This interchange marks the eastern terminus of the Paul B. Henry South Beltline Freeway. The entire length of the freeway is listed on the National Highway System, a system of roads important to the nation's economy, defense and mobility. The right-of-way along M-6 includes a pedestrian path known as the Frederik Meijer Trail. Previously called the M-6 Trail, it links the Kent Trails west of Byron Center Avenue in Wyoming with the Paul Henry Rail Trail at 60th Street and Wing Avenue by Paris Park in Kentwood. History Earlier designations The first appearance of M-6 was in 1926 as a road in Keweenaw County in the Upper Peninsula. The highway ran from US 41 at Phoenix to north of Eagle River. The Michigan State Highway Department redesignated the highway as M-111 in 1938, and it was redesignated two years later to become a part of the route of M-26. In the late 1970s, during the second phase of construction of the I-696 (Walter P. Reuther Freeway) in Metro Detroit, lobbying efforts and lawsuits attempted to block construction of the central section. If successful, the efforts would have left the freeway with a gap in the middle between the first (western) and second (eastern) phases of construction. During this time, MDOT assigned M-6 to the eastern section of the freeway under construction. Signs were erected along the service roads that followed 11 Mile Road to connect the already built stack interchange at I-75 east to I-94. By the time the eastern freeway segment was completed in 1979, the signage for M-6 was removed and replaced with I-696 signage, leaving an gap in the I-696 freeway until completion of the central section in 1989. Current freeway Planning The South Beltline Freeway near Grand Rapids was a project that took about 32 years to complete. The idea dates back to the 1940s, but serious proposals were not made until the 1960s. The 1955 planning map for the Grand Rapids area Interstate Highways included a freeway roughly along the M-6 corridor before I-96 and I-196 were shifted north and east to their current locations. An increase in the state gas tax was approved in 1972 with the goal to finance local road projects in the state, including the South Beltline. The project was anticipated to cost $30–100 million (equivalent to $– million in ) in June 1975 with an expected groundbreaking in 1982–85. The