Wayne County Department of Public Services The
Wayne County Department of Public Services was formed in 1906 as the
Wayne County Road Commission. It was the government agency in Wayne County, Michigan responsible for building and maintaining the county's roads and highways. Its first commissioners were
Edward N. Hines, Cassius R. Benton, and automobile manufacturer
Henry Ford. While the commission was authorized by an 80% positive vote of county voters in a 1906 referendum, it was controversial and there was a Michigan state supreme court case pressed which found it unconstitutional. Commissioners Benton and Ford quit, but commissioner Hines persisted and led the commission through reorganization getting around the obstacles. The commission claims credit for constructing the country's first mile of concrete-paved rural highway, a section of Woodward Avenue just outside the Detroit city limits. The county road commission was merged into the general county government,
Transit •
Detroit station is located in the
New Center neighborhood and serves the
Amtrak Wolverine intercity trains. • The
Detroit Bus Station is located in the
Corktown neighborhood and serves intercity buses to destinations across the Midwest. • The
Detroit Department of Transportation and
Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation provide local and regional bus service. • The
QLine operates
streetcar service down Woodward Avenue.
Major highways • through the
Downriver communities, then through the southwest-side neighborhoods of
Detroit and serves as the northern border of
Downtown Detroit as the Fisher Freeway. It then turns away from the Fisher onto the Chrysler Freeway at a complex interchange with I-375 and an unnumbered extension which connects with M-3, then follows M-1, which is less than a mile away through the remainder of Detroit, connecting eastern Wayne County to
Toledo and
Flint to the south and north respectively. It runs non-stop to the
Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge to the north and to
Florida to the south. • runs east–west through the central parts of Wayne County, connecting it to
Port Huron eastbound and
Chicago westbound. To the west it provides an uninterrupted route as far as
Montana and connects to the northern side of the
Detroit Metro Airport. In Detroit it is known as the Edsel Ford Freeway. • has its eastern terminus in the county, in
Detroit. It follows
Grand River Avenue until the city's northwest side, there it turns due west to I-275, where it turns north to concurrent with I-275. West of Detroit to I-275 it is known as the Jeffries Freeway; in Detroit it is the Rosa Parks Memorial Highway, but it is sometimes still known as the Jeffries. • , most of whose mileage is in Wayne County, serves the southern side of the
Detroit Metro Airport. • is the nation's shortest Interstate Highway to be
signed. However some highways are shorter but are not signed at all. It serves as the eastern boundary of
Downtown Detroit and is a southern extension of the Chrysler Freeway. There are currently plans in the works to turn I-375 into a 6-lane boulevard. Construction will start in 2025 and is expected to finish by 2028. • has its eastern terminus in
Downtown Detroit at Cass Avenue. From there it travels through the west side of
Detroit and through
Dearborn and other points west and is a useful alternative to I-94. US 12 continues west through Michigan, passing through several US cities including Chicago and Minneapolis, eventually ending in the Pacific Northwest in Aberdeen, Washington. Locally it is known as Michigan Avenue. • traverses through
Downriver and the far west sides of
Dearborn and
Detroit and is a useful alternative to I-75. Locally it is known as Telegraph Road. • entered the county by two ways. Initially it was via Woodward Avenue but when the Lodge Freeway was completed U.S. Route 10 was relocated onto it; the Woodward route became M-1. Later the existing highway was truncated in
Bay City and M-10 replaced it on the Lodge. • entered Wayne County on
Grand River Avenue and ended in
Downtown Detroit. • was the designated name for Dix-Toledo Highway in
Downriver and Fort Street and Gratiot Avenue in
Detroit. The construction of I-75 resulted in the truncation of U.S. Route 25 to
Cincinnati. • followed Michigan Avenue out of
Downtown Detroit and out of Wayne County. Is now a routing of U.S. Route 12. • has its southern terminus in
Downtown Detroit at Adams Street. It travels through Midtown Detroit and New Center and through
Highland Park. It serves as an alternative to I-75 and M-10. Locally known as Woodward Avenue. M-1 was a result of US-10 being redesignated to the Lodge Freeway. • has its southern terminus in
Downtown Detroit at Randolph and
Jefferson Avenue. It proceeds northeasterly through Detroit's northeast side and beyond towards
Mount Clemens and points further north. Locally known as Gratiot Avenue. M-3 was the result of the removal of US-25 from Michigan. • begins at the northern intersection with I-96 on Detroit's northwest side and follows
Grand River Avenue out of the county. • runs from I-96 to Conant Street in
Detroit, passing through
Highland Park. The freeway portion is known as the Davison Freeway. • starts at the same intersection where M-3 starts in
Downtown Detroit and travels further into the city on the Lodge Freeway and connects it to
Southfield. • starts at the interchange with I-96 and I-275 in
Livonia and travels out into rural areas, serving
Plymouth and
Ann Arbor. • starts in
Lincoln Park's city center and runs along Southfield Road to
Allen Park and becomes the Southfield Freeway, traveling through the west side of
Detroit. • begins at M-3 in
Detroit, running through the city and connecting it to the Thumb area of the state. Locally known as Van Dyke Avenue. • , which is entirely in Wayne County, starts at
Griswold Street in
Downtown Detroit and connects the city's southwest side to
Downriver, ending near
Flat Rock at I-75, for whom which M-85 serves as an alternative. Locally known as West Fort and South Fort, divided at the
River Rouge. • only runs a short distance through Detroit's northeast side, starting at M-3. In the city it follows Gunston Street and Hoover Street. • follows the county line between M-5 and I-94. Locally known as West 8 Mile and East 8 Mile, divided at John R. Street. • starts at Wyoming Street on the Detroit-Dearborn limit and continues through the western suburbs as Ford Road. • became part of US 16, which is also removed from Michigan. • once followed Ecorse Road into
Lincoln Park, then ran concurrently with U.S. Route 25 to
Downtown Detroit. • connected US 24 in
Monroe to
Flat Rock; it once connected to US 112 in
Canton along Huron River Drive and Belleville Road. • entered Wayne County during
World War II, and the years following, on an expressway, providing access to the
Willow Run Airport in
Van Buren Township and turned onto present-day Interstate 94 in
Romulus Township. In
Taylor Township it had interchanges with both M-17 and US 24, then ended at US 112 in
Dearborn. •
Dixie Highway ran through Wayne County as early as 1915. Back then it was one of the only routes that connected the county to the
Southern United States. Today there are no traces of the old highway in the county.
Airports •
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is located in the
Downriver community of
Romulus. It serves as a hub for
Delta Air Lines and
Spirit Airlines and is one of the two airports operated by the
Wayne County Airport Authority. •
Willow Run Airport is located in
Van Buren Township and has four runways (a fifth was recently converted into a taxiway). No scheduled flights operate out of Willow Run and is one of the two airports operated by the
Wayne County Airport Authority. •
Grosse Ile Municipal Airport is located about south of
Grosse Ile Township's downtown area. It has two paved runways. No scheduled flights operate out of this airport as well. •
Coleman A. Young International Airport is also known as the Detroit City Airport, which is not to be confused with the larger and nearby Detroit Metro Airport. It is located just a short drive from
Downtown Detroit along M-3. It also has two runways and no scheduled flights, although it has been attempted in the past. ==Demographics==