Editing Interstate 496 (section)

==History==
[[File:Lansing, Michigan 1955 Yellow Book.jpg|thumb|left|1955 planning map for Lansing's Interstates|alt=Black and white map]]
An east–west freeway was originally planned as an Interstate Highway allowing traffic to access downtown Lansing in the 1955 ''[[General Location of National System of Interstate Highways]]'' (''Yellow Book''), an early proposal for what would become the Interstate Highway System.<ref name="YBD">{{cite map |map-url = http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lansing,_Michigan_1955_Yellow_Book.jpg |title = General Location of National System of Interstate Highways Including All Additional Routes at Urban Areas Designated in September 1955 |map = Lansing |scale = Scale not given |page = 44 |author = Bureau of Public Roads |author-link = Bureau of Public Roads |location = Washington, DC |publisher = [[Government Printing Office]] |year = 1955 |oclc = 4165975 |via = [[Wikimedia Commons]] }}</ref> As originally proposed by the [[Michigan State Highway Department]] in 1958, the freeway was to be called I-296.<ref name=RIRNM58>{{cite web |author = Michigan State Highway Department |title = Recommended Interstate Route Numbering for Michigan |date = April 25, 1958 |location = Lansing |publisher = Michigan State Highway Department |url = http://nwindianahwys.homestead.com/michiplan.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040805182658/http://nwindianahwys.homestead.com/michiplan.html |archive-date = August 5, 2004 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> The department was waiting on approval of a final numbering scheme the next year,<ref name=blade1959-06-04>{{cite news |title = Michigan Delays Road Number System |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mb1OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9AAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7401,5582043&dq=interstate+opening+michigan&hl=en |work = [[Toledo Blade]] |agency = Associated Press |date = June 4, 1959 |page = 11 |oclc = 12962635 |access-date = November 21, 2010 |via = [[Google News]] }}</ref> before the first Interstates were signed in the state in 1959.<ref name=HP1959-10-13>{{cite news |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3823487// |title = New Signs Mark Interstate&nbsp;75 |work = [[Escanaba Daily Press]] |agency = Associated Press |date = October 13, 1959 |page = 2 |access-date = December 14, 2015 |via = Newspapers.com |oclc = 9670912 }}</ref> By the time construction started on the Lansing freeway, it was numbered I-496.<ref name=HS62>{{cite news |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3823504// |title = Release Bids for Freeway to Holland |work = [[Holland Sentinel|The Holland Evening Sentinel]] |agency = [[United Press International]] |date = July 20, 1962 |page = 6 |oclc = 13440201 |access-date = December 14, 2015 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref>

The section near downtown was to be built through a historically [[African-American neighborhood]]. The neighborhood was formed through "unwritten rules of segregation" as real estate agents and mortgage brokers guided black residents to the area when they were looking to buy homes.<ref name=miller/> When the state and federal governments were planning the freeway, the area was chosen for the path of I-496. The neighborhood boasted a community center and several businesses that catered to the black population of Lansing, including the only record store that sold rhythm and blues music. Community leaders did not fight the freeway and instead lobbied for affordable housing and relocation assistance. The construction spurred integration of blacks into the wider community; some were able to move into neighborhoods previously closed to them, purchasing "newer houses near better schools."<ref name=miller>{{cite news |last = Miller |first = Matthew |title = Looking Back: I-496 Construction, A Complicated Legacy |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21789433/a_complicated_legacy/ |work = [[Lansing State Journal]] |date = February 22, 2009 |pages = 1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21789452/a_complicated_legacy_part_2/ 8A] |issn = 0274-9742 |oclc = 6678181 |access-date = July 12, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> In total, the construction of the freeway required the demolition or removal of nearly 600&nbsp;homes, 60&nbsp;businesses, and 15&nbsp;farms.<ref name=ingalls>{{cite news |title = City's East–West Traffic Speeded |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21789838/citys_eastwest_traffic_speeded/ |first = Norris |last = Ingells |work = Lansing State Journal |date = February 14, 1965 |edition = Progress |issn = 0274-9742 |oclc = 6678181 |page = C1 |access-date = July 12, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref>

[[File:America's Highways 1776–1976 - page 403.jpg|thumb|Snow Road bridge over I-496 in the 1970s]]
The first section of I-496 was opened in December 1963,<ref name=IDG63>{{cite news |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3823514// |title = New Highway Opened |work = [[Ironwood Daily Globe]] |agency = [[Associated Press]] |date = December 21, 1963 |page = 9 |oclc = 10890811 |access-date = December 14, 2015 |via = [[Newspapers.com]] }}</ref> and ran from I-96 northerly to [[M-43 (Michigan highway)|M-43]]/[[M-78 (Michigan highway)|M-78]] (Saginaw and Kalamazoo streets) between Lansing and East Lansing. The freeway, comprising the southern two-thirds, was designated I-496/M-78/[[Interstate 96 Business (Lansing, Michigan)|BL I-96]] while the northern portion was on city streets as M-78/BL I-96.<ref name=MSHD63>{{cite MDOT map |year= 1963 |link= yes |inset= Lansing }}</ref><ref name=MSHD64>{{cite MDOT map |year= 1964 |inset= Lansing }}</ref> Some 50&nbsp;men completed the work by year's end; they went entirely without vacation time to accomplish the feat.<ref name=IDG63/> Another section of freeway was opened in 1966, and US&nbsp;127 was rerouted to follow I-496/M-78. BL I-96 was removed from I-496/US&nbsp;127/M-78 and routed along the former US&nbsp;127.<ref name=MDSH66>{{cite MDOT map |year= 1966 |link= yes |inset= Lansing }}</ref><ref name=MDSH67>{{cite MDOT map |year= 1967 |inset= Lansing }}</ref> The freeway segment north of the Trowbridge Road interchange continuing northward as part of US&nbsp;127 was opened in 1969. Another section opened at the same time was the western section from I-96 to Lansing Road (then US&nbsp;27) in 1969.<ref name=MDSH69>{{cite MDOT map |year= 1969 |c-link= yes |inset= Lansing }}</ref><ref name=MDSH70>{{cite MDOT map |year= 1970 |inset= Lansing }}</ref> The remaining section between M-99 (then Logan Street, now [[List of streets named after Martin Luther King Jr.#Michigan|Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard]]) and I-496/US&nbsp;127 opened on December 18, 1970, completing construction.<ref name=paving>{{cite news |last = Rook |first = Christine |date = July 23, 2006 |title = Paving the Way: Interstate Roads Have Shaped the Future for Many Mid-Michigan Communities |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21789536/paving_the_way/ |work = [[Lansing State Journal]] |pages = 1D, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21789548/paving_the_way_part_2/ 5D] |issn = 0274-9742 |oclc = 6678181 |access-date = July 12, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref><ref name=barnett>{{cite book |last = Barnett |first = LeRoy |year = 2004 |title = A Drive Down Memory Lane: The Named State and Federal Highways of Michigan |location = Allegan Forest, Michigan |publisher = Priscilla Press |pages = 140–141, 165 |isbn = 1-886167-24-9 |oclc = 57425393 }}</ref>

The freeway underwent a $42.4 million reconstruction (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|42400000|2001|r=-5}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|name-list-style=amp}}) between April and November 2001 which included the rehabilitation or reconstruction of 35&nbsp;bridges, {{convert|8.5|mi|km}} of freeway, and the addition of a [[auxiliary lane|weave-merge lane]] between Pennsylvania Avenue and US&nbsp;127.<ref>{{cite news |last = Gantert |first = Tom |date = April 4, 2001 |title = I-496 Shutdown Goes Smoothly |work = Lansing State Journal |pages = 1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21789645/i496_shutdown_goes_smoothly_part_2/ 5A] |issn = 0274-9742 |oclc = 6678181 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21789621/i496_shutdown_goes_smoothly/ |access-date = July 12, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref><ref name=hugh>{{cite news |last = Hugh |first = Leach |date = November 5, 2001 |title = Most Area Road Work Complete |work = Lansing State Journal |page = B3 |issn = 0274-9742 |oclc = 6678181 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21789674/most_area_road_work_complete/ |access-date = July 12, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> Speed limits were raised along I-496 from {{convert|55|to|70|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} in 2007 to reflect the speeds motorists were driving during studies conducted by MDOT and the [[Michigan State Police]].<ref name=wallbank>{{cite news |last = Wallbank |first = Derek |date = April 3, 2007 |title = Drivers on I-496 Get the Green Light to Go 70: Stretch of US&nbsp;127 in Frandor Area Seed Higher Speed Limits as Well |work = Lansing State Journal |pages = 1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21789706/drivers_on_i496_get_the_green_light_to/ 7A] |issn = 0274-9742 |oclc = 6678181 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21789687/drivers_on_i496_get_the_green_light_to/ |access-date = July 13, 2012 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref>

[[File:Olds Mansion Exterior, East Front.png|thumb|left|Olds Mansion|alt=Black and white photograph]]
The name applied to the freeway was not without controversy. The Lansing City Council named it in September 1966 after Ralph W. Crego, a former city council member and the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. The Historical Society of Greater Lansing wanted it named the "R.E. Olds Expressway", in part because the new road brought about the demolition of the [[Ransom E. Olds#Residence|Olds Mansion]],<ref name=barnett/> which was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]],<ref name=mtt>{{cite web |first = Patricia |last = O'Hearn |date = n.d. |url = http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_mhm_carcapital_01-08-2003_92059_7.pdf |title = Michigan Time Traveler |publisher = Lansing Newspapers in Education, Michigan Historical Center |access-date = July 13, 2012 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120224212649/http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_mhm_carcapital_01-08-2003_92059_7.pdf |archive-date = February 24, 2012 }}</ref> and to "recogniz[e] the contributions of R.E. Olds to the industries of the city."<ref name=barnett/> The society approached the [[Michigan Legislature]], which introduced House Resolution&nbsp;48 in February 1970 using the historical society's preferred name. The city council realized that they had been bypassed and conveniently discovered that their original resolution was not "formally adopted".<ref name=barnett/> They named a park for Crego instead in October 1970 and adopted a resolution to name I-496 the "Oldsmobile Expressway". The Legislature approved its resolution resulting in two names, one for the founder of the car company, and one for the company itself. The council member who introduced the city's resolution criticized the Legislature for taking action without consultation. The state resolution was intercepted before it could be sent to the Michigan Department of State Highways, and the freeway opened on December 18, 1970, with the "Oldsmobile Expressway" name. On August 21, 1972, during the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of Oldsmobile, Senate Concurrent Resolution&nbsp;345 renamed I-496 the "R.E. Olds Freeway".<ref name=barnett/>