M-72 (Michigan highway)

M-72
M-72 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length	156.552 mi[1] (251.946 km)
Existed	c. July 1, 1919[2]–present
Tourist routes	Lake Michigan Circle Tour
Major junctions
West end	M-22 at Empire
Major intersections	US 31 / M-37 at Traverse City US 131 / M-66 at Kalkaska BL I-75 / M-93 at Grayling M-18 near Luzerne M-33 at Mio M-65 at Curran
East end	US 23 at Harrisville
Location
Country	United States
State	Michigan
Counties	Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Crawford, Oscoda, Alcona
Highway system
Michigan State Trunkline Highway System Interstate US State Byways
← M-71 → M-73
← M-206 M-208 → M-209

M-72 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan, running from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan across the northern part of the Lower Peninsula. The highway connects M-22 in Empire with US Highway 23 (US 23) in Harrisville. It is one of only three Michigan state trunklines that cross the Lower Peninsula, shore to shore. In between, M-72 runs across Northern Michigan woodland, agricultural areas of the Leelanau Peninsula near Traverse City, and the Au Sable River watershed. The trunkline also provides access to Camp Grayling, a National Guard training facility near the city of the same name. Traffic levels along the highway vary from approximately 800 vehicles a day on the east end to over 32,000 vehicles near Traverse City.

M-72 was first designated as a state highway by 1919 along a segment of its current route. It was extended southward in the mid-1920s and westward in the 1940s. One section of the modern highway added to M-72 in 1940 previously existed as M-208 in the 1930s east of Grayling. Another section of highway near Empire was disconnected from the rest of M-72 until the gap was eliminated later in the decade. All of M-72 was completely paved by the early 1960s. The highway was rerouted in a few places in the 1950s, and the last new segment shifted in 1973 near Kalkaska.