The original designation of M-47 was routed from the
Shiawassee–
Ingham county line north to
St. Charles and then east along M-46 into Saginaw. A southern extension into Ingham County to end at
M-16 in
Williamston was transferred and completed in 1924. A northern extension to Bay City replaced a section of
M-111 in 1929, and extended farther to Bay City State Park in 1933. M-47 replaced the remainder of M-111 and extended southward from the park to Bay City in 1938, creating a "U-turn" in the routing. The southern terminus was moved again in late 1951 or early 1952 to Webberville, although still ending on
US 16. At its greatest extent in the 1950s, the highway extended north from Webberville through
Owosso and St. Charles to a junction with M-46 between
Hemlock and Shields. M-47 turned east along M-46,
running concurrently with that highway to Saginaw Township. There M-47 turned north independently to a junction with US 10, and then ran concurrently with US 10 into Saginaw. Once in the city, M-47 turned north along Bay Street out of town toward Bay City. M-47 joined
US 23 and followed it north of town. M-47 then ran separately to the state park before turning south and back into downtown Bay City, ending at
the US 23 business loop. Major changes to the routing of M-47 started in December 1960 when the I-75/US 10/US 23 freeway opened between Saginaw and Bay City. US 10 was rerouted east of Midland to Bay City along the
M-20 freeway. M-47 was rerouted along the former US 10 from Saginaw to east of Midland using a connector
expressway from Freeland north to the US 10 freeway.
M-81 was extended over State Street in Saginaw, and the former routing of M-47 between Saginaw and Bay City was redesignated as
M-84.
M-13 also replaced the former US 23/M-47 when US 23 was moved to freeways as well. The southern end of M-47 was changed in 1962 with the completion of I-96 in the Lansing area. US 16 was replaced by
M-43, and the southern terminus of M-47 was moved to exit 122 along I-96. This segment of M-47 south of M-46 became an extension of
M-52 in 1969, truncating M-47 to Hemlock. The interchange at Salzburg Road north of Freeland opened in 1970, and the expressway segment was upgraded to a full freeway. At the same time, M-47 was truncated to its current routing, resulting in the elimination of the M-46/M-47 concurrency near Shields. In the end, only about a mile and a half (2.4 km) of roadway still bears the M-47 from before the changes made starting in 1960,
M-111 In 1928,
M-111 was assigned to a route connecting
M-13 (later signed as US 23 for a time) north of
Bay City to
Bay City State Park on
Saginaw Bay. The original route consisted of what is today Euclid Avenue. In the early 1930s, a return leg towards Bay City was added to the east of the original route along what is now State Park Road, giving the route an upside-down-U shape. In 1933, the western leg along Euclid Avenue from Midland Road to Beaver Road was designated as M-47. In 1938, all of M-111 was re-designated as M-47—thus making M-47 double back to Bay City. ==Major intersections==