 <unk> for the South Beltline Freeway were nearly 25 years old by the time initial construction was started in 1997 . The Michigan State Legislature named the South Beltline around the same time for the Congressman Paul B. Henry , who died in office in 1993 , serving in Gerald Ford 's old US House seat . The cost of the construction of new roads like the South Beltline was a campaign issue when Engler ran for re @-@ election against Geoffrey <unk> in 1998 . The entire freeway was projected to open by 2008 , with the first phase opening in 2002 . MDOT gave the South Beltline its numerical designation on the July 1999 edition of the state map , marking M @-@ 6 for the first time as a dotted line , to denote it was " under construction " . The legislature approved Engler 's " <unk> Michigan III " program in 2000 ; the plan accelerated road projects in the state . The capital <unk> for the year was $ 82 million ( equivalent to $ 132 million in 2015 ) . <unk> proceedings were initiated in the Kent County Circuit Court in 1999 to clear the way for the acquisitions . Land that contained homes , farms , trailer parks , and businesses was purchased by MDOT to acquire the right @-@ of @-@ way needed for the freeway . The land needed measured 360 feet ( 110 m ) wide and 20 miles ( 32 km ) long . Land acquisitions for the South Beltline Freeway were completed in July 2001 . Construction started later in the fall of 2001 on the second and third phases of the project . 
