End of US highway 27 |
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1926-1928
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1928-1934
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1934-1937
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1937-1946
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1946-1957; 1959-1961
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1957-1959
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1961-2002
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2002-present
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Today the northern terminus of US 27 is in Ft. Wayne. This shot was taken from southbound I-69:
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Morrison, July 2017
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That part of I-69 was concurrent with US 27, which continued by taking this exit to southbound Lima Road. But now that interchange marks the north beginning of US 27. Similar overhead signage exists for the opposite direction (northbound I-69), and upon taking that exit, the right turn to the beginning of US 27 is marked thus:
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Karners, Jul. 2010
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This shot was taken looking south on Lima:
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Mortell, 2001
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I-69 is just ahead, and that is where US 27 actually begins; on the far side is the first southbound confirming assembly:
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Karners, Jul. 2010
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These photos were taken looking the opposite direction (north on Lima):
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McDowell, 2000
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Karners, Jul. 2010
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In the distance is the interchange with I-69, which marks the actual north end of US 27... although there is at least one US 27 sign further north which thus far has escaped notice -- this is in Auburn IN:
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Turner, Sep. 2015
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That first "End" sign was probably posted in 1999, when the removal of US 27 from Michigan was approved. However, until 2002 US 27 was still co-signed with I-69 in Michigan, north from the Indiana line to Lansing, and from there north on its own to I-75 near Grayling.
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But when the US routes were originally commissioned in 1926, US 27 continued north of Grayling to its end at US 23 in Cheboygan:
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c. 1927, Rand McNally
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Reynolds, Sep. 2002
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The modern end of M-27 is the historic end of US 27. By 1938, the US 27 designation had been extended with US 23 into Mackinaw City. Then, after the Mackinac Bridge was completed in late 1957, US 27 was signed over it, ending at US 2 in St. Ignace, on the Northern Peninsula. That lasted only about two years, until I-75 was routed over the Bridge: at that point, US 27 was truncated back to Mackinaw. But that did not last long, either: in 1962, all of US 27 north of Grayling was decommissioned... and since then, virtually the entire original road from there down to Ft. Wayne has been replaced with freeways.
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In 1926 the south end of US 27 was in Cincinnati. Already by the next year US 27 had been extended to Chattanooga. And in 1934 the designation was lengthened further south, to Tallahassee.
US 27 was extended all the way down to Miami in 1946, mostly along what had been state routes. Ever since then, US 27 has been routed past Hialeah on Okeechobee Road, and then due east on NW 36th Street, ending at Biscayne Boulevard (US 1): |
c. 1947, FDoT
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Here are some of the "End" assemblies that have been posted at that intersection over the years:
Summa, 1975
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Field, 2000
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Karners, Jan. 2010
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That last sign was not MUTCD-compliant; the shield looked like it had jowls. Fortunately, it was replaced with a standard shield in about 2012. However, as of 2017, the US 1 signs just ahead were still the ugly kind:
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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That is where US 27 ends today, but drivers continuing east from this intersection end up on I-195 (the Julia Tuttle Causeway) over Biscayne Bay to Miami Beach.
These photos show the south beginning of US 27 as seen from southbound US 1: |
Cozart, Dec. 2003
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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The view from the opposite direction (north on US 1) changed in about 2011 -- formerly there was a large sign bridge that pointed to the beginning of US 27, but there is no longer any reference to that route:
Karners, Jan. 2010
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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Assuming a driver is alert enough to make that left turn, they are immediately greeted with the first northbound confirming marker, which has also had jowls since at least 2010:
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Karners, Jan. 2010
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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Research and/or photo credits: Christopher Bessert; Justin Cozart; Andy Field; Adam Froehlig; Karin and Martin Karner; Shawn McDowell; Jeff Morrison; Robert Mortell; Brian Reynolds; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa; Charles Turner
Page originally created 2000;
last updated Sep. 9, 2017.
last updated Sep. 9, 2017.
