U.S. Route 61 in Minnesota
 U.S. Highway 61 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 61 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by MnDOT | ||||
| Length | 164.93 mi[1] (265.43 km) | |||
| Existed | November 26, 1926[2]–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  Great River Road | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |    US 61 / US 14 / WIS 16 at La Crescent | |||
| North end |  I-35 at Wyoming | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Minnesota | |||
| Counties | Houston, Winona, Wabasha, Goodhue, Dakota, Washington, Ramsey, Chisago | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
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) long. It 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 Minnesota at La Crescent on the River Bridge over the Mississippi River between La Crescent and La Crosse. US 61 runs concurrently with 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 in 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. It crosses the Mississippi River at Hastings over the Hastings Bridge and joins US 10 at Cottage Grove. US 61 and US 10 run concurrently as a freeway between Cottage Grove and Saint Paul. In Saint Paul, US 61 follows I-94 for a short distance, then Mounds Boulevard, East 7th Street, and Arcade Street. It then proceeds north to Maplewood, where it becomes a four-lane highway named Maplewood Drive to White Bear Lake. Between 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 in Wyoming. US 61 closely parallels I-35E and I-35 from Saint Paul to Wyoming.
About 120 miles (190 km) of US 61 from La Crescent to Cottage Grove is officially designated the Disabled American Veterans Highway. The Minnesota section of US 61 is defined as unmarked legislative routes 3, 104, 102 and 1, in the Minnesota Statutes, but it is not marked with these numbers.
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 expressway sections south of Wabasha were built in the 1960s and the 1970s. The four-lane divided highway section between Red Wing and MN 316 near Miesville was completed in 1997. 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 after the August 1, 2007, I-35W Bridge collapse in Minneapolis. The Hastings High Bridge, a steel arch structure built in 1951, was structurally deficient and showed 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 bridge was replaced in 2013.[4]
Major intersections
| County | Location | mi[5] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River | 0.000 | 0.000 |      US 14 east / US 61 south / WIS 16 east / Alt. I-90 east – La Crosse | Wisconsin state line | ||
| La Crosse West Channel Bridge | ||||||
| Houston | La Crescent | 1.712 | 2.755 |         MN 16 west (Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway) / Great River Road south / CSAH 6 west to MN 26 – Hokah, Rushford | Northern end of MN 16 concurrency; southern end of Great River Road concurrency | |
| Winona | Dresbach Township | 4.074 | 6.556 | 276 | I-90 east – La Crosse, Tomah, Madison | Northern end of I-90 Alt. concurrency; southern end of I-90 concurrency |
| Dresbach | 6.636 | 10.680 | 273B | Dresbach | No northbound entrance; signed as exits 273B and 273A northbound | |
| 7.087 | 11.405 | 273A | Dresbach | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| Dakota | 8.736 | 14.059 | 270 | I-90 west – Albert Lea | Northern end of I-90 concurrency | |
| 8.925 | 14.363 | 9 |   CR 12 / CR 101 – Dakota | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-90 exit 271 (northbound) | ||
| Richmond Township | 17.438 | 28.064 |    CSAH 7 / Great River Road Spur – Pickwick | |||
| Winona | 25.688 | 41.341 |  MN 43 – Rushford, Wisconsin, Minnesota State College Southeast Technical | |||
| 27.159 | 43.708 |  CSAH 44 / Great River Road Spur – Winona State University, MN Marine Art Museum | ||||
| 29.522 | 47.511 | US 14 west / Pelzer Street – Rochester, St. Marys University | Northern end of US 14 concurrency | |||
| Rollingstone Township | 46.118 | 74.220 |  MN 248 west – Rollingstone, Altura, Minnesota City | |||
| Wabasha | Weaver | 46.740 | 75.221 |   MN 74 south – Whitewater State Park, St. Charles | ||
| Greenfield Township | 53.979 | 86.871 |   MN 42 south / CSAH 18 – Plainview | |||
| Wabasha | 60.172 | 96.837 |   MN 60 (Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway) to Great River Road (Wisconsin Route) – Zumbro Falls, Wabasha, Wisconsin, National Eagle Center | |||
| Lake City | 74.005 | 119.100 |  US 63 south (Lyon Avenue / Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway) – Zumbro Falls, Rochester | Southern end of US 63 concurrency | ||
| Goodhue | Red Wing | 88.957– 89.424 | 143.162– 143.914 |  MN 292 / Great River Road Spur | Both ends of MN 292 loop | |
| 91.047 | 146.526 |   US 63 north / MN 58 south (Plum Street) – Minnesota State College Southeast Technical, Wisconsin | Northern end of US 63 concurrency | |||
| 96.561 | 155.400 |  MN 19 west – Cannon Falls | ||||
| 97.701 | 157.235 |  CSAH 18 (Prairie Island Boulevard) – Prairie Island Indian Community, Treasure Island Resort & Casino, Lock and Dam No. 3 | ||||
| Welch Township | 101.142 | 162.772 |  CSAH 7 (Welch Village Road) – Welch, Welch Village | |||
| 104.480 | 168.144 |    MN 316 north / Great River Road north – Hastings | Northern end of Great River Road concurrency | |||
| Dakota | Douglas Township | 107.588 | 173.146 |   MN 50 west to MN 20 – Hampton, Cannon Falls | ||
| Hastings | 115.706 | 186.211 | MN 316 south / Great River Road south | Southern end of Great River Road concurrency | ||
| 115.806 | 186.372 | Great River Road Spur (21st Street) | ||||
| 116.310 | 187.183 | 18th Street East | Former MN 291 east | |||
| 116.848 | 188.049 |  MN 55 west | ||||
| 117.407 | 188.948 |   CSAH 42 west (2nd Street) / Great River Road (National Route) north | South ernend of Great River Road (National Route) concurrency; US 61 south of here is an alternate route of the Great River Road | |||
| Mississippi River | 117.458– 117.810 | 189.030– 189.597 | Hastings Bridge | |||
| Washington | Denmark Township | 119.120 | 191.705 |   US 10 east / Great River Road (National Route) south / I-94 Alt. east – Prescott | Northern end of Great River Road concurrency; southern end of I-94 Alt./US 10 concurrency | |
| Cottage Grove | 119.966 | 193.067 |  MN 95 north (Manning Avenue) – Stillwater | |||
| 122.826– 123.270 | 197.669– 198.384 | — |   CSAH 19 / CR 19A (Innovation Road) | Interchange; southern end of freeway | ||
| 124.050– 124.579 | 199.639– 200.490 | — | Jamaica Avenue | Interchange | ||
| 125.952 | 202.700 | — | Grange Boulevard / 80th Street | Interchange | ||
| St. Paul Park | 127.730– 128.236 | 205.562– 206.376 | 127 |  CSAH 22 (70th Street) / Summit Avenue | Interchange | |
| Newport | 129.183– 129.700 | 207.900– 208.732 | 129 | Glen Road | Interchange | |
| 130.053– 130.450 | 209.300– 209.939 | 130A |  I-494 / Great River Road (National Route) south | Southern end of Great River Road concurrency; interchange; I-494 exit 63 | ||
| Ramsey | St. Paul | 130.665 | 210.285 | 130B | Maxwell Avenue / Bailey Road | Interchange; northern end of freeway |
| 134.956 | 217.191 | Great River Road (National Route) north (Warner Road / CR 36) | Northern end of Great River Road concurrency | |||
| 135.550 | 218.147 | I-94 east (US 12) / East 3rd Street | Northern end of I-94 Alt. concurrency; southern end of I-94/US 12 concurrency; US 61 south follows exit 244; no access from US 61 south to 3rd Street or 3rd Street to US 61 north | |||
| 136.685 | 219.973 | I-94 west / US 10 west (US 12) / Kellogg Boulevard / Mounds Boulevard | Northern end of I-94/US 10/US 12 concurrency; US 61 north follows exit 243 | |||
| 137.424 | 221.162 |  MN 5 west (7th Street) | Southern end of MN 5 concurrency | |||
| 138.014 | 222.112 | MN 5 east (East 7th Street) | Northern end of MN 5 concurrency | |||
| Maplewood | 141.464– 141.754 | 227.664– 228.131 |  MN 36 – Stillwater | Interchange | ||
| Vadnais Heights | 143.461– 143.586 | 230.878– 231.079 |  I-694 | Interchange; I-694 exit 48 | ||
| Vadnais Heights–Gem Lake line | 144.467 | 232.497 |  CSAH 15 (County E) | Former MN 244 north | ||
| White Bear Lake | 146.726 | 236.133 |  CSAH 96 west | Former MN 96 west | ||
| 147.822 | 237.896 |  MN 96 east – Stillwater | ||||
| Washington | Forest Lake | 159.295 | 256.360 |  MN 97 west – Lino Lakes, Twin Cities | Southern end of MN 97 concurrency | |
| 159.615 | 256.875 | MN 97 east | Northern end of MN 97 concurrency | |||
| 161.567– 161.705 | 260.017– 260.239 |  US 8 – Taylors Falls | Interchange | |||
| Chisago | Wyoming | 164.858 | 265.313 | CSAH 22 (Wyoming Trail) | Southern end of CR 22 concurrency; former MN 98 east | |
| 165.111 | 265.720 |    CSAH 30 north (Forest Boulevard) / Old US 61 | Former US 61 north | |||
| 165.487 | 266.326 | I-35 / CSAH 22 west – St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth | Northern end of CR 22 concurrency; interchange; I-35 exit 135 | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| ||||||
See also
- "Highway 61 Revisited" (song) and album
References
- ^ "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 5" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. November 6, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 51–75". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Retrieved October 24, 2010.[self-published source]
- ^ "Hastings Bridge Project Home". Minnesota Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
- ^ "Statewide Trunk Logpoint Listing" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 20, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
Further reading
- Johnson, Nathan (2021). Highway 61 Through Minnesota. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467106931.
