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PERE MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — Two road projects totaling more than $1.5 million were scheduled to open to traffic by noon today providing a new connection between South Jebavy Drive and Pere Marquette Highway.
The Mason County Road Commission announced Wednesday that the $1.13 million South Jebavy Drive project and the $400,000 W.H. VanDyke Road project are nearing completion.
Construction on South Jebavy Drive began Aug. 10. The new W.H. VanDyke Road connects South Jebavy Drive to Pere Marquette Highway, creating an alternate east-west route south of U.S. 10.
The combined projects will provide an all-season roadway and are expected to help alleviate traffic congestion on North Jebavy Drive and U.S. 10.
The new intersection of South Jebavy Drive and W.H. VanDyke Road features a three-way stop, with northbound, eastbound and westbound traffic required to stop.
The new roadway passes south of the Family Fare grocery store and connects with Pere Marquette Highway near the Family Fare gas station.
The road is named in honor of Capt. Wallace H. VanDyke (1871-1936), a longtime Great Lakes mariner who commanded several vessels in the Pere Marquette Railway’s Ludington carferry fleet.
VanDyke’s maritime career spanned more than four decades, beginning aboard wooden sailing schooners and continuing through the era of steam-powered railroad carferries. Despite losing his right arm in a hunting accident, he became an accomplished vessel master, commanding Pere Marquette 15, Pere Marquette 17 and Pere Marquette 22.
In addition to his maritime career, VanDyke was a dedicated historian who collected thousands of photographs, documents and records chronicling Great Lakes shipping. His collection, donated to the Mason County Historical Society by his descendants in 1995, became an important part of the society’s maritime archives.
Today, VanDyke is prominently featured at the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum, where a reproduction of his captain’s quarters and an interactive exhibit help preserve his legacy. His likeness also guides visitors through the museum’s carferry piloting simulator.
VanDyke died aboard Pere Marquette 22 on March 25, 1936, as the vessel approached Ludington. He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery, where his gravestone bears the words he requested: “He Loved Ships.”
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