How A Michigan Man’s Milk Run Created Centerlines On Highways

When you're driving, you have a lot to focus on. You have to watch your speed to avoid speeding, watch for animals or potholes, and sometimes the biggest danger on the road is other drivers. While you're doing all that, you're also doing an unspoken act: staying in your lane.

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The centerline, which keeps opposing traffic on their side of the road, seems basic, yet it is vitally important in keeping drivers from getting too close to one another. As it turns out, a Michigan man created that simple but important line, and it has a unique story.

landscape photography of asphalt road under cloudy sky during daytime

Edward N. Hines, Creator of the Highway Centerline

Driving as we know it would be drastically different without Edward N. Hines. Hines was a highway development innovator and Chairman of the Wayne County Road Commission from 1906 to 1938. During this time, he created several influential roadway projects, including the highway centerline, and, according to the State of Michigan, developed the first full mile of concrete ever built. Whether it's true or fiction, the story of where he got the idea of that centerline is great.

READ MORE: How These 5 Michigan-Made Cars Changed Automotive History

In 1911, automobiles were becoming more commonplace across the country, and many roads were still dirt, with drivers sharing the road with horse and buggy. mLive reports that Hines got the inspiration for the centerlines "from watching a leaky milk wagon leaving a white trail down a road," sparking the idea to separate traffic with a simple line.

Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Department, “City Wholesale Market,” City of Grand Rapids Archives and Records Center, accessed October 21, 2026, https://grandrapidsmicityarchives.omeka.net/items/show/1732.

This separation not only kept buggies and automobiles apart, but as automobiles exploded in popularity a few short years later with the widespread production of the Model T, roadways were equipped for the growing number of drivers. His efforts were awarded a posthumous international honor in 2011 in Amsterdam.

This isn't the only part of traffic safety that was invented in Michigan. A Detroit man created the automated three-color stoplight, which is just as influential for roadways today.