M-123 is a state trunkline highway in the eastern Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is one of only a few highways in Michigan that curve around and form a U-shape. In fact, M-123 has three intersections with only two state trunklines. It meets M-28 twice as a result of its U-shaped routing. M-123 also has a rare signed concurrency with a County-Designated Highway in Michigan; in Trout Lake, there is a concurrency with H-40. All of M-123 north of M-28 is a Scenic Heritage Route within the Michigan Heritage Route system.
Route description
M-123 serves a thinly-populated section of the state. Much of the highway passes through the eastern unit of the Hiawatha National Forest. From the "northern terminus" it extends north from M-28 in Newberry to Paradise. The trunkline crosses a branch of the Tahquamenon River before meeting H-37 (Michigan county highway). North of this junction, M-123 turns northeasterly, crossing the Auger River and Murphy Creek. Near the Luce–Chippewa county line, M-123 runs next to the Tahquamenon River, and it is the only paved road that serves the Tahquamenon Falls State Park and the Whitefish Point region. It is the major access to the state park and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point.Further east, M-123 changes direction at Paradise. On leaving Paradise in either direction, the highway is M-123 South. M-123 then extends south following Whitefish Bay and turning inland to its second junction with M-28 near Eckerman.[2] Here at the junction in Eckerman is the east end of the Scenic Heritage Route designation applied to M-123.[3]
From M-28 south, M-123 serves the Three Lakes Campground, a unit of the Hiawatha National Forest. At Trout Lake, M-123 meets and merges with H-40 across railroad tracks and through town before crossing into Mackinac County at the community of Ozark. Further south, the highway passes through the communities of Moran and Allenville on the way to its southern terminus at I-75 exit 352 north of St. Ignace in Rogers Park.[2]
Tahquamenon Falls State Park
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The Tahquamenon Falls are a major tourist attraction along the route of M-123.
The Tahquamenon Falls State Park is a 46,179-acre (186.9 km²) state park in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the second largest of Michigan's state parks. Bordering on Lake Superior, most of the park is located within Chippewa County, with the western section of the park extending into Luce County. The park follows the Tahquamenon River as it passes over Tahquamenon Falls and drains into Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior. The Tahquamenon Falls include a single 50-foot (15-meter) drop, the Upper Falls, plus the cascades and rapids collectively called the Lower Falls. During the late-spring runoff, the river drains as much as 50,000 gallons (200,000 liters) of water per second, making the upper falls the second most voluminous vertical waterfall east of the Mississippi River, after only Niagara Falls.
History
The construction of M-123 started in the 1930s near Eckerman, the location of the eastern M-28/M-123 junction. By 1930, M-123 is 10 miles (16 km) in length and hard-surface paved. 1954-05-15 marked the first big extension of M-123 southward from Eckerman through Trout Lake to Rogers Park north of St. Ignace. Part of this routing in Trout Lake uses M-48 (now a portion of H-40). By 1957, M-123 would be extended northerly to a bridge over the Tahquamenon River, and on 1962-05-18 the final extension north to Paradise and south to Newberry is completed. From Four Mile Corner south, M-123 would replace M-117 to a new terminus at M-28 south of Newberry.[1]
Major intersections
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| Crossing, no access |
Concurrency terminus |
Deleted |
Unconstructed |
Closed |
References
External links
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Mackinac County, Michigan Highways |
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Chippewa County, Michigan Highways |
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Luce County, Michigan Highways |
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