^Looking east near the junction with Michigan 143 in East Lansing, August 2020.

​​Michigan Highway 43 is a less-than-straight east-west route across central and southwest Michigan. Its western end is in South Haven, at a Business Loop offshoot of Interstate 196.  The Interstate 196 freeway does not directly access Michigan Highway 43; a diversion onto the Business Loop is required to get from Interstate 196 to Michigan Highway 43.  From this western endpoint, Michigan Highway 43 goes southeast, then east, then north, then southeast, then north, then east, and finally southeastward.  Did you follow all that?  Michigan Highway 43 has a rather chaotic route, all things considered.  Its initial and southeasterly section runs to Bangor, then it runs east from Bangor to Kalamazoo.  It joins US Route 131 north to Plainwell, then follows Michigan Highway 89 east-southeast to Richland (all because Kalamazoo didn't want it running through town anymore).  From Richland, Michigan Highway 43 runs north-northeasteMichigan I-96rly to Hastings.  It runs east from there through Lansing, serving as the main east-west surface road through Michigan's state capital. It bends slightly, heading east-southeasterly through East Lansing and Williamston, reaching Michigan Highway 52 in Webberville.  Finally, Michigan Highway 43 joins Michigan Highway 52 south for a very short distance to an interchange with Interstate 96, where it ends.

My photo of Michigan Highway 43 comes from a junction with Interstate 69's business loop in Lansing, at the border with East Lansing.  The business loop and Michigan Highway 43 are duplexed along a pair of one-way streets through Lansing, but the duplex breaks up at this point. The signage depicted faces west at a gore point where the two routes split up.  This photo was taken on the way home from Traverse City in August 2020 (this trip involved the Porcupine Mountains, Pictured Rocks and Mackinac Island before that).

Here are some more photos from Michigan Highway 43:

East of Lake Odessa, Michigan 43 splits from Michigan 50 as both routes move east.

A snowy scene looking west on westbound Michigan 43 in the Kalamazoo area.

Signage on a ramp from US Route 127's freeway to Michigan Highway 43 in Lansing.

Michigan 43 moves easterly into East Lansing with Business Loop I-69, soon splitting from the Business Route of Interstate 69.

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