 The chief transportation routes in 1701 were the Indian trails that crossed the future state of Michigan ; the Grand River Trail was one of these thirteen trails at the time . Detroit created 120 @-@ foot ( 37 m ) rights @-@ of @-@ way for the principal streets of the city , Grand River Avenue included , in 1805 . This street plan was devised by Augustus Woodward and others following a devastating fire in Detroit . A ten @-@ year project to construct a plank road between Detroit and Howell was authorized in 1820 along the Grand River Trail . Grand River Avenue was included as one of Five Great Military Roads in 1825 , along with the River Road , Michigan Avenue , Woodward Avenue and <unk> Avenue . The Grand River Road , precursor to the modern Grand River Avenue was named by Benjamin Williams , <unk> of <unk> ; it was named for La Grande <unk> , the French name for the river . 
