Counties: Anoka

History: Authorized 1951. It was decommissioned in 1998 and turned back to Anoka County as CSAH 7, and in part to the city of Anoka.

Length: <1 Region: EC

Counties: Carlton

History: Authorized 1951

Comment: Rerouted from its original routing to a more direct route farther south

Length: <1 Region: SE

Counties: Goodhue

History: Authorized 1951

Comment: Removed from state highway system by 2009 Legislature, several years after closure of Cambridge State Hospital.

Length: <1 Region: WC

History: Authorized 1951. 2006 legislation removed route from trunk highway system.

Comments: For many years, one of two trunk highways in Minnesota that do not intersect another trunk highway (Business 71 is a city street) because the original connecting route was turned back.  Nevertheless, it was marked from U.S. 71/MN-23 at the interchange with Business 71.

History: This route formerly served the Rochester State Hospital, which is now a federal prison facility. Authorized 1951, turned back around 1990. Former MN-296 is a Rochester city street

Comments: Like 294 before its removal, this route does not intersect any other state trunk highway, but formerly intersected MN-210 before that highway was re-routed south of the city. This route was turned back to the city of Fergus Falls, not to the county as most trunk highways are when removed.

Length: 0.6 mi.  Region: SE

Counties: Rice

Legislative Route(s): 298

History: Authorized 1951 to serve the series of state institutions (see comments), additional loop around 1970. This added loop, into the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind, was authorized under L.R. 323, and in 2009 was given that number as its trunk highway designation, as a separate route. The south end, which used to loop around and return north to join itself, was terminated at the entrance of the Correctional Facility.

Comments: State facility route serving the Minnesota Correctional Facility, formerly the Minnesota Regional Treatment Center. Once upon a time, the Regional Treatment Center was originally called the "State Academy for the Feeble-Minded."

Length: <1 Region: SE

Counties: Rice

History: Authorized 1951

Comments: Intersects MN-60 at the same place as MN-298.

History: Authorized 1951, formerly ran from old U.S. 169 (now CSAH 69) in Shakopee to the Women’s Correctional Facility. Turned back 1996. Now an extension of Scott CSAH 16.

Length: <1 Region: EC

Counties: Sherburne

History: Authorized 1951

Length: <1 Region: EC

History: Authorized 1951

Comment: Deleted from the trunk highway system in 2003. The property at the Girls Home was sold, and the highway vacated upon sale of the property. Because the property is being redeveloped, the roadway as well as the route have disappeared.

History: Authorized 1951. Formerly served a state school in northwest Owatonna, forming a loop off then-U.S. 14/65. Turned back 1973.

Length: 1 Region: NW

Counties: Roseau

History: Original alignment of

Authorized around 1958. Actually was the original alignment of MN-89 north of MN-11 until a shortcut was constructed for that route.

Comments: West leg of a "Y" joining MN-89 north to MN-11.

Length: 10 Region: NW

Counties: Roseau

Improvements: Paved by 1970

History: Authorized around 1959.

Comment: This looks like it ought to be an extension of MN-89, but 89 was extended north of MN-11 to the Canadian border around 1949 via L.R. 218. This route, when authorized, was thus given a separate designation.

Length: 10* Region: M

Legislative Route(s): 260

Counties: Carver, Hennepin

How numbered: Derivative of its future permanent designation, U.S. 212

NHS: Along its entire length

Improvements: Only marked on freeway segments of future U.S. 212 as they were completed, never on any temporary connecting routes.

History: Part of new U.S. 212 realignment, authorized mid-1970s, first marked on initial freeway segment west of MN-5 around 2001. Renumbered as U.S. 212 when freeway segment was completed in 2008.

Comment: Applied as a temporary designation for completed sections of what became U.S. 212 from west of Chaska to the junction with I-494 and MN-5 in Eden Prairie, bypassing the Flying Cloud Drive segment. The route number was never posted on the unmarked short segment of freeway east of I-494 to the Flying Cloud Drive exit where U.S. 212 joined, and from field accounts it was only marked on overhead and freeway onramp signs along the new freeway west of MN-5, never on freestanding reassurance markers.

Length: 6  Region: NW

Counties: Roseau

Improvements: Paved by 1963

History: Authorized around 1959.

Length: 10 Region: SE, M

NHS: Its entire length, as the general future alignment of U.S. 61

Counties: Goodhue, Dakota

History: Authorized around 1959.

Improvements: Paved since it became a trunk highway

Comments: Serves as a shortcut along U.S. 61 between Hastings and Red Wing. Narrow shoulders and heavy traffic make it a potentially dangerous road. Future improvements to U.S. 61 will likely be generally along this alignment, and safety improvements (shoulders, turn lanes) have been made. Unfortunately, Hastings' growth appears to be following this route, making significant widening along the current alignment potentially problematic. One plan is to bend this route west to intersect U.S. 61 south of its current intersection with U.S. 61 and connect with an upgraded County 46.

Length: 1 Region: NW

Counties: Marshall

History: Authorized around 1959.

Improvements: Paved by 1970

How numbered: Same as its Legislative Route number, not by association with the intersecting North Dakota route.

History: A former short route connecting MN-23 and MN-40 on the west end of Willmar. Authorized late 1960s, turned back after MN-23 bypass opened around 1980.

Length: <1 Region: EC

History: Authorized around 1959. Removed from trunk highway system in 2001

Comments: This may have been the shortest trunk highway. It wasa one-block long connector between 371 (now Business 371) and the former route of 18 in Brainerd. At either end from its joining routes, it was marked "To 18" and "To 371", but was also signed as 322. This was turned back (along with TH-18 through Brainerd) after the TH-371 bypass was completed in late 2000.

Length: 0.2 mi.  Region: SE

Counties: Rice

Legislative Route(s): 323

History: Authorized around 1970 under this LR number, but administratively treated as a loop of MN-298. In 2009 the loop was apparently designated on the books as a separate route and was given its LR number as its trunk highway designation,.(I'm hedging because the logpoint and control section documents still show the separate loop as part of 298).

Comments: This is but a driveway into a state institution. See the map if you don't believe me. It may be the shortest trunk highway in the system, and I wonder whether it's posted with its number. Unfortunately, Google Streetview hasn't gone down 298 yet, so I can't tell from that, but if anyone is driving through Faribault please check and let me know!  Adam Froehlig found this change while poring over newly updated city and county maps on MnDOT's web site.

Constitutional/Legislative Route(s) 1 and 324

History: A one-mile connecting route between I-35 and originally U.S. 61, shortly thereafter MN-361, at Pine City. This was the only route administratively authorized around 1965 by MnDOT under a law authorizing establishment of short connecting routes from Interstate highways at a few specified locations. It was shown on the 1997-98 Minnesota Highway map as being removed from the system, but restored on the 1999-2000 map. Eliminated 2003.

History: Later designated

(Now county road)

Original designation for LR 326, which ran from Lake Drive (originallyU.S. 8) for 1/2 mile to the Lino Lakes Correctional Facility. When I-35W was completed in the late 1960s, the U.S. 8 designation was moved to the interstate. MN-49, which had ended at Lake Drive south of this point was extended north along Lake Drive to I-35W, and was then also extended onto the prison access route. Since MN-49 was turned back in 1997 north of I-694, LR 326 was removed from the statutes and the road is now designated Anoka CSAH 159.

Counties: Stevens

Length: 2 Region: SW

History: Authorized around 1970

Length: 2 Region: SW

Counties: Redwood

History: Authorized around 1975

Comments: Serves a University of Minnesota agricultural experimental station

Length: 2 Region: WC

NHS: Its entire length, as a connector between I-94 and U.S. 10

History: Authorized around 1991.

Improvements: Always paved as a trunk highway. Widened to 4 lanes and an interchange built at U.S. 10. (So, it now functions as essentially an extended ramp between the two routes).

Comments: A short connector between I-94 and U.S. 10 east of Moorhead.

Now designated

See MN-371 below for route history and details. This U.S. route was added in 1931 between Little Falls and Cass Lake. It was also marked along U.S. 2 between Bemidji and Cass Lake. It was redesignated MN-371 around 1973.

Length: 5 Region: EC

Constitutional/Legislative Route(s): 337

Counties: Crow Wing

How numbered: Old MN-371 through Brainerd and west into Baxter

History: Originally designated

then

When the Brainerd Bypass opened in August 2000, the old route through Brainerd was redesignated as MN-371 Business.

Comments: One of just two bannered business routes in the state that are still trunk highways. Runs concurrent with MN-210 from downtown Brainerd west to the junction with 371 in Baxter. The newest legislative route number. Note the different signage (similar signage is also used on the non-trunk highway Business 23 through Willmar).

Length: 110 Region: EC, NE

Constitutional/Legislative Route(s): 27, 19

Counties: Morrison, Crow Wing, Cass

How numbered: Formerly designated as U.S. 371

NHS: Along its entire length

History: Originally designated

Constitutional Route its entire length. U.S. 371 was first designated around 1931, redesignated as state-numbered route around 1973.

Improvements: Freeway from Little Falls to Morrison CSAH 48. Expressway north of there, including the bypass west of Brainerd that opened in 2000 (also called the "C. Elmer Andersen Brainerd Bypass" after the former mayor and Minnesota governor), to about five miles north of Baxter. From that point north, mostly two lanes.

Future Improvements: The "Paul Bunyan Expressway" is ultimately planned as a four lane expressway along much of its length, since it is a major connecting route between the Twin Cities and central Minnesota resorts. Programmed improvements from Nisswa to Pine River have been pushed back to 2018.

Comments: As I indicated at the description of MN-15, these two routes could be linked together to form a single marked route from the Iowa border to Cass Lake. I would use the MN-15 designation and not seek a U.S. route designation, since route 15 doesn't connect to anything significant in Iowa and the old U.S. 371 designation has already been reused in Arkansas and Louisiana. This would entail a 27 mile overlay on U.S. 10.

Length: 9 Region: M

Constitutional/Legislative Route(s): 10, 107

Counties: Hennepin

How numbered: A 3di spur of I-94

History: Authorized in the late 1960s, built in the 1980s using in part substitution money from the cancelled I-335 project.

Improvements: Freeway completed around 1991, as an upgrade of the former U.S. 12 expressway. Three lanes, except two lanes (plus the reversible lane) under MN-100, three continuous lanes (plus the reversible lane) to downtown Minneapolis. Inside lanes between I-494 and west of MN-100 are HOV during rush hour.

Comments: Concurrent with U.S. 12 (which is not marked) between I-494 and I-94. Serves as a downtown traffic distributor/collector, and has parking garages constructed with direct access from the freeway. East of MN-100, it has reversible carpool-bus lanes. Constructed with funds diverted from the proposed I-335 freeway. The only interstate highway in Minnesota that does not have a 390+ legislative route number separate from its predecessor routes. The HOV lanes (both the reversible segment and the median lanes west of MN-100) have been converted to Lexus Lanes, er, HOT (High Occupancy or Toll) lanes. Vehicles with a transponder that debits a previously established account will be able to use these lanes even if the driver is solo. Tolls are as high as $8.00 during major tieups. To date, usage of the lane by toll-paying vehicles is lower than projections. The HOT lanes west of MN-100, which formerly were available for non-HOV use during non-rush hours, are restricted 24 hours a day.

This project received the Award for Excellence in highway construction from the Federal Highway Administration in 1996. A photo of the I-394/MN-100 interchange, which illustrates how the carpool lanes were incorporated into the highway, can be seen by clicking on the link to the FHwA website.

Exit List: Visit Adam Froehlig's exit list for Highway 394.

Length: 41 Region: M

Legislative Route(s): 393

Counties: Hennepin, Dakota, Ramsey,Washington

How numbered: A 3di loop of I-94

History: Authorized around 1956 as original part of the interstate system.

Improvements: First segments completed were the old Wakota Bridge across the Mississippi between MN-110 and U.S. 61, around 1959 (not actually designed as an interstate-compatible bridge), and the segment between MN-5 and MN-100 in Bloomington in the early 1960s. Completed by 1985 with completion of the segment between MN-149 and MN-110. Three lanes each way for a considerable distance now, between MN-55 in Plymouth and U.S. 61 in Newport; remainder is two-lane. One span of new Wakota Bridge is complete, on which they have managed to squeeze three lanes each way.

Future Improvements: Additional widening across the south side, from three to four lanes each way, is planned, funding permitting, for the next decade.

Comments: I-494 and 694 could have a single designation; in fact, it is the only 3di-numbered Interstate "beltway" in the country that has separate designations for the south and north segments. Both these routes use the same milepost and exit number system, with mile 0 at the Minnesota River bridge just east of the easterly MN-5 junction. The original Mississippi River bridge (called the Wakota Bridge, since it connects Washington and Dakota Counties) was a four lane span that was a significant bottleneck on this highway; built in the late 1950s, it was likely designed for the MN-100 "belt line" rather than as an interstate highway bridge. One span of the planned two-span bridge replacing the original bridge is open, but MnDOT cancelled the contract for the second bridge because of issues over cost. Seems the first concrete box girder bridge was improperly engineered and needed to be reinforced with cable after it was completed, and attempts to negotiate an increase in cost to incorporate these changes into the second bridge failed thanks to "tough negotiating" by the then-Commissioner of Transportation/Lieutenant Governor. The contract was re-bid, and guess who got the contract...yes, the original contractor, Lunda Construction (who was not responsible for the errors in the design of the first span, it should be noted). The bid? More than Lunda originally offered to complete the work.

Exit Lists: Visit Adam Froehlig's exit list pages for I-494 (listed here in order of increasing milepost, counterclockwise from the Minnesota River, though that creates a discontinuous listing)
Exit list for Highway 494 from Minnesota River (mile 0) to MN-5.
Exit list for Highway 494 from MN-5 to I-94/694
Exit list for Highway 494 from I-94 in Woodbury to Minnesota River

Length: 1 Region: NE

Legislative Route(s): 390

How numbered: A 3di spur of I-35

History: Authorized around 1956 as original part of the interstate system.

Improvements: Bridge constructed in the early 1960s, with freeway approach to I-35 constructed around 1970.

Comments: Concurrent with U.S. 53. Note that this 3di route extends for a short distance into Wisconsin (to south end of Blatnik Bridge, where it intersects WI-35), whereas I-35 does not enter Wisconsin. There is no numeric association with WI-35, by the way. This replaced a toll bridge at generally the same location.

Length: 8 mi. complete, 12 mi. authorized Region: M

Legislative Route(s): 333

Counties: Hennepin, Anoka

How numbered: The highest and most unusual state route number. Numbered as a faux 3dUS bypass of U.S. 10 (though no other state highway number is based on this Interstate-style numbering convention).

History: Authorized around 1975 as part of "North Crosstown." Mississippi River bridge (4 lanes) and existing segment completed around 1987, ending at MN-252 until the new freeway segment opened in 2000. Newest segment completed in 2000 between U.S. 169 and MN-252, and additional parallel span over the Mississippi River completed in 2001, providing three lanes each direction.

Future Improvements: Work begins in 2009 using ARRA funds to extend the freeway west to CSAH 81. It will eventually be extended west to I-94.

Exit List: Visit Adam Froehlig's exit list for Highway 610.

Length: 31 Region: M

Legislative Route(s): 393

How numbered: A 3di loop of I-94

History: Authorized around 1956 as original part of the interstate system.

Improvements: First segment completed was between U.S. 10 and I-35E in the early 1960s. Last segment, east of I-35E to I-694, completed by the early 1970s. Three lanes between I-494, including common section with I-94, (except two lanes between I-94 split and MN-100 onramp) and I-35W, plus auxiliary lanes. Common section with I-35E has been reconstructed to eliminate the weaving that thru traffic on each route had to do; now, 694 enters and exits the common section on the right and 35E on the left.

Future Improvements: Correcting the weaving mess at U.S. 10 and MN-51 is programmed for 2012. Reconstruction of the I-35W interchange will also occur in the mid 2010s, with flyovers from 35W to eliminate the tight cloverleaf with no CD lanes.

Comments: See comments for I-494 above. I-694 is concurrent with I-94 for 8 miles between the I-494 junction and the I-94/694 split in Brooklyn Center. In this segment, exit numbers correspond to I-694 mileage, not I-94 mileage. I-694 is also labeled "Twin Cities Bypass" at each end. When originally constructed, the eastbound carriageway of I-694 used the old MN-100 bridge over the Mississippi River, and both carriageways used an underpass constructed for MN-100 of the BNSF RR in Fridley. Both of these bridges were terrible bottlenecks, and were reconstructed when the freeway was widened in the mid 1980s. I-694 was a weaving nightmare; prior to completion of the "unweave the weave" project in the 35E/694 common area, to continue on this route over its length eastbound, you had to weave left about 3 lanes, then right 2 lest you exit onto other freeways. There is still a terrible pair of interchanges at U.S. 10 and MN-51 where thru traffic on I-694 has to weave left to avoid exiting.

Exit Lists: Visit Adam Froehlig's exit list for Highway 694 from I-94 west junction to I-35E.
Exit list for Highway 694 from I-35E to I-94 east junction.