state limit locations for this style of bridge. The
bridge over the East Branch of the
Tahquamenon River in
Chippewa County was built in 1926 as a "formative exercise in what would evolve into a state standard design." The bridge was built with nine lines of
I-beams encased in concrete. Only one other bridge in Michigan was built with such concrete encasement. == Future ==