HIGHWAY BYPASSES, NATURAL BARRIERS AND COMMUNITY GROWTH IN MICHIGAN

HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION HAS INCREASED INTEREST IN THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT. ONE ASPECT, THAT OF BYPASSES FOR SMALL COMMUNITIES, IS DISCUSSED. TWO CASE STUDIES ARE DESCRIBED. FROM THE STUDY ONE STRONG RECOMMENDATION IS THAT BYPASS ROUTES SHOULD BE LOCATED AT A DISTANCE FROM A COMMUNITY'S FRINGE AREA WHICH WILL BE SUFFICIENT TO ALLOW NORMAL GROWTH AT EXISTING DENSITY PATTERNS THAT A POPULATION OF BETWEEN 1,200 AND 2,000 CAN BE ACCOMMODATED. FOR AS MENTIONED BEFORE, WHEN A COMMUNITY REACHES THIS SIZE USUALLY NATURAL BARRIERS NO LONGER EFFECTIVELY BLOCK GROWTH. NECESSARILY, EACH CASE MUST BE DETERMINED INDEPENDENTLY AS PHYSICAL CONDITIONS VARY GREATLY. SUCH ROUTES WOULD ALLOW SMALL COMMUNITIES TO EXPAND IN AN ORDERLY MANNER AND ELIMINATE ALMOST ALL COMMUNITY GROWTH ON A BYPASS.