There's a short stretch of road in West Michigan that hides the history of a former cross-state route. That roadway is Old M-21 in Jenison.

Running just 1000 feel from Main Street to a dead-end at the Grand River, this stub of a road was once part of an important highway stretching from Holland to Port Huron.

👇🏼BELOW: These Michigan Highways Come to a Complete Dead End👇🏼

Grand Rapids area drivers are likely familiar with M-21. The highway today begins at East Beltline near I-96 on the metro's east side and takes Fulton Avenue towards Ada. Modern day M-21 cruises exactly 100 miles (99.3 if you're being pedantic) to downtown Flint. Along the way it passes through Lowell, Ionia, St Johns and Owasso.

M-21 End at East Beltline Grand Rapids
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The highway dates back to the 1920s and had been shorted over the years at it was superseded by freeway construction - I-69 between Flint and Port Huron and I-196 between Grand Rapids and Holland. M-21 was served a major role in the pre-interstate highway days as it was rounted into downtown via Fulton from the east and exited along Chicago Drive towards the lakeshore.

At its fullest historic extent, M-21 ran roughly 200 miles from coast to coast, one of the few 'trans-peninsular' highways in Michigan. A similar highway to cross the state in the same fashion is in the next tier of counties to the north, M-46 still runs the length of the state from Muskegon to Port Sanilac via Saginaw.

There is a more visible remnant of M-21's former routing. M-121/Chicago Drive between Grandville and Zeeland is also the former M-21.

READ MORE: Lonely Monument Marks Ancient Roadway Across Michigan No One Remembers

As Chicago Drive was routed to meet I-196, that gave Jenison the stubby Old M-21 which serves a few business on the now quiet cul-de-sac. Old M-21 runs just a block north of modern M-121/Chicago Drive.

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Nearly all highways exist to connect you from one place to another. When you come to the end of the road, there's almost always somewhere else to go. Somewhere to turn. But there are parts of Michigan's highway system that don't leave you anywhere else to go - Michigan's dead end state highways.

Gallery Credit: Eric Meier

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Roads are intended to get you from here to there. And very few people think about the quirks of our interstate highway system. With being as long and as varied as it is, there is bound to be an oddity or two - and in fact, you can likely find a quirk with every interstate in Michigan. We think we have.

Gallery Credit: Eric Meier