Minnesota State Highway 5
Minnesota State Highway 5 (MN 5) is a 76.347-mile-long (122.869 km) highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with MN 19 and MN 22 in Gaylord and continues east and northeast to its eastern terminus at its intersection with MN 120 in Maplewood. The route passes through downtown Saint Paul.
Trunk Highway 5 | |
|---|---|
| Fort Road | |
MN 5 highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by MnDOT | |
| Length | 76.347 mi[1] (122.869 km) |
| Existed | 1934–present |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | MN 19 / MN 22 at Gaylord |
| |
| East end | MN 120 / CSAH 6 at Maplewood/Oakdale |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Minnesota |
| Counties | Sibley, Carver, Hennepin, Ramsey, Washington |
| Highway system | |
| |
Route description edit
State Highway 5 serves as a northeast–southwest route between Gaylord, Norwood Young America, Chanhassen, Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Richfield, downtown Saint Paul, and Maplewood. The State Highway runs though 5 counties. The highway is officially marked as an east–west route by its highway shields from beginning to end.
Part of Highway 5 is designed as a freeway near the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. Just to the west of that segment, Highway 5 runs concurrent with I-494 for 11 miles (18 km) between its junction with I-494 near the Airport and the Minnesota River to its junction with I-494 and U.S. 212 in Eden Prairie.
Highway 5 is considered a significant transit corridor, known as the Riverview Corridor, to downtown Saint Paul from the airport and points farther south and west. There has been discussion of creating a bus rapid transit or light rail line along the highway, much like the METRO Blue Line currently runs rails into downtown Minneapolis along State Highway 55.
Highway 5 is also known as Fort Road and West 7th Street in the city of St. Paul.
45 miles (72 km) of Highway 5 is officially designated the Augie Mueller Memorial Highway. This designation is signed from its intersection with State Highway 101 in Chanhassen southwesterly to its intersection with State Highway 19 in Gaylord.
Legally, State Highway 5 is defined as legislative routes 45, 52, 102, 109, 111, and 121 in the Minnesota Statutes. The route is not marked with those numbers.
History edit
State Highway 5 was authorized in 1934. The route was completely paved by 1953.
When Highway 5 was slated for expansion in 1956, the construction threatened to demolish the remains of historic Fort Snelling, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. As a result of public outcry, the highway was built in a short tunnel underneath the Fort Snelling site, sparing the fort from destruction. This effort led to archaeological research into the remains of Fort Snelling and its eventual rebuilding as a state park.[2]
From 1934 to 1982, the eastern section of the highway between Saint Paul and Stillwater was originally marked as Minnesota 212, as it once reached old U.S. 212 in Saint Paul, but that segment was re-numbered as an extension of Highway 5 c. 1983.[3] This segment is still marked with the mileposts from 212,[1] which were a continuation of those from U.S. 212.
In the concurrency with I-494, the MN 5 shield is placed at most, but not all, interchanges. In 2007, new gore signs placed on France Avenue in Bloomington at its interchange with I-494 do not mention the Highway 5 concurrency, whereas the older signs they replaced did. The more recent interchange with Lyndale Ave (2009) displays the names of both highways.
In June 2015, it was announced that Highway 5 will be shortened by 8.3 miles by the state of Minnesota, giving the portion from Minnesota 120 to its eastern conterminous at Minnesota 36 to Washington County. The road is known as 34th St. between Jamaca Ave and Highway 120 and Stillwater Blvd. between Jamaca Ave. and Highway 36. The road is an extension of Washington County Roads 14 and 15. This road is designated from the county line to Manning Ave. as County Road 14 and from Manning Ave. to Highway 36 as County Road 15. This piece of the highway that will be returned to the county was originally marked as Minnesota 212. This portion of highway is now marked with county highway signs as well as Old Highway 5 signs.[4]
In May 2023, a 7-mile (11 km) section of Highway 5 in the vicinity of Chanhassen was designated the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway in honor of musician Prince, whose Paisley Park Studios are located along the route.[5]
Major intersections edit
All exits are unnumbered except for the I-494 overlap.
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sibley | Gaylord | 0.000 | 0.000 | MN 19 west / MN 22 north – Winthrop, Glencoe | Western terminus; west end of MN 19 / MN 22 concurrencies | ||
| 0.141 | 0.227 | MN 22 south – St. Peter | East end of MN 22 concurrency | ||||
| 1.350 | 2.173 | MN 19 east – Henderson | East end of MN 19 concurrency | ||||
| Green Isle | 14.400 | 23.175 | MN 25 south (McGrann Street) – Belle Plaine | South end of MN 25 concurrency | |||
| Carver | Young America Township | 21.055 | 33.885 | US 212 west / CR 131 – Glencoe | West end of US 212 concurrency | ||
| Norwood Young America | 23.610 | 37.997 | US 212 east / CSAH 33 – Chaska | East end of US 212 concurrency | |||
| Young America Township | 26.242 | 42.232 | MN 25 north – Watertown | North end of MN 25 concurrency | |||
| Waconia | 32.167 | 51.768 | MN 284 south (Olive Street) – Cologne | ||||
| Chanhassen | 42.422 | 68.272 | MN 41 (Hazeltine Boulevard) – Excelsior, Chaska | ||||
| 45.486 | 73.203 | CSAH 101 (Market Boulevard) | Former MN 101 south | ||||
| 46.132 | 74.242 | MN 101 north / Dakota Avenue | |||||
| Hennepin | Eden Prairie | 48.954 | 78.784 | US 212 west | West end of US 212 concurrency; west end of freeway section | ||
| CSAH 60 (Mitchell Road) | |||||||
| Prairie Center Drive | |||||||
| 50.779 | 81.721 | I-494 north / US 212 east | East end of US 212 concurrency; west end of I-494 concurrency; I-494 exits 11B-C | ||||
| See I-494 | |||||||
| Unorganized Territory of Fort Snelling | 61.184– 61.930 | 98.466– 99.667 | I-494 east / 34th Avenue – Terminal 2 | East end of I-494 concurrency; 34th Avenue and Terminal 2 not signed eastbound; I-494 exit 1A | |||
| Post Road | |||||||
| Terminal 1 | |||||||
| 64.053 | 103.083 | MN 55 / MN 62 – Hastings, Minneapolis, Fort Snelling Historic Site | Exits to MN 55 north include direct exit ramps to Bloomington Road | ||||
| Mississippi River | 64.243– 64.469 | 103.389– 103.753 | Fort Road Bridge | ||||
| Ramsey | St. Paul | 64.530 | 103.851 | Edgcumbe Road / Shepard Road / Mississippi River Boulevard | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | ||
| Norfolk Avenue | Eastbound exit only; east end of freeway | ||||||
| 66.353 | 106.785 | MN 51 north (Montreal Avenue) | |||||
| 66.686 | 107.321 | I-35E | I-35E exit 103B | ||||
| 70.886 | 114.080 | I-94 / US 12 / US 52 west | I-94 east exit 241B | ||||
| 70.905 | 114.111 | US 52 south (Lafayette Freeway) | Interchange | ||||
| 71.349 | 114.825 | US 61 south | West end of US 61 concurrency | ||||
| 71.939 | 115.775 | US 61 north (Arcade Street) | East end of US 61 concurrency | ||||
| Maplewood | 76.347 | 122.869 | MN 120 (Century Avenue) / CSAH 6 east (Stillwater Boulevard) | Eastern terminus; road continues into Washington County as CSAH 6 (Stillwater Blvd.) | |||
| Washington | Oakdale | 77.834 | 125.262 | MN 120 | Former east end of MN 120 concurrency | ||
| 79.070 | 127.251 | I-694 | |||||
| Oak Park Heights | 86.042 | 138.471 | MN 36 / CSAH 5 | Former eastern terminus | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||||
References edit
- ^ a b c Staff (February 2, 2012). (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
- ^ "Old Fort Snelling". From Site to Story. Institute for Minnesota Archaeology. June 29, 1999. Retrieved March 26, 2006.
- ^ Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 1–25". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Retrieved September 19, 2010.[self-published source]
- ^ "MnDOT handing over stretch of Minnesota 5 to Washington County". TwinCities.com.
- ^ Ki, Nicole (May 9, 2023). "'A gift to Minnesotans:' Prince's home state names part of highway after him". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
External links edit
- Minnesota Highway 5 at MN Highway Endings