Minnesota State Highway 43

Trunk Highway 43
MN 43 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	44.952 mi (72.343 km)
Existed:	1920 – present
Major junctions
South end:	MN 44 at Mabel
	MN 16 at Rushford MN 30 at Rushford I-90 at Wilson Township US 14 / US 61 at Winona
North end:	WIS 54 at the Mississippi River, at Winona, MN  — near Fountain City, WI
Location
Counties:	Fillmore, Winona
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← MN 42 MN 44 →

Minnesota State Highway 43 (MN 43) is a highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 44 in Mabel and continues north to its northern terminus at the Wisconsin state line at Winona, where it becomes Wisconsin Highway 54 upon crossing the Mississippi River.

Highway 43 is 45 miles (72 km) in length.

Route description

State Highway 43 serves as a north–south route between Mabel, Rushford, and Winona in southeast Minnesota.

The route crosses the Root River in Fillmore County.

Highway 43 passes through the Richard J. Dorer State Forest.

The northern terminus of Highway 43 is at the Mississippi River at Winona, where the route becomes Wisconsin Highway 54 upon crossing the Main Channel and North Channel bridges over the river to Wisconsin.

The northern terminus of State Highway 43 looking southbound towards the city of Winona

History

State Highway 43 was authorized in 1920 between Rushford and Winona.^[1] The remainder of the route between Rushford and Mabel was authorized in 1933.^[2]

Highway 43 was paved from Wilson to Winona by 1929. The only gravel section remaining by 1940 was south of Rushford. The route was completely paved by 1953.^[2]

A major project in the 1980s to rebuild Highway 43 from Interstate 90 to Winona as an expressway ran out of money. Only one carriageway was actually paved.^[2] There is still visible road bed and bridges east of the roadway in this section.^[3]

In response to the I-35W Bridge collapse in Minneapolis on August 1, 2007, all Minnesota bridges were ordered to be inspected. During an inspection, "gusset plate corrosion issues" were discovered in the Main Channel Bridge (Highway 43 / Highway 54), which crosses the Mississippi River between Winona, MN and nearby Fountain City, WI. The Main Channel Bridge (Bridge #5900) was closed to traffic on June 3, 2008. Mn/DOT made a statement this was due to gusset plate corrosion issues similar to those that caused the I-35W Bridge to collapse.^[4] The Main Channel Bridge reopened to car traffic on June 14, 2008. Commercial vehicles were still directed to find alternate routes across the river. The bridge was scheduled for replacement in 2017, which has been moved up to 2014.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Fillmore	Newburg Township	0.000	0.000	MN 44
		3.264	5.253	CR 24
	Norway Township	16.733	26.929	CR 10
	Rushford Village	21.677	34.886	MN 16	South end of MN 16 overlap
	Rushford	22.211	35.745	MN 16	North end of MN 16 overlap
		22.401	36.051	MN 30
Winona	Warren Township	32.381	52.112	I-90	West end of I-90 overlap
	Wilson Township	35.186	56.626	I-90	East end of I-90 overlap
	Wilson	35.419	57.001	CR 12
	Winona	41.835	67.327	CR 17 (Homer Road)
		42.100	67.753	US 61 / US 14
Mississippi River		45.334	72.958	WIS 54	Continuation into Wisconsin
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. Minnesota State Legislature (2010). "§ 161.114, Constitutional Trunk Highways". Minnesota Statutes. Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
2. Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 26-50". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Self-published. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
3. Google (October 20, 2010). "Minnesota State Highway 43" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
4. Minnesota Highway 43 / Wisconsin Highway 54 - Mississippi River Crossing at Winona - project status Mn/DOT. Accessed June 5, 2008.