Michigan Drivers Are Just Figuring Out Grand Rapids Has an Abandoned Beltline Highway System

Nearly every Grand Rapids driver encounters East Beltline. It's one of the major north-south routes in the region. It carries traffic from Plainfield Avenue at the Grand River to 28th Street. So if there's an East Beltline, why are there no other Beltlines North, South or West in the Grand Rapids area? The answer is simple, there should have been, they were simply never fully built or designated as such.

The question came up recently on the Grand Rapids subreddit of Reddit. Many where quick to provide the explanation. And looking at a map of the region gives away a pretty big hint as to what happened to the other Beltlines.

The south Beltline is 28th Street - that's the reason there's a Beltline Bar along that road. The West Beltline is/would have been Wilson Avenue through Walker. It's easy to see the initial planning at work here since the Michigan Department of Transportation designated M-11 to run along both 28th Street east-west then turning cardinal directions to travel north-south along Wilson to I-96. MDOT was ready for the Beltlines.

The North Beltline was to have been 3 Mile Road and plans to have that road cross the Grand River. However the building of I-96 made a north Beltline unnecessary.

READ MORE: If You Think There's Something Odd About Interstate 69 in Michigan, You're Right

Today's East Beltline is also designated as state highways by MDOT. M-44 runs on Beltline to I-96 while M-37 runs on Beltline from the interstate to 28th Street/M-11.

With the building of M-6 through the south suburbs of Grand Rapids, some now this this highway is a south Beltline. However it's never been designated as such. The meeting of beltlines at 28th Street proves that road was intended to be the South Beltline as East Beltline changes names to Broadmoor Avenue at 28th Street.

So Grand Rapids was never destined to have what other cities, like, say, Indianapolis has - a quick, uninterrupted route to incircle the city. The Grand Rapids metro was reduced to almosts and not quites when it comes to is road network.