Telegraph Road Corridor

BEAUMONT URGENT

Beaumont Urgent Care opens

Beaumont Urgent Care opened at 9870 Telegraph Road, just north of the hospital entrance earlier this year.

The City of Taylor was represented by City Clerk Cindy Bower, Economic Development Director George Sutherland and other staffers. Wayne County Commissioner Ray Basham was in attendance, as were many members of the Southern Wayne County Chamber of Commerce. SWCC President and CEO Ron Hinrichs served as master of ceremonies, and Beaumont President of Outpatient Services Connie O’Malley and WellStreet Regional Vice President Jim Ray each addressed the crowd.

Beaumont partnered with WellStreet Urgent Care, an Atlanta-based organization, to open up to 30 urgent care centers throughout the metro area by the end of this year. The aim is to help lower the cost of health care for consumers and employers. The network connects directly to Beaumont’s electronic records system to better coordinate care, and includes over 2.3 million patients. More than 40 percent of patients visiting urgency care centers do not have a primary care physician. One of the network’s goals is to drive that percentage down.

Beaumont Health is Michigan’s largest health care system and is the most preferred for health care in the tri-county area, according to National Research Corporation survey data. A not-for-profit organization, it was formed in 2014 by Beaumont Health System, Botsford Hospital and Oakwood Healthcare to provide patients with the benefit of greater access to care, no matter where they live in Southeast Michigan.

Beaumont Health has total net revenue of $4.5 billion and consists of eight hospitals with 3,429 beds, 187 outpatient sites, nearly 5,000 physicians, 38,000 employees and 3,500 volunteers. In 2017, Beaumont Health had 175,700 inpatient discharges, 17,800 births and 575,000 emergency visits.

Dissecting Taylor Over the Decades

Telegraph Road (US 24) is one of the busiest business routes in the Detroit metropolitan area, cutting Taylor in half as it travels directly through the heart of the Downriver region. Its origins range back to 1701, when Michigan's first transportation routes were lakes, rivers and Indian trails. When telegraph lines were installed southbound to Monroe and north to Pontiac, an accompanying maintenance road was labeled "Telegraph Road." Telegraph was eventually designated M-10, but that changed to M-24 in 1926 when the United States inaugurated its numbered highway system.

As the 'Graph took a more and more prominent role in southeastern Michigan travel, it because Taylor's main artery. The City's three large automotive dealerships, Taylor Ford, Taylor Chevrolet and Telegraph Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram are all located on Telegraph, as is the community's newest retail center (Taylor Crossings Walmart Super Center, at Ecorse Road).

Beaumont Health's Taylor Campus, one of the City's largest employers and its only hospital, is also located on Telegraph Road.

Other key points of business on Telegraph Road include the Taylor Sportsplex, the largest and busiest municipal ice and indoor soccer facility Downriver, Hull Brothers Rentals (equipment rentals); Gardner White Furniture; Home Depot; Biker Bob's and the Michigan State Police Post.

The Song

The corridor has also inspired its share of nostalgia, including the song, "Telegraph Road." Mark Knopfler of the British rock band Dire Straits, inspired by a bus trip he had taken along the 'Graph, tells the tale of changing land development along its path throughout southeastern Michigan during an epic 14-minute song that features tremendous and lengthy guitar instrumentals."I was driving down this Telegraph Road... and it just went on and on and on forever," he was quoted as saying. "It's like what they call linear development. And I just started to think, I wondered how that road must have been when it started, what it must have first been. And then really that's how it all came about yeah, I just put that book together and the place where I was, I was actually sitting in the front of the tour bus at the time." The song ended up one of the group's key creations in the 1982 "Love Over Gold" album.

The Cruise

The Telegraph Cruise is another spin-off of the roadway's long and storied past. Hot rodders and classic car enthusiasts and spectators from throughout Southeast Michigan will converge on Telegraph Road for the annual cruise each July. Spanning the communities of Taylor, Dearborn Heights, Dearborn and Redford Township, the event draws thousands of fans. It is always held on the fourth weekend of July. Car club members and classic vehicle owners alike are encouraged to display their wares along Telegraph Road. Originally the Telegraph Tomorrow Classic Car Cruise, it was named for the Telegraph Tomorrow Association that worked to improve and promote the U.S. 24 (Telegraph Road) corridor.

The Original Hungry Howie's

The Hungry Howie’s story began in 1973 when Jim Hearn converted a 1,000-square-foot hamburger shop on Telegraph Road in Taylor into a carry-out and delivery pizzeria. At the time, Steve Jackson delivered pizzas for Hearn. Over the years, their partnership would evolve into what Hungry Howie’s is today. In 1982, Jackson and Hearn made a decision to franchise their operation and they awarded their first Hungry Howie’s franchise the following year. Within the next three years, 65 pizza franchises were opened. The company ended the 1980s with over 160 units, opened its 300th location in 1995, and 400th in 1999. By 2004, Hungry Howie’s was awarded “Chain of the Year” by Pizza Today magazine and opened their 500th pizza location in 2005.

Dedicated to a Fallen Police Officer

In June 2012, Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill from the Michigan Legislature that designated a section of Telegraph Road in Taylor for Cpl. Matthew Edwards, a member of the Taylor Police Department who was killed in the line of duty.

matthew edwards