U.S. Route 61 in Minnesota

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This article is about the section of U.S. Route 61 in Minnesota. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 61.
For the route located in northeast Minnesota on the North Shore of Lake Superior numbered 61, see Minnesota State Highway 61.

US 61 / US 14 / WIS 16 at La Crescent
Major intersections
North end I-35 at Wyoming
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountiesHouston, Winona, Wabasha, Goodhue, Dakota, Washington, Ramsey, Chisago
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highway System
← MN 60→ MN 61

U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) is a

U.S. Highway in southeastern and east-central Minnesota, which runs from the Mississippi River Bridge at La Crescent and continues north to its northern terminus at its junction with Interstate 35 (I-35) at the city of Wyoming
.

US 61 in Minnesota is 165 miles (266 km) in length. The highway connects the cities of La Crescent, Winona, Wabasha, Lake City, Red Wing, Hastings, Cottage Grove, Saint Paul, Forest Lake, and Wyoming.

Route description

US 61 enters the state of Minnesota at the city of

US 14 and State Highway 16 (MN 16) as it enters the state. The four-lane divided highway continues north through La Crescent. US 61 follows the Mississippi River through southeast Minnesota; through the cities of Winona, Wabasha, Lake City, and Red Wing
.

US 61 is a two-lane roadway between Wabasha and Red Wing. US 61 crosses the Mississippi River at

freeway between Cottage Grove and the city of Saint Paul. Within the city of Saint Paul, US 61 follows I-94
for a short distance, and then follows Mounds Boulevard, East 7th Street, and Arcade Street through the east side of St. Paul.

US 61 then proceeds north to

I-694 and the central business district of White Bear Lake, the road serves one of the Twin Cities region's major car dealership areas. After leaving White Bear Lake, US 61 is a two-lane roadway again to Forest Lake and then to its northern terminus at the city of Wyoming. US 61 closely parallels I-35E and I-35
from Saint Paul to Wyoming.

Approximately 120 miles (190 km) of US 61 from La Crescent to Cottage Grove in southeast Minnesota is officially designated the Disabled American Veterans Highway. Legally, the Minnesota section of US 61 is defined as unmarked legislative routes 3, 104, 102 and 1 in the Minnesota Statutes. US 61 is not marked with these legislative numbers along the actual highway.

U.S. Route 14/61 junction with Interstate 90
U.S. Route 14/61 junction with I-90

History

US 61 in Minnesota is an original U.S. Highway, established on November 26, 1926.[2] It originally extended north to the Canadian border at Grand Portage, but it was cut back to its present terminus in 1991. The portion between Duluth and Grand Portage is now MN 61. Segments of the old alignment that parallel MN 61 and I-35 have been designated County Road 61 (CR 61).

In 1929, the only unpaved portions were from Hastings to Wabasha and from Winona to the Wisconsin state line. It was completely paved by 1940.[3]

The

freeway section of US 61 between Cottage Grove and I-494 at Newport was completed in 2007.[3]

The US 61 Hastings High Bridge received considerable attention from increased bridge inspections in 2008 following the August 1, 2007, I-35W Bridge collapse in nearby Minneapolis. The Hastings High Bridge, a steel arch structure built in 1951, was structurally deficient and shows considerable deterioration. It was also a notorious traffic bottleneck because it had only one lane each way and discharged southbound US 61 traffic into downtown Hastings. The old Hastings bridge was replaced in 2013.[4]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[5]kmExitDestinationsNotes
US 61 south / WIS 16 east / Alt. I-90 east – La Crosse
Wisconsin state line
La Crosse West Channel Bridge
CSAH 6 west to MN 26 – Hokah, Rushford
North end of MN 16 overlap; south end of Great River Road overlap
Madison
North end of I-90 Alt. overlap; south end of I-90 overlap
Dresbach
No northbound entrance; signed as exit 273B&A northbound
7.08711.405273A
Dresbach
Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Dakota8.73614.059270
 I-90 west – Albert Lea		North end of I-90 overlap
8.92514.3639 CR 12 / CR 101 – DakotaSouthbound exit and northbound entrance; I-90 exit 271 (northbound)
Richmond Township17.43828.064
 CSAH 7 / Great River Road Spur – Pickwick
Minnesota State College Southeast Technical
27.15943.708
 CSAH 44 / Great River Road Spur – Winona State University, MN Marine Art Museum
29.52247.511
US 14 west / Pelzer Street – Rochester, St. Marys University
North end of US 14 overlap
Rollingstone Township
46.11874.220
 MN 248 west – Rollingstone, Altura, Minnesota City
WabashaWeaver46.74075.221
 MN 74 south – Whitewater State Park, St. Charles
Greenfield Township
53.97986.871
 MN 42 south / CSAH 18 – Plainview
Wabasha60.17296.837
 MN 60 (Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway) to Great River Road (Wisconsin Route) – Zumbro Falls, Wabasha, Wisconsin, National Eagle Center
Lake City74.005119.100
 US 63 south (Lyon Avenue / Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway) – Zumbro Falls, Rochester		South end of US 63 overlap
MN 292 / Great River Road Spur
Both ends of MN 292 loop
91.047146.526
Minnesota State College Southeast Technical, Wisconsin
North end of US 63 overlap
96.561155.400
 MN 19 west – Cannon Falls
97.701157.235
CSAH 18 (Prairie Island Boulevard) – Prairie Island Indian Community, Treasure Island Resort & Casino, Lock and Dam No. 3
CSAH 7 (Welch Village Road) – Welch, Welch Village
104.480168.144

 MN 316 north / Great River Road north – Hastings		North end of Great River Road overlap
Douglas Township
107.588173.146

 MN 50 west to MN 20 – Hampton, Cannon Falls
Hastings115.706186.211

 MN 316 south / Great River Road south		South end of Great River Road overlap
115.806186.372
 Great River Road Spur (21st Street)
116.310187.18318th Street EastFormer MN 291 east
116.848188.049
 MN 55 west
117.407188.948
CSAH 42 west (2nd Street) / Great River Road (National Route)
north		Interchange; south end of Great River Road (National Route) overlap (US 61 south of here is an alternate route of the Great River Road)
Mississippi River117.458–
117.810		189.030–
189.597		Hastings Bridge
Prescott
North end of Great River Road overlap; south end of I-94 Alt. / US 10 overlap
Cottage Grove119.966193.067
 MN 95 north (Manning Avenue) – Stillwater
122.826–
123.270		197.669–
198.384		— CSAH 19 /
CR 19A
(Innovation Road)		Interchange; south end of freeway
124.050–
124.579		199.639–
200.490		—Jamaica AvenueInterchange
125.952202.700—Grange Boulevard / 80th StreetInterchange
St. Paul Park127.730–
128.236		205.562–
206.376		127 CSAH 22 (70th Street) / Summit AvenueInterchange
Newport129.183–
129.700		207.900–
208.732		129Glen RoadInterchange
130.053–
130.450		209.300–
209.939		130A

 I-494 / Great River Road (National Route) south		Interchange; I-494 exits 63A&B; south end of Great River Road overlap
St. Paul
130.665210.285130BMaxwell Avenue / Bailey RoadInterchange; north end of freeway
134.956217.191
Warner Road
/ County 36)		north end of Great River Road overlap
135.550218.147
US 12) / East 3rd Street
North end of I-94 Alt. overlap; south end of I-94 / US 12 overlap; US 61 south follows exit 244; no access from US 61 south to 3rd Street or 3rd Street to US 61 north
136.685219.973
US 12
) / Kellogg Boulevard / Mounds Boulevard		North end of I-94 / US 10 / US 12 overlap; US 61 north follows exit 243
137.424221.162
 MN 5 west (7th Street)		South end of MN 5 overlap
138.014222.112
 MN 5 east (East 7th Street)		North end of MN 5 overlap
Maplewood141.464–
141.754		227.664–
228.131		 MN 36 – StillwaterInterchange
Vadnais Heights143.461–
143.586		230.878–
231.079		 I-694Interchange; I-694 exit 48
MN 244
north
CSAH 96 west
Former MN 96 west
147.822237.896
 MN 96 east – Stillwater
Twin Cities
South end of MN 97 overlap
159.615256.875
 MN 97 east		North end of MN 97 overlap
161.567–
161.705		260.017–
260.239
US 8 – Taylors Falls
Interchange
CSAH 22 (Wyoming Trail)
Former MN 98 east; south end of CR 22 overlap
165.111265.720
Old US 61
Former US 61 north
165.487266.326
Minneapolis, Duluth
Interchange; north end of CR 22 overlap; I-35 exit 135
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

Further reading

  • Johnson, Nathan (2021). Highway 61 Through Minnesota.
    ISBN 9781467106931
    .

References

  1. ^ "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 5" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. November 6, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Weingroff, Richard F. (January 9, 2009). "From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 51–75". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Retrieved October 24, 2010.[self-published source]
  4. ^ "Hastings Bridge Project Home". Minnesota Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  5. ^ "Statewide Trunk Logpoint Listing" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 20, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.

External links

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