Business Loop I-196 - Holland and Zeeland

Interstate 196 turns away from U.S. 31 and Lake Michigan for Grand Rapids on the south side of Holland. An 11.6-mile business loop combines with U.S. 31 north from a wye interchange (Exit 44) along an older bypass route of Downtown. The two split near the Macatawa River, where Business Loop I-196 turns east along the former M-21 (Chicago Drive) to an expressway across the city of Zeeland. The loop curves east from the old M-21 alignment to end at Exit 55 opposite Byron Road.

Business Loop I-196 previously measured 12.26 miles in length when it followed former Business U.S. 31 into Downtown Holland. The route took a combination of Washington, Michigan and River Avenues north from Exit 47 to the one-way couplet of Seventh and Eighth Streets to connect with Chicago Drive (M-21). The old business route through downtown Holland was decommissioned from the state highway system in August 2004 (Bessert, 2026).