M-10 is a state trunkline highway in the Metro Detroit area of Michigan in the United States. Nominally labeled north-south, the route follows a northwest-southeast alignment. The southernmost portion follows Jefferson Avenue in downtown Detroit, and the southern terminus is at the intersection of Jefferson and M-3 (Randolph Street) next to the entrance to the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel. The northern terminus is in West Bloomfield Township at the intersection with Orchard Lake Road. The highway has several names as it runs through residential and commercial areas of the west side of Detroit and into the suburb of Southfield. It is called the John C. Lodge Freeway (The Lodge), James Couzens Highway, and Northwestern Highway. One segment has also been named the Aretha Franklin Memorial Highway.
M-10 was built in segments through the late 1950s and early 1960s. It carried several different names before the entire route was finally officially named the John C. Lodge Freeway in 1987. The freeway has carried a few other highway designations. The southern segment was part of US Highway 12 (US 12) and the whole road was later renumbered Business Spur Interstate 696 (BS I-696). From 1970 until 1986, it was part of US 10, and the freeway has been M-10 since. The non-freeway segment that runs between I-696 in Southfield and Orchard Lake Road was previously numbered M-4. M-10 was named after John C. Lodge, an influential Detroiter and mayor of Detroit from 1927–28.
Route description
Running about in the Metro Detroit area, M-10 runs roughly northwest–southeast from Downtown Detroit into the northern suburbs in Oakland County. a system of roads importance to the nation's economy, defense and mobility. As a state trunkline highway, the roadway is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and it includes approximately of freeway.
Detroit
thumb|left|M-10 passing under Cobo Center (now Huntington Place) in 2007
M-10 starts at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street in Downtown Detroit, an intersection that also marks the southern end of M-3 and the western end of Business Spur I-375. This intersection is also the access to the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel between the Renaissance Center and the Old Mariners' Church. From here, M-10 runs west-southwesterly parallel to the Detroit River on Jefferson Avenue past Hart Plaza. At the intersection with Woodward Avenue, M-10 transitions onto the John C. Lodge Freeway, which runs under Huntington Place, home of the North American International Auto Show each January. The freeway turns north-northwesterly and away from the Detroit River next to the former site of Joe Louis Arena. North of this curve, M-10 forms the boundary between Downtown Detroit to the east and the Corktown neighborhood to the west. The freeway has a pair of service drives as it leaves the commercial areas near the MGM Grand Detroit and the interchange with I-75 (Fisher Freeway).
North of I-75, M-10 forms the border between North Corktown (west) and Midtown Detroit (east). The freeway passes the MotorCity Casino at the interchange with M-5 (Grand River Avenue). The rest of its route in this part of the city passes through residential zones. Near the interchange with I-94 (Edsel Ford Freeway), M-10 passes the campus of Wayne State University. North of I-94, the Lodge Freeway is the border between the West Side and New Center. This area is residential on either side of the freeway north of the campus of the Henry Ford Hospital. North of Clairmount Avenue, M-10 curves to the northwest before resuming its north-northwesterly course near Chicago Boulevard. North of Webb Avenue, the freeway follows the western city limits of Highland Park, an enclave within the city of Detroit. M-10 intersects M-8 where it transitions between Davison Avenue and the Davison Freeway on the western edge of Highland Park before the Lodge Freeway curves around to run due west. This interchange spans over near the American Center. The carriageways for I-696 run in the median of M-10 while partial interchanges connect to Lahser and Franklin roads on either end of the various ramps that connect to I-696 and US 24. In the initial allocation of numbers, M-10 was assigned to a highway that started at the Ohio state line south of Monroe, ran northeasterly along Telegraph Road into Dearborn and turned easterly into Detroit. From there, the highway turned north along Woodward Avenue through Pontiac and Dixie Highway through Flint and Saginaw to Bay City. Then M-10 ran along the Saginaw Bay to Standish and turned to follow the Lake Huron shoreline, with some substantial deviations inland. The highway generally followed the lakeshore as far north as Alpena and Rogers City, and from there, M-10 ran due west through Onaway before turning north into Cheboygan. The last section of M-10 followed the Lake Huron shoreline to Mackinaw City, where it terminated. This designation lasted until November 11, 1926, when the United States Numbered Highway System was created. In Michigan's initial allocation of highways, four new designations replaced M-10: US 24 from the state line north to Dearborn, US 112 between Dearborn and Detroit, US 10 from Detroit to Saginaw, and US 23 from Saginaw to Mackinaw City. At the time, no M-10 designation was reassigned to any other roads.