Minnesota State Highway 280

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Trunk Highway 280

Length:

4 mi (6 km)
Established: 1949
Decommissioned: --
Direction: South-North
From: in St. Paul
To: in Roseville
Cities on route: Roseville
Lauderdale
St. Paul

Minnesota State Highway 280 is a north-south highway along the western edge of Ramsey County, Minnesota that is 4 miles (6.4 km) in length. The highway serves as a short connecting route between Interstate 94 in St. Paul, Minnesota and Interstate 35W in nearby Roseville, and is important because the junction between those two highways near downtown Minneapolis is not a complete interchange. Exits are numbered from south to north.

Highway 280 is built to full freeway standards from I-94 north to East Hennepin Avenue/West Larpenteur Avenue, although the entrance/exit ramps at Hennepin Avenue and Como Avenue are rather tight. Farther north, there are two signalized intersections at County Road B and Broadway Street Northeast. The MN-280/I-35W interchange is incomplete, so traffic from MN-280 north can't reach I-35W south without using surface streets, and the same is true for northbound I-35W traffic attempting to reach southbound MN-280.

Originally, Highway 280 was proposed to turn westward south of the I-94 junction and continue into Minneapolis, as a freeway running roughly along 28th Street. This would have continued westward to about France Avenue South. This freeway was never built, and the ghost ramps at the I-94/MN-280 junction were removed in the early 1980s.

The highway passes through the small city of Lauderdale on its way between St. Paul and Roseville. MN-280 is largely built against a slope, so it provides a good view of Minneapolis to the west (particularly for southbound vehicles).

The junction between Interstate 35E and I-94 in downtown St. Paul is also an incomplete interchange. Ayd Mill Road has a similar function to Highway 280, though it is not built to freeway standards and lacks a direct connection to I-94.

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