U.S. Route 169 in Minnesota

U.S. Highway 169
U.S. 169 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	359.523 mi[1] (578.596 km)
Existed:	1931[2] – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 169 in Elmore, MN at the Minnesota–Iowa state line
	I-90 in Blue Earth US 14 / MN 60 in Mankato I-494 / MN 5 in Bloomington I-394 / US 12 in St. Louis Park I-94 / I-694 / US 52 in Brooklyn Park US 10 / MN 47 in Anoka US 10 / MN 101 in Elk River US 2 in Grand Rapids MN 65 near Pengilly
North end:	US 53 / MN 169 near Virginia
Location
Counties:	Faribault, Blue Earth, Nicollet, Sibley, Le Sueur, Scott, Hennepin, Anoka, Sherburne, Mille Lacs, Crow Wing, Aitkin, Itasca, St. Louis
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← MN 156 MN 169 →

U.S. Highway 169 (U.S. 169) is a major north–south highway in the U.S. state of Minnesota, connecting the Minnesota River valley with the Twin Cities and the Iron Range. Much of the route is built to expressway or freeway standards.

Route description

First reassurance marker in Minnesota north of the Iowa state line

U.S. 169 enters Minnesota near Elmore as a two-lane, undivided highway, continuing as such through Blue Earth, where it crosses Interstate Highway 90. Roughly 5 miles southwest of Mankato, U.S. 169 and State Highway 60 merge to a single expressway through Mankato. In North Mankato, Highway 60 moves from a concurrency with U.S. 169 to another one with U.S. 14.

US 169 northbound concurrent with MN 22 and MN 99 in Saint Peter

In Mankato and North Mankato, U.S. 169 functions as an arterial highway, passing directly through the cities' downtown area. From Mankato north to Shakopee, the route remains an expressway, except for the section passing through Saint Peter, where U.S. 169 is the main street through town.

55 miles (89 km) of U.S. 169 from Saint Peter to I-494 in Bloomington is officially designated the John A. Johnson Memorial Highway. This includes the Bloomington Ferry Bridge between Shakopee and Bloomington. This designation is marked as "Johnson Memorial Drive" on some maps, but not marked as such on directional signs, nor commonly known by this name.

In the Twin Cities area, the route is constructed to freeway standards between County Road 69 in Shakopee and State Highway 610. The freeway between Interstate 494 and Interstate 694 was originally built by Hennepin County as County Road 18. In 1988, County Road 18 was transferred to the state of Minnesota and became the new alignment for Highway 169 in the Minneapolis area. In exchange, Hennepin County took over maintenance of two other highways that were formerly state routes.

Also in the Minneapolis area, U.S. 169 is often very congested. However, since the freeway passes very close to residential neighborhoods in many locations, any expansion of the freeway would disrupt housing stock in the surrounding area. North of MN 610, 169 remains an expressway until Anoka where

it becomes a street. It then joins U.S. 10 west to Elk River.

North of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, U.S. 169 continues as an expressway to Mille Lacs Lake, an important resort area. The highway skirts the western shore of the lake. 74 miles (119 km) of U.S. 169 from Elk River to Garrison is officially designated the POW / MIA Memorial Highway. From Mille Lacs Lake, U.S. 169 continues northward to its junction with U.S. 2 at Grand Rapids. Here, 169 turns northeasterly to reach the cities of the Mesabi Iron Range.

At Pengilly, U.S. 169 becomes an expressway and remains such for the rest of its run. It passes through the cities of Hibbing, Chisholm, and Mountain Iron before reaching U.S. 53 at the city of Virginia. This four-lane stretch of 169 is also known as the Highway 169 Cross Range Expressway. The northern terminus of U.S. 169 is at the city of Virginia.

State Highway 169 begins immediately north of Virginia in Wuori Township; and continues northeast for 49 miles (79 km) to the cities of Tower, Ely, and Winton. State Highway 169 is numbered as an extension of U.S. 169.

U.S. 169 is one of three Minnesota U.S. marked highways to carry the same number as an existing state marked highway within the state. The others being Highways 61 and 65.

Legally, the Minnesota section of U.S. 169 is defined as all or part of Routes 5, 7, 383, 3, 18, and 35 in the Minnesota Statutes §§ 161.114(2) and 161.117(4)., The route is not marked with those numbers.

History

Exit numbers started appearing in Shakopee in 2016

U.S. 169 was extended into Minnesota circa 1931.^[2] The route in Minnesota was paved by 1940.^[2]

U.S. 169, between the junction with State Highway 60 (south of Mankato) and the Twin Cities, was upgraded to at least expressway status over several stages. The freeway section around Mankato and the adjoining expressway sections were completed in the early 1960s, along with bypasses of Le Sueur, Jordan and Belle Plaine.^[2]

The U.S. 169 freeway bypass around Shakopee was built in the mid-1990s along a new alignment, which included the newly constructed Bloomington Ferry Bridge. Prior to this realignment, U.S. 169 crossed the Minnesota River from downtown Shakopee where it had been co-signed with State Highway 101. North of the river crossing, U.S. 169 had previously been co-signed with what was then U.S. 212 (Flying Cloud Drive) through Eden Prairie until 1996.

A new U.S. 169 interchange with State Highway 19, near Henderson, was completed in 2002.^[2]

An expressway section of Highway 169 through southern Hennepin County was converted to full freeway in 2006, with new interchanges constructed at Pioneer Trail and Anderson Lakes Parkway. At-grade intersections with traffic signals have been removed at the recently constructed Interstate 494 interchange, which was previously a point of frequent congestion.

North of the Twin Cities, Highway 169 has been upgraded to an expressway between Elk River and the southern end of Mille Lacs Lake, with bypasses of Princeton and Milaca built in the late 1980s.

U.S. 169 between Hill City and Grand Rapids has been built to super-2 standards.

The expressway section between Pengilly and the city of Virginia was built in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In 2008, construction began on a new Highway 169 interchange with County Road 81 and 85th Avenue North in Brooklyn Park. This interchange is also known as The Devil's Triangle, or simply as "The Triangle", because of the major traffic congestion during rush hour, especially in the afternoon. Construction was completed on August 11, 2011.

During the flooding of September 2010, flood waters destroyed a 150-foot section of the northbound lanes of Highway 169 between St. Peter and Le Sueur. Mn/DOT believes, "when the flood waters rose up it found a weak spot in the slope or the dirt bank and got under the grass and started mining under the pavement. Finally, it just sucked all the dirt out and the pavement just dropped into a hole." Traffic was detoured to the southbound lanes of 169 for a month, resulting in a temporary two lane expressway, until the northbound section was repaired.

In November 2010, construction began on a completely redesigned Highway 169 interchange at Interstate 494, where three traffic signals had existed. The new interchange features six roundabouts, new flyover bridges, and two new bridges over I-494 that will carry West 78th Street and Washington Avenue. Major construction began in March 2011. Construction continued in spring 2012 with the completion of reconstructing surrounding roads and remaining ramps. Mn/DOT completed the entire project in November 2012. The 2010 cost of the construction project was $140 million.^{[3] [4]}

In 2016, exit numbers have started appearing on the Shakopee portion of the freeway section in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area.

Future

A study to convert U.S. 169 to a freeway between U.S. 10 in Elk River to 277th Avenue north of Zimmerman was completed in late 2009. A complete review of the project by Mn/DOT will occur in 2011. A complete construction schedule and timeline will then by released by Mn/DOT. Allocation of funds for the project is currently underway and the only thing holding back from starting the project. The project is expected to cost around $178 Million. In the meantime, the 14 miles between U.S. 10 in Elk River to 277th Avenue north of Zimmerman will be resurfaced during the 2012 construction season. The construction will begin in May 2012.^[5]

Major intersections

All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi[6]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Faribault	Elmore	0.000	0.000		US 169 south – Algona, Fort Dodge	Continuation into Iowa
	Blue Earth	11.308– 11.365	18.198– 18.290		I-90 – Fairmont, Albert Lea	I-90 exit 119
	Winnebago	19.595	31.535		MN 109 east
Blue Earth	Amboy	28.506	45.876		MN 30 east	Southern end of MN 30 overlap
		28.852	46.433		MN 30 west	Northern end of MN 30 overlap
	South Bend Township	47.746	76.840		MN 60 west – Lake Crystal, Sioux City	Southern end of MN 60 overlap
		49.426– 49.484	79.543– 79.637		CSAH 90
		50.658	81.526		MN 68 north – New Ulm
	Mankato	52.057	83.778		Frontage Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
		52.941	85.200		MN 66 (Riverfront Drive)
Nicollet	North Mankato	52.919	85.165		Lookout Drive, Center Street
		53.568	86.209		North Mankato, Mankato
Blue Earth–Nicollet county line	Mankato–North Mankato city line	55.659	89.574		US 14 / MN 60 east – New Ulm, Waseca	Northern end of MN 60 overlap
Nicollet	St. Peter	64.839	104.348		MN 99 west – Nicollet	Southern end of MN 99 overlap
		64.985	104.583		MN 22 south	Southern end of MN 99 overlap
		65.954	106.143		MN 99 east (Broadway Avenue) – Le Center	Northern end of MN 99 overlap
		67.705	108.961		MN 22 north – Gaylord	Northern end of MN 22 overlap
Sibley	Henderson Township	76.194	122.622		MN 93 south / CSAH 8 – Le Sueur	Southern end of MN 93 overlap
		77.166	124.187		MN 93 north – Henderson	Northern end of MN 93 overlap
Le Sueur	Le Sueur	78.383	126.145		MN 112 south – Le Sueur
Le Sueur–Scott county line	Tyrone–Blakeley township line	83.821	134.897		MN 19 – New Prague, Gaylord
Scott	Belle Plaine	91.855	147.826		MN 25 north / CR 64
	Jordan	98.201	158.039		MN 282 east to MN 21 north / CSAH 9
		99.100	159.486		MN 21 south – Jordan, New Prague	MN 21 only signed southbound
		105.963	170.531		MN 41 north / CSAH 78 south – Chaska
	Shakopee	107.252	172.605	107	CSAH 69 (Old Brick Yard Road)
		108.203	174.136	108	CSAH 15 (Marystown Road)
		109.948	176.944	110	CSAH 17 (Marschall Road)
		111.691	179.749	112	CSAH 83 (Canterbury Road)
		113.689– 113.749	182.965– 183.061	113	To MN 13 / CSAH 21 – Burnsville, Savage	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
		114.236– 114.307	183.845– 183.959	114	CSAH 21	No northbound exit
		114.636– 115.379	184.489– 185.685	115	CSAH 101 to MN 13 – Shakopee, Burnsville, Savage	Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Minnesota River		115.698– 116.128	186.198– 186.890	Bloomington Ferry Bridge; Scott–Hennepin county line
Hennepin	Bloomington	116.369	187.278		CSAH 1 east (Old Shakopee Road) / Riverview Road	Southern end of CSAH 1 overlap
		117.121	188.488		CSAH 1 west (Pioneer Trail)	Northern end of CSAH 1 overlap
		118.436	190.604		Bloomington Ferry Road, Anderson Lakes Parkway
		119.969	193.071		Washington Avenue, Marth Road
		120.023	193.158		I-494 / MN 5	I-494 exits 10A-B
	Edina	120.971	194.684		Valley View Road
	Edina–Eden Prairie city line	122.189– 122.198	196.644– 196.659		US 212 west / MN 62
		122.784	197.602		Londonderry Road, Bren Road
	Hopkins–Edina city line	123.789	199.219		7th Street South
	Hopkins	124.384	200.177		CSAH 3 – Downtown Hopkins
		125.289	201.633		MN 7 – Minneapolis, Excelsior
	St. Louis Park	125.653	202.219		36th Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
	Minnetonka–St. Louis Park city line	126.128	202.983		CSAH 5 (Minnetonka Boulevard)
		126.706	203.914		Cedar Lake Road
		127.899	205.833		Frontage Road	Northbound exit and entrance
		127.611	205.370		16th Street
	St. Louis Park–Golden Valley city line	128.022	206.031		I-394 – Minneapolis	I-394 exit 3
	Plymouth–Golden Valley city line	128.417	206.667		Betty Crocker Drive, Shelard Parkway
		128.690	207.106		MN 55 – Minneapolis, Buffalo
		129.369	208.199		13th Avenue, Plymouth Avenue
	Plymouth–Golden Valley–New Hope city line	130.371	209.812		CSAH 70 (Medicine Lake Road)
	Plymouth–New Hope city line	131.376	211.429		36th Avenue North
		132.158	212.688		CSAH 9 (Rockford Road)
		132.891	213.867		49th Avenue North
	Maple Grove–Brooklyn Park city line	133.861	215.428		CSAH 10 (Bass Lake Road)
		134.654	216.705		63rd Avenue North
		135.601	218.229		I-94 / I-694	I-94/694 exits 29A-B
		136.398	219.511		CSAH 130 (77th Avenue North, Brooklyn Boulevard)
	Brooklyn Park	139.572	224.619		CSAH 81 (Bottineau Boulevard) / CSAH 109 (85th Avenue North)
		138.519	222.925		CSAH 30 (93rd Avenue North)
		139.028	223.744		MN 610
Mississippi River		143.339– 143.535	230.682– 230.997	Anoka-Champlin Mississippi River Bridge
Anoka	Anoka	144.400	232.389		US 10 east / MN 47 – Coon Rapids	Southern end of US 10 overlap
		144.923	233.231		Main Street, Greenhaven Road
Sherburne	Elk River	155.703	250.580		US 10 west / MN 101 south	Northern end of US 10 overlap
		159.349	256.447		CSAH 33
	Baldwin Township	170.726	274.757		CSAH 9
	Princeton	174.343	280.578		CSAH 29 (Rum River Drive)
Mille Lacs		176.205	283.574		MN 95 – St. Cloud, Princeton
		177.423	285.535		CSAH 29 (Rum River Drive)
	Milaca	189.035	304.222		MN 23 – Milaca
	Onamia	211.156	339.823		MN 27 west	Southern end of MN 27 overlap
	Cove	213.745	343.989		MN 27 east – Wahkon, Isle	Northern end of MN 27 overlap
Aitkin	No major junctions
Crow Wing	Garrison	231.395	372.394		MN 18 west – Deerwood, Brainerd	Southern end of MN 18 overlap
Aitkin	Hazelton Township	236.536	380.668		MN 18 east – Malmo	Northern end of MN 18 overlap
	Aitkin	249.648	401.770		MN 47 south
		250.159	402.592		MN 210 west	Southern end of MN 210 overlap
	Hassman	258.066	415.317		MN 210 east	Northern end of MN 210 overlap
	Hill City	284.599	458.018		MN 200
Itasca	Grand Rapids	302.803	487.314		US 2 west – Bemidji	Southern end of US 2 overlap
		303.234	488.008		US 2 east – Duluth	Northern end of US 2 overlap
	Pengilly	321.160	516.857		MN 65 south	Southern end of MN 65 overlap
	Nashwauk	323.814	521.128		MN 65 north	Northern end of MN 65 overlap
St. Louis	Hibbing	334.057	537.613		MN 73 south – Floodwood
		335.055	539.219		1st Avenue (US 169 Bus.)
		335.763	540.358		MN 37 east
		337.698	543.472		Howard Street (US 169 Bus.)
	Chisholm	342.391	551.025		MN 73 north	Northern end of MN 73 overlap
	Mountain Iron	356.922	574.410		CR 102
	Virginia	359.462	578.498		US 53 / MN 169 begins – International Falls, Duluth	National end of US 169
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Unopened

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 1" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 14, 2014.
2. Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 152–218". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Self-published. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
3. http://www.ci.bloomington.mn.us/cityhall/dept/pubworks/engineer/streets/curr_proj/th169/th169.htm
4. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/169/
5. http://projects.dot.state.mn.us/srf/169elkriver/index.html
6. Minnesota Department of Transportation. "Statewide Trunk Logpoint Listing" (PDF). St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Transportation. pp. 93,203–226. Retrieved October 22, 2015.