Minnesota State Highway 62
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Minnesota State Highway 62 is an unusual road in the highway system of the U.S. state of Minnesota, as it actually has two distinct portions—the only such highway in the state. The numbering is for historical reasons: a portion was inherited from Hennepin County Highway 62 in 1988.
Contents |
[edit] Termini
 |
|||||||||||||||
| Trunk Highway 62 (West) | |||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
The original MN 62 runs from U.S. Highway 59 in Fulda, Minnesota to U.S. Highway 71 and Minnesota State Highway 60 in Windom. This is in the southwest portion of the state. It runs for 24 miles.
|
|||||||||||||||
| Trunk Highway 62 (Twin Cities) | |||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
The second MN 62 is in the Twin Cities region. Hennepin County Highway 62 still exists outside of the Interstate 494/694 loop, but the road transitions to MN 62 as the road crosses inside the beltway. It extends from I-494 in Eden Prairie in the west until it intersects with Minnesota State Highway 55 near the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Minneapolis. The road runs for 11 miles and is known in the area as "Crosstown".
[edit] Notes
The Twin Cities' MN 62 has one of the most notorious junctions in the region where it interweaves with Interstate 35W. This three-mile stretch is known as the Crosstown Commons, and the highway itself is known as the Crosstown Highway (but there is no signage to reflect these names). Plans to "unweave" and expand this section of roadway to improve traffic flow have come and gone for many years. Construction of the current design was expected to begin in July of 2006, however it has been delayed due to a failure to draw any bids from contractors, due to an ill-thought-out plan by governor Tim Pawlenty to start work with the contractor's own funds covering the beginning of work until federal highway funding could be allocated, in an attempt to avoid raising taxes to cover the cost of the project.
The original Hennepin County numbering corresponded with 62nd Street in Minneapolis (County highways 42 and 46 are also numbered to match the Minneapolis street they run along). However, some portions of Highway 62 do stray from the 62nd Street plane (near the eastern terminus, Highway 62 runs along the plane of 58th Street).
Mileposts on the two different portions of MN 62 do not overlap. Rather, the stretch of highway in the Twin Cities starts its numbering at more than 100 miles (remarkable for a road that only has about 35 total miles to it). The mileposts have a starting point of "Mile 100" where Hennepin County Highways 101 and 62 meet in Minnetonka, though the mileposts themselves (starting with Mile 104) do not appear until the state-maintained section inside the beltway.
MN 62 was the first state highway in the country to be constructed as a limited access freeway. It did, however, have a traffic light at its terminus at MN 55 until the interchange was reconstructed during construction of Minneapolis' light rail line in 2004.
[edit] References
- Adam Froehlig (November 23, 2003). Minnesota Highway 62 (I). MN Highway Endings. Accessed August 26, 2004.
- Adam Froehlig (March 18, 2003). Minnesota Highway 62 (II). MN Highway Endings. Accessed August 26, 2004.
- Steve Riner (December 27, 2003). Details of Routes 51-75. Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed August 26, 2004.
