Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Interstate 675 (Michigan)/archive1

The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by Ian Rose via FACBot (talk) 14:11, 4 March 2017 [1].


Nominator(s): Imzadi 1979  20:27, 28 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

This article is about another Interstate Highway in Michigan. In the wake of the promotion of my last nomination, this article, should it also be promoted, would elevate the Interstate Highways in Michigan topic from GT to FT status. Overall, this is a compact little article and should be easy to review. It would also fall numerically into a cluster of the highest numbered highways in Michigan, all of which are FAs already (I-496, Capitol Loop [CL I-496], M-553, I-696). The article had a recent ACR that included image and source reviews. Since that promotion a month ago, the traffic counts have been updated, and a photo has been added (licensed CC-BY-SA 2.0 on Flickr and transferred as part of a larger set of photos at commons:Category:Interstate 675 (Michigan). Imzadi 1979  20:27, 28 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

  • Comments - I was waiting for the day you might nominate this highway because of my love/hate relationship with it. I lived in the tri-cities area for many years and remember the Zilwaukee Bridge debacle and numerous other times when I-75 traffic was routed through 675 for extended periods of time. I think you've covered the highway about as well as can be expected, but overall I think there is some room for refinement as follows:
  • You haven't adequately explained why 275 was proposed but 675 was chosen.
  • I think we have an opportunity to explain why there is relatively little traffic north of the Tittabawassee interchange. There is a narrative missing here about 675 being the primary commuting route for people living in places like Birch Run, Bridgeport, Frankenmuth, and Buena Vista going into Saginaw for work or to visit the mall area. However, people don't generally come to Saginaw from places like Midland and Bay City where they would use that segment of 675.
  • In the History section, I think you could write quite a bit more about the period of time when the new Zilwaukee Bridge was being constructed. The text is confusing there. Was traffic being routed through 675 during that period, and if so, was it the whole time or during certain periods?
  • We jump from 1988 to 2008 but I know there were other significant periods when all I-75 traffic was being routed through 675, for weeks or months at a time. You might need to do some more research and find out when and why. Everyone in the area would be disgruntled and there would be articles about it in the Saginaw News and other local papers.
Overall nicely done. --Laser brain (talk) 15:59, 5 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Laser brain: thank you! Now, let me pick your brain (pun not quite intended) here for a moment. I clarified a little about the numbering based on the source. As for the rest, if you can point me to any sources, I'll be glad to expand the article. As for the period when the current Zilwaukee was built, as I recall, sources don't really say if I-75 traffic was diverted up I-675 for any significant periods of time. I can run through the newspaper archives again to see if anything pops up once I'm back on my primary computer. A trip to Saginaw for research wouldn't be in the cards though. Imzadi 1979  15:58, 6 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I'll do some checking around. My anecdotal memory doesn't necessarily translate into real sources, in which case we've taken it as far as we can. --Laser brain (talk) 16:25, 6 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Imzadi1979: Have you seen these:
Might be a place to mine for information on sources on the bridge construction and how it might have affected 675. --Laser brain (talk) 19:22, 9 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Laser brain: I've seen both. The former is originally an MDOT report that's been republished, and I already cite the section that has some information regarding I-675. The other is a self-published webpage that also has the same 20-year jump from the completion of the Zilwaukee in 1988 to the 2008 work. I mined it for information, and then found other sources we can cite to verify that information. Imzadi 1979  21:56, 9 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry for the delay in returning to this, but I had a few inquiries out in the Saginaw area for newspaper scans. Unfortunately I didn't turn anything up that would add to what you already have. I'm satisfied that the article is as comprehensive as we can make it with the available sources. --Laser brain (talk) 15:44, 1 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Laser brain: thanks to Juliancolton, who provided me with a few clippings to some premium-sourced items through Newspapers.com, I've added a little more detail, including 1989 and 2002 closures on the Zilwaukee that diverted traffic onto I-675. Imzadi 1979  05:48, 2 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support - With the inclusion of those last few sources, I think the article is comprehensive enough for promotion. Prose is clear and presentation is good... no issues that I can see. Nice work. – Juliancolton | Talk 00:40, 3 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.