U.S. Route 61 in Minnesota

U.S. Highway 61
U.S. 61 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	164.93 mi[1] (265.43 km)
Existed:	November 26, 1926[2] – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 61 / US 14 / WIS 16 at La Crescent
	I-90 at Dakota, near La Crescent US 14 at Winona US 63 at Lake City US 63 at Red Wing MN 55 at Hastings US 10 at Denmark Township I-494 at Newport I-94 / US 10 at Saint Paul I-694 at Maplewood US 8 at Forest Lake
North end:	I-35 at Wyoming
Location
Counties:	Houston, Winona, Wabasha, Goodhue, Dakota, Washington, Ramsey, Chisago
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← MN 60 MN 61 →

U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a highway in southeast and east-central Minnesota, which runs from the River Bridge over the Mississippi River at La Crescent and continues north to its northern terminus at its junction with Interstate 35 at the city of Wyoming.

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

Route description

U.S. Highway 61 enters the state of Minnesota at the city of La Crescent on the River Bridge over the Mississippi River between the cities of La Crosse and La Crescent. U.S. 61 is concurrent with U.S. 14 and State Highway 16 as it enters the state.

The four-lane divided highway continues north through La Crescent. U.S. 61 follows the Mississippi River through southeast Minnesota; through the cities of Winona, Wabasha, Lake City, and Red Wing. Highway 61 is a two-lane roadway between Wabasha and Red Wing.

U.S. 61 crosses the Mississippi River at Hastings over the Hastings High Bridge and joins U.S. 10 at Cottage Grove. U.S. 61 and U.S. 10 are concurrent as a freeway between Cottage Grove and the city of Saint Paul.

Within the city of Saint Paul, U.S. 61 follows Interstate 94 for a short distance, and then follows Mounds Boulevard, East 7th Street, and Arcade Street through the East Side of St. Paul.

U.S. 61 then proceeds north to Maplewood, where it becomes a four-lane highway named "Maplewood Drive" to White Bear Lake. Between Interstate 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, U.S. 61 is a two-lane roadway again to Forest Lake and then to its northern terminus at the city of Wyoming.

Highway 61 closely parallels Interstate 35E and Interstate 35 from Saint Paul to Wyoming.

120 miles (190 km) of U.S. 61 from La Crescent to Cottage Grove in southeast Minnesota is officially designated the Disabled American Veterans Highway.

Legally, the Minnesota section of U.S. 61 is defined as unmarked legislative routes 3, 104, 102 and 1 in the Minnesota Statutes. U.S. 61 is not marked with these legislative numbers along the actual highway.

History

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

In 1929, the only unpaved portions were from Hastings to Wabasha and from Winona to the 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 State Highway 316 near Miesville was completed in 1997. The freeway section of U.S. 61 between Cottage Grove and I-494 at Newport was completed in 2007.^[3]

Notes

The U.S. 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, is structurally deficient and shows considerable deterioration. It is also a notorious traffic bottleneck because it has only one lane each way and dumps southbound U.S. 61 traffic into downtown Hastings. Starting in October 2010 the Hastings bridge will be replaced, with the projected completion in 2013.^[4]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[5]	km	Destinations	Notes
Houston	La Crescent	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 over Mississippi River)
		1.712	2.755	MN 16 west / Great River Road south / CR 6 west – Hokah	North end of MN 16 overlap; south end of Great River Road overlap
Winona	Dresbach Township	4.074	6.556	I-90 east – La Crosse, Tomah, Madison	North end of I-90 Alt. overlap; south end of I-90 overlap; US 61 south follows exit 276
	Dresbach	6.636	10.680	Dresbach	No northbound entrance; I-90 exit 273B&A (northbound) and 273B (southbound)
		7.087	11.405	Dresbach	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-90 exit 273A
	Dakota	8.736	14.059	I-90 west – Albert Lea	North end of I-90 overlap; US 61 north follows exit 270
		8.925	14.363	CR 12 / CR 101 – Dakota	Interchange; I-90 exit 271 (northbound)
	Winona	25.688	41.341	MN 43 – Rushford, Wisconsin, Minnesota State College Southeast Technical
		29.522	47.511	US 14 west / Pelzer Street – Rochester, St. Marys University	North end of US 14 overlap
	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
	Greenfield Township	53.979	86.871	MN 42 south – Plainview
	Wabasha	60.172	96.837	MN 60 to Great River Road wisconsin – Zumbro Falls, Wabasha, Wisconsin, National Eagle Center
	Lake City	74.005	119.100	US 63 south (Lyon Avenue)	South end of US 63 overlap
Goodhue	Red Wing	88.957– 89.424	143.162– 143.914	MN 292	Both ends of MN 292 loop
		91.047	146.526	US 63 north / MN 58 south (Plum Street) – Minnesota State College Southeast Technical	North end of US 63 overlap
		96.561	155.400	MN 19 west – Cannon Falls
	Welch Township	104.480	168.144	MN 316 north / Great River Road north	North end of Great River Road overlap
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	South end of Great River Road overlap
		116.310	187.183	MN 291 east
		116.848	188.049	MN 55 west
		117.407	188.948	Great River Road (National Route) north / 2nd Street	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 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	North end of Great River Road overlap; south end of I-94 Alt. / US 10 overlap
	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; south 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	CSAH 22 (70th Street) / Summit Avenue	Interchange
	Newport	129.183– 129.700	207.900– 208.732	Glen Road	Interchange
		130.053– 130.450	209.300– 209.939	I-494 / Great River Road (National Route) south	Interchange; I-494 exits 63A&B; south end of Great River Road overlap
Ramsey	St. Paul	130.665	210.285	Maxwell Avenue / Bailey Road	Interchange; north end of freeway
		134.956	217.191	Great River Road (National Route) north (Warner Road / County 36)	north end of Great River Road overlap
		135.550	218.147	I-94 east (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
		136.685	219.973	I-94 west / US 10 west (US 12) / Kellogg Boulevard / Mounds Boulevard	North end of I-94 / US 10 / US 12 overlap; US 61 north follows exit 243
		137.424	221.162	MN 5 west (7th Street)	South end of MN 5 overlap
		138.014	222.112	MN 5 east (East 7th Street)	North end of MN 5 overlap
	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	144.467	232.497	CR 15 (County E)	Former MN 244 north
	White Bear Lake	146.726	236.133	CR 96 west	Former MN 96 west
		147.822	237.896	MN 96 east – Stillwater
Washington	Forest Lake	159.295	256.360	MN 97 west to I-35 – Lino Lakes, Twin Cities	South end of MN 97 overlap
		159.615	256.875	MN 97 east	North end of MN 97 overlap
		161.567– 161.705	260.017– 260.239	US 8 to I-35 south – Taylors Falls	Interchange
Chisago	Wyoming	164.858	265.313	CR 22 (Wyoming Trail)	Former MN 98 east; south end of CR 22 overlap
		165.111	265.720	CR 30 north (Forest Boulevard)	Former US 61 north
		165.487	266.326	I-35 / CR 22 west – St. Paul, 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       Concurrency terminus

See also

• Highway 61 Revisited (song) and album

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 5" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. November 6, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
2. 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. Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 51–75". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Self-published. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
4. "Hastings Bridge Project Home". Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
5. "Statewide Trunk Logpoint Listing" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 20, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.