M-5 Among The Top 5 Fastest Freeways
FARMINGTON (WWJ) - The M-5 corridor between I-275 and Telegraph Road, where leadfoots average 81 miles-per-hour on the eastbound side, is one of the five fastest roads in America, according to INRIX traffic data service.
WWJ Newsradio 950's Ron Dewey said this may come to a surprise for many as the freeway, which placed fourth on the survey, is one of the least-traveled roads in Metro Detroit.
Among those surprised was Wanda Jones of Detroit, who drives that stretch of M-5 heading into Detroit.
"Once you come there you have to at least do 45 [miles-per-hour] to go from 80 down to 40," said Jones.
The survey said the highest recorded speed clocked on M-5 is 83 miles-per-hour. Doug Lindall of Farmington was also surprised to learn all this.
"Yeah, I guess that [leadfoots] would speed because it comes down to regular Grand River at the end there at 45," said Lindall. "They hit that pretty quick."
Dewey said one reason for drivers reaching such high speeds is because they have only one entrance ramp for merging traffic to slow them down.
"I do see police cars out there quite a bit with radars," Lindall laughed.
This was not a real surprise for truck driver Doug Wright of Commerce who makes the commute every day.
"They come off I-696 anyways, doing about 80 there," said Wright. "Actually, it's a little bit slower. I-696 is faster than M-5. Everybody is in a hurry nowadays."
Speeds above 80 miles-per-hour may seem pretty fast, but in other parts of the country, according to INRIX, some drivers approach speeds as high as 94 miles-per-hour. This highest recorded speed, which topped the list, occurred when a driver was heading northbound on Arizona's Route 79.
INRIX uses GPS data from vehicles to track such high speeds. The other fastest freeways listed are in California and Oklahoma.
