Minnesota State Highway 171

Trunk Highway 171
Route information
Defined by MS § 161.115(102)
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	1.886 mi[1] (3.035 km)
Existed:	1950s – present
Major junctions
West end:	ND 59 at the Red River, the Minnesota – North Dakota state line
East end:	US 75 at St. Vincent Township
Location
Counties:	Kittson
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← MN 169 MN 172 →

Minnesota State Highway 171 (MN 171) is a short highway in the northwest corner of Minnesota, which runs from North Dakota Highway 59 at the North Dakota state line and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Highway 75 near St. Vincent.

The route is 2 miles (3.2 km) in length and passes through St. Vincent.

Route description

State Highway 171 serves as a short east–west route between U.S. 75, St. Vincent, the Red River, and Pembina, ND.

The route is located in the Red River Valley region.

The route is legally defined as Route 171 in the Minnesota Statutes.^[2]

History

Highway 171 was authorized on April 22, 1933^[3] and was originally part of State Highway 73.^[4]

By 1935, this route was renumbered as part of U.S. Highway 59. Adjoining North Dakota Highway 59 in Pembina was numbered to match then-Highway 59 in Minnesota.^[4]

In the 1950s, this route was renumbered 171 when a realigned U.S. 59 was constructed from Lancaster north to Canada.

This route was paved (as U.S. 59) by 1940.^[4]

Since 2003, Canada-bound traffic on nearby U.S. 75 has been directed to follow State Highway 171 west into North Dakota, where it becomes North Dakota Highway 59, which intersects I-29 to Canada. In 2006, the closure became official of the nearby Noyes border crossing on U.S. 75. Minnesota and North Dakota have not yet petitioned AASHTO officials to change the definition of U.S. 75 to follow the routing of 171 and ND 59. As of 2009, nearby U.S. 75 in Minnesota was still signed to what is now a dead-end at the old Noyes border crossing.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Kittson County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Red River of the North	0.000	0.000	ND 59
St. Vincent	0.424	0.682	CR 35 (8th Street)
	1.047	1.685	CR 29 (Pacific Avenue)
St. Vincent Township	1.886	3.035	US 75
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 2" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 23, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
2. "161.115, Additional Trunk Highways". Minnesota Statutes. Office of the Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota. 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
3. "Chapter 440-H.F. No. 2000", Session Laws of Minnesota for 1933 (Mike Holm, Secretary of State), pp. 881–897
4. Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 152–218". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Self-published. Retrieved November 21, 2010.