Interstate 196 (I-196) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs for 80.594 miles (129.703 km) in the US state of Michigan. It is a state trunkline highway that links Benton Harbor, South Haven, Holland, and Grand Rapids together. In Kent, Ottawa, and Allegan counties, I-196 is known as the Gerald R. Ford Freeway, or simply the Ford Freeway, after the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford, whose political career began in Grand Rapids.