Initial planning for what is now M-231 started before 1990. In 2006, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) was acquiring land for the highway right-of-way and designing sections of the highway. The route going to the Grand River from M-45 was being designed at this time as well. The department was expecting the construction of the bridge over the river to begin in 2010 and last until at least 2013. There was another small creek or river that also required a bridge to be built. That project was projected to begin in 2011 and end in 2012. One more bridge was being considered over Leonard Street, a major street that runs east to west halfway between I-96 and the Grand River. Construction of that bridge was projected to begin in 2012. On I-96 itself, a bridge that went over the abandoned Grand Trunk Western Railroad was projected to be replaced starting in 2012. Further work on I-96 was projected to begin in 2012 to create the new interchange between it and M-231. That included extending 112th Avenue over I-96 and placing a bridge over the M-231 ramp for I-96. The last item on the five-year plan list was the running from the Grand River to I-96. That construction was also projected to begin in 2012.