Editing Upper Peninsula of Michigan (section)

==Transportation==
[[File:Mackinac-Bridge-Snowstorm-February-20-2006.jpg|thumb|Straits of Mackinac and bridge in winter looking south from St. Ignace]]

The Upper Peninsula is separated from the Lower by the [[Straits of Mackinac]], five miles (8&nbsp;km) across at the narrowest, and is connected to it by the [[Mackinac Bridge]] at [[St. Ignace, Michigan|St. Ignace]], one of the longest [[suspension bridge]]s in the world. Until the bridge was completed in 1957, travel between the two peninsulas was difficult and slow (and sometimes even impossible during winter). In 1881, the [[Mackinac Transportation Company]] was established by three railroads, the [[Michigan Central Railroad]], the [[Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad]], and the [[Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette Railroad]], to operate a railroad car ferry across the Straits. Beginning in 1923, the State of Michigan operated automobile ferries between the two peninsulas. At the busiest times of year the wait was several hours long, much longer at holidays.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hyde |first=Charles K. |year=1993 |title=Historic Highway Bridges of Michigan |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historichighwayb0000hyde/page/159 159–60] |location=Detroit |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8143-2448-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/historichighwayb0000hyde/page/159 }}</ref> In winter, travel was possible over the ice only after the straits had solidly frozen.

===Highways===
There are one [[List of Interstate Highways in Michigan|Interstate Highway]], five [[List of U.S. Highways in Michigan|US Highways]] and 24 other [[List of state trunkline highways in Michigan|state highways]] in the Upper Peninsula. [[Interstate 75 in Michigan|Interstate&nbsp;75]] is the only freeway in the region and runs from the [[Mackinac Bridge]] at St. Ignace to the [[Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge|International Bridge]] at Sault Ste. Marie. Two highways run the east–west length of the peninsula, [[U.S. Route 2 in Michigan|US Highway&nbsp;2]] along the south and [[M-28 (Michigan highway)|M-28]] to the north. [[U.S. Route 41 in Michigan|US&nbsp;41]] runs north–south through the central and western UP, connecting Menominee, Escanaba, Marquette and Houghton before terminating near the tip of the Keweenaw at Copper Harbor. [[M-185 (Michigan highway)|M-185]] encircles Mackinac Island as the only state highway in the country without motor vehicles.

The [[United States Forest Service]] and [[Federal Highway Administration]] have designated certain roads within the several National Forests in the UP as [[Forest Route|Federal Forest Highways]].<ref name=FH>{{cite web |url=http://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/plh/fh/ |title=Forest Highways |author=Office of Federal Lands Highway |publisher=Federal Highway Administration |date=December 18, 2009 |access-date=July 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818105029/http://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/plh/fh/ |archive-date=August 18, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> State-maintained highways closest to the Upper Peninsula's [[Great Lakes]] shorelines are marked by the [[Michigan Department of Transportation]] (MDOT) with signs indicating that they are part of the [[Great Lakes Circle Tour]], a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.great-lakes.net/tourism/circletour/ |title=Great Lakes Circle Tour |publisher=Great Lakes Commission |date=July 5, 2005 |access-date=July 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725204133/http://www.great-lakes.net/tourism/circletour/ |archive-date=July 25, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> MDOT has also designated five UP highways as [[Pure Michigan Byway]]s for their historic, recreational or scenic qualities.<ref name="MDOTHR">{{cite web |publisher=Michigan Department of Transportation |url=http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9621_11041_11209-217276--,00.html |title=Drive Home Our Heritage |work=Heritage Routes |date=February 5, 2010 |access-date=May 7, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314085408/http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0%2C1607%2C7-151-9621_11041_11209-217276--%2C00.html |archive-date=March 14, 2010 }}</ref><ref name=M-134-FreePress>{{cite news |date=October 14, 2015 |title=M-134 in UP Tapped as Pure Michigan's First Byway |url=http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/10/14/pure-michigan-first-byway-highway-134/73921032/ |work=Detroit Free Press |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=October 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819101519/http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/10/14/pure-michigan-first-byway-highway-134/73921032/ |archive-date=August 19, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> They are: US 2 in Iron County (Iron County Heritage Trail) and in Schoolcraft and Mackinac counties (Top of the Lake Scenic Byway), US 41 from Houghton to Copper Harbor (Copper County Trail, also a [[National Scenic Byway]]), [[M-35 (Michigan highway)|M-35]] (UP Hidden Coast Recreational Heritage Trail), [[M-123 (Michigan highway)|M-123]] (Tahquamenon Scenic Heritage Route) and [[M-134 (Michigan highway)|M-134]] (M-134 North Huron Byway)

===Airports===
{{Main|Airports of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan}}

There are 43 airports in the Upper Peninsula. Of these, six airports have commercial passenger service: [[Gogebic-Iron County Airport]] north of [[Ironwood, Michigan|Ironwood]], [[Houghton County Memorial Airport]] southwest of [[Calumet, Michigan|Calumet]], [[Ford Airport (Iron Mountain)|Ford Airport]] west of [[Iron Mountain, Michigan|Iron Mountain]], [[Sawyer International Airport]] south of [[Marquette, Michigan|Marquette]], [[Delta County Airport]] in [[Escanaba]], and [[Chippewa County International Airport]] south of [[Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan|Sault Ste. Marie]]. There are 19 other public use airports with a hard surface runway. These are used for [[general aviation]] and charter. Notably, [[Mackinac Island]], [[Beaver Island (Lake Michigan)|Beaver Island]], and [[Drummond Island]] are all accessible by airports. There are five public access airports with turf runways and thirteen airports for the private use of their owners.{{citation needed|date=October 2010}} There is only one [[control tower]] in the Upper Peninsula, at [[Sawyer International Airport|Sawyer]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sawyerairport.com/ |title=Sawyer Airport |publisher=Sawyer Airport |access-date=July 18, 2010 |archive-date=July 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722071513/http://www.sawyerairport.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Ferries and bridges ===
[[File:Cut River Bridge 2.JPG|thumb|The [[Cut River Bridge]] in [[Mackinac County, Michigan|Mackinac County]] is another notable bridge of the U.P.]]
The Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority operates car ferries in its area. These include ferries for [[Sugar Island (Michigan)|Sugar Island]], [[Neebish Island]], and [[Drummond Island]]. Two ferry companies run passenger ferries from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island.

The three major bridges in the Upper Peninsula are:
* [[Mackinac Bridge]], connecting the [[Lower Peninsula of Michigan]] with the Upper;
* [[Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge]], which connects the city of Sault Ste. Marie to its twin city of [[Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario|Sault Ste. Marie]] in Canada; and
* [[Portage Lake Lift Bridge|Portage Lift Bridge]], which crosses [[Portage Lake (Keweenaw)|Portage Lake]]. The Portage Lift Bridge is the world's heaviest and widest double-decked vertical lift bridge. Its center span lifts to provide about {{convert|100|ft|m}} of clearance for ships. Since rail traffic was discontinued in the Keweenaw, the lower deck is used to accommodate [[snowmobile]] traffic in the winter. As the only land-based link between the north and south sections of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the bridge is crucial to transportation.

===Railways===
* [[Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad]]: Transports iron ore over a {{convert|16|mi|km|adj=on}} line from the Empire-Tilden Mine (operated by [[Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.]]), south of Ishpeming and Negaunee, to Marquette's port on Lake Superior.
* Two railroads originally crossed the Upper Peninsula east to west: the [[Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway]], informally known as the Soo Line, running west from Sault Ste. Marie roughly along the Lake Michigan shore, and the [[Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad]] running west from St. Ignace roughly along the Lake Superior shore. In 1960, both railroads were merged into the [[Soo Line Railroad]], the U.S. arm of the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]]. The Soo Line trackage in the Upper Peninsula was purchased by the [[Wisconsin Central Transportation|Wisconsin Central Railroad]] in 1987. In 1997, the Wisconsin Central also purchased from the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] the former [[Chicago and North Western Railway]] line running into the Upper Peninsula from Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Central was in turn purchased by the [[Canadian National Railway]] in 2001. The Canadian National now operates much of the remaining railroad trackage in the Upper Peninsula.
* [[Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad]]: Chartered in 1898, the E&LS is an industrial beltline railroad with {{convert|347|mi|km}} of trackage connecting Escanaba, Ontonagon, Republic, and [[Green Bay, Wisconsin]], with a common junction at [[Sagola Township, Michigan|Channing]], and a spur to [[Spurr Township, Michigan|Nestoria]] from Sidnaw.
*[[Mineral Range Railroad]]: Since 2002, this railroad has been operating a {{convert|3|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} industrial track from [[Ishpeming, Michigan|Ishpeming]] to [[Tilden Township, Michigan|National Mine]] to serve an explosives plant. The railroad expanded in 2014 to include {{convert|12|mi|km}} of former Canadian National and Lake Superior and Ishpeming rail lines between Ishpeming and [[Humboldt Township, Michigan|Humboldt]] to serve the Humboldt Mill. The railroad takes its name from the former Mineral Range Railroad in the [[Keweenaw Peninsula]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/profiles/short-lines/mineral-range-railroad-profile/ |title = Mineral Range Railroad profile |first = Lucas |last = Iverson |date =January 30, 2023 |website = Trains |access-date = February 8, 2025 }}</ref>
*[[Grand Elk Railroad]]: Originally formed in 2009 in the Lower Peninsula, the railroad owned by [[Watco]] expanded to the UP in 2021 to operate former Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic lines that were divested by [[Canadian National]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.trains.com/trn/watco-purchases-lines-in-wisconsin-michigan-ontario-from-cn/ |title = Watco purchases lines in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario from CN (updated) |first = David |last = Lassen |date = March 31, 2021 |website = Trains |access-date = February 8, 2025 }}</ref> This includes a line from [[Trout Lake, Michigan|Trout Lake]] to [[Munising, Michigan|Munising]] and an out of service line to a former mine in [[White Pine, Michigan|White Pine]].

===Bus systems===
Despite its rural character, there are public buses in several counties of the Upper Peninsula.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.december.com/places/up/transit.html |title=Transportation in the Upper Peninsula |access-date=September 28, 2006 |archive-date=October 17, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017084355/http://www.december.com/places/up/transit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> These include [[MarqTran]] serving Marquette, as well as intercity services provided by [[Indian Trails]].