Transportation
4
When Michigan was young, travel through the countryside was difficult, and in the mid-1800s the new Gratiot Turnpike between Detroit and Mt. Clemens was a swampy and rutted dirt road. In 1846, the State of Michigan authorized privately owned, more durable plank roads to improve travel. Gratiot Turnpike was built through the area as a plank road, with sturdy wooden planks laid on frames. Tolls were charged to use the road, and one of the main tollgates stood along Gratiot Avenue at Utica Road at the intersection called The Junction. Local oak and black walnut trees were cut in the 1840s to build the plank road.
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Roseville, Michigan · United States