U.S. Route 45 in Michigan

U.S. Route 45 in Michigan.
In Michigan, US Highway 45 (US 45) runs through the Upper Peninsula, from the Wisconsin border near Watersmeet north to Ontonagon. US 45 extends south from Michigan to Mobile, Alabama, on the Gulf Coast. The Michigan segment, part of the state trunkline highway system maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation, runs for approximately 55 miles (89 km) through the Ottawa National Forest, parallel to the Ontonagon River. In the 1930s, when the highway was extended into Michigan, it replaced sections of M-26 and M-35. An 8-mile (13 km) segment was significantly reconstructed in the late 1950s, and an alignment change in the 1970s moved the routing of US 45 near Rockland before it was reversed soon afterwards. A segment of roadway that formerly carried US 45 is the site of the Paulding Light, an intermittent reflection whose origins were scientifically described in 2010.