Flint/Tri-Cities
The Flint/Tri-Cities area is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The Flint/Tri-Cities region has two subregions, The Thumb and the Greater Tri Cities. The Flint, Michigan and Genesee County area could be categorized as a separate subregion. Flint's population is 124,943, the fifth largest city in Michigan, the combined population of the Greater Tri-Cities (Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City) is 398,482. Genesee and Lapeer counties are located in Detroit–Ann Arbor–Flint Combined Statistical Area.
Economy
The Flint and Tri-Cities area, as well as most of Michigan is dependent on automobile manufacturing. Rural areas grow crops such as sugar beets, navy beans, corn, fruits, and fish from the Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron.
Business
Several large corporations have operations in the Tri-Cities. The Michigan Sugar Company, which is a cooperative owned by 1250 farmers, operates factories in Bay City, Caro, Croswell, and Sebewaing.[1] General Motors operates the Flint Truck Assembly factory in Flint and Powertrain plants in Flint, Bay City, and Saginaw. The Dow Chemical Company world headquarters is based in Midland. Delphi Corporation operates Delphi Saginaw Steering Systems in Saginaw. S.C. Johnson and Son has a manufacturing facility in Bay City making Ziploc products.
Geography
- See also List of Michigan state parks and geography of Michigan.
Counties Included
- Midland County, Michigan
- Bay County, Michigan
- Saginaw County, Michigan
- Tuscola County, Michigan
- Genesee County, Michigan
- Huron County, Michigan
- Sanilac County, Michigan
- Lapeer County, Michigan
- Sometimes including areas of St. Clair County, Michigan
Geographic features
The area has many lakes and rivers.
- Cass River has many branches, one of which flows into the Shiawassee River in the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge at 43°22′42″N 83°59′04″W / 43.37833°N 83.98444°W less than a mile from where the Shiawassee merges with the Tittabawassee River to form the Saginaw River
- The Saginaw Bay forms a low basin known as the Saginaw Valley, which covers most of the region.
- Lake Huron rests in the far eastern portion of the area, known as the thumb
Transportation
Airlines and Airports
Scheduled airline service is available from MBS International Airport[2] near Midland, Michigan and Flint Bishop International Airport.[3] The only international airport in the thumb area is St. Clair County International Airport about 6 miles outside Port Huron.
Highways
Interstate Highways
Interstate 69 cuts through the southern area of the region. It starts at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, and runs through Flint.
Interstate 75 connects this region together. It runs through Bay City, Saginaw, and intersects with I-69 in Flint. I-75 is very busy, bringing commuters north form Metro Detroit to the Mackinac Bridge and into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Interstate 475
Interstate 675
U.S. Highways
US-10 bypasses Midland and terminates at I-75 in Bay City, merging into M-25.[4] Viewed from an east-west orientation, it provides a mainly westerly road across Northern Michigan from Bay City off 
I-75 toward Ludington.
US-23 comes out of Ohio merges with I-75 south of Flint, and then breaks away at Standish. It then proceeds north, along the Lake Huron shoreline to the Mackinaw City.
Michigan Highways
M-13 is a 72.22 mile north-south highway that cuts through the bay region of the U.S. state of Michigan. The southern terminus is at I-69 south of the town of Lennon with its northern terminus located south of Standish. It is a shorter alternative route, instead of I-75, from Bay City to US-23 in Standish.
M-15
M-19
M-20
M-21- old M-21
M-24
M-25 is a highway of an arc-like shape closely following the outline of the Thumb along the Lake Huron/Saginaw Bay shoreline between Port Huron, Michigan (junction I-94, US I-69, and 
I-94 Business Loop and Bay City, Michigan (junction US I-75, US-23, and US-10.[5] It is generally a scenic drive.
M-29
M-30
M-46 is a cross peninsular road, running across the mitten and the thumb -- from Port Sanilac on the Lake Huron shore; through Saginaw near Saginaw Bay; and then on to Muskegon on the Lake Michigan shore.[6] This east-west surface route nearly bisects the Lower Peninsula of Michigan latitudinally.
M-47
M-53 (Van Dyke Road) is a gateway route to The Thumb of Michigan, carrying vacationers to the resorts and cottages on Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron in the vicinity of Caseville and Port Austin. It goes up the middle of the Thumb, and directly connects in Macomb County, Michigan to the M-53 expressway. It is an important route for agricultural and manufactured goods.
M-52
M-54 The Dort Highway, A main road leading into Flint replaced by I-475
M-57
M-58
M-81
M-83
M-84
M-90
M-136
M-138
M-142
Rail
- Main article: Michigan Services
Area Amtrak stations are in Lapeer, Port Huron, Flint and Durand. Local railroads are the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, CSX Transport, Canadian National Rail , Pere Marquette Railway, and the Huron & Eastern Saginaw Valley Railroad.
Media
Newspaper
- Daily editions of the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News are available throughout the area.
- Editions of the Bay City Times[7] and Saginaw News[8] are available in the Tri-Cities area.
- The Flint Journal[9] has daily editions in the Flint area.
Radio
The Flint/Tri-Cities area lies within three radio media markets.
Broadcast Television
Television in Tri-Cities and Flint is mostly produced from the Flint/Tri-Cities Television Market. Far eastern areas such as Lapeer County, St. Clair County and Sanilac County lie in the Detroit Television Market. Areas like Genesee County can view programing from the Detroit and Flint/Saginaw media markets. Template:Multicol
Flint/Tri-Cities
Detroit Area
Principal Cities
See also
- List of Michigan county name etymologies
- Michigan
- the Thumb area
- The Greater Tri Cities
- Metro Detroit
References
- ^ Michigan Sugar Company
- ^ MBS International Airport
- ^ Flint Bishop International Airport
- ^ Bessert, Christopher J. "US-10". MichiganHighways.org.
- ^ M-25 end point photos.
- ^ M-46 Endpoint Photos.
- ^ Bay City Times
- ^ Saginaw News
- ^ Flint Journal]
External links
- Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography on Michigan (arranged by counties and regions)
- Michigan Department of Natural Resources website, harbors, hunting, resources and more.
- List of Museums, other attractions compiled by state government.
- USCG's complete list of Michigan lighthouses.
- Map of Michigan Lighthouse in PDF Format.
- Seeing the Light, Terry Pepper on lighthouses of the Western Great Lakes.
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