Minnesota State Highway 15

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Trunk Highway 15

Length:

154.322 mi^[1] (248.357 km)

Formed:

1920^[2]

South end:

IA-15 at the Iowa border

North end:

US-10 at Sauk Rapids / Sartell

Major cities:

Fairmont, Madelia, New Ulm, Hutchinson, St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids

Minnesota State Highways
< US 14		TH 16 >

Minnesota State Highway 15 is a highway in central and south-central Minnesota, which runs from the the Iowa border (Iowa Highway 15), to its interchange with U.S. Highway 10 in Sartell / Sauk Rapids (immediately north of St. Cloud).

Minnesota Highway 15 is 154 miles in length and passes through the communities of:

1 Notes
- 1.1 St. Cloud area
2 History
3 Major Intersections
4 References

[edit] Notes

Minnesota Highway 15 serves as a north-south arterial route between Fairmont, Madelia, New Ulm, Hutchinson, and St. Cloud in south-central and central Minnesota.

Minnesota Highway 15 passes through the counties of:

Minnesota Highway 15 parallels Minnesota Highway 4 throughout its route in south-central and central Minnesota.

Flandrau State Park is located on Highway 15 in Brown County on the Cottonwood River. The park is located immediately south of New Ulm.
(Minnesota DNR website for Flandrau State Park - Link)

[edit] St. Cloud area

Highway 15 is a four-lane highway on the west side of St. Cloud from Interstate Highway 94 to U.S. Highway 10. Highway 15 crosses the Bridge of Hope at the Mississippi River between Sartell and Sauk Rapids.

In the 1970s, Highway 15 through the St. Cloud area was planned to be constructed as a freeway, providing a high-speed connection between I-94 and US 10. However, funding fell short of completing the freeway beyond Highway 23 / County Road 75 (2nd Street South). As a result, it was eventually decided that right-of-way needed to build interchanges would be sold off so the remaining segment of Highway 15 across the Mississippi River, connecting to US 10, could be built. Therefore, from 2nd Street South to US 10, the highway is currently built as an expressway with signalized intersections.^[3] As of now, Highway 15 is able to serve traffic, with stretches posted at a 60 MPH speed limit. However continuing increases in traffic in the St. Cloud area will require the highway to be eventually converted to a freeway in the long term (post 2030).

[edit] History

Highway 15 was authorized in 1920, 1933, and 1950.

The section of Highway 15 between New Ulm and the Iowa border was originally Constitutional Route 15, dating back to 1920.

The section of Highway 15 between St. Cloud and Kimball was originally part of Constitutional Route 24.

The middle section of Highway 15 was authorized in 1933, the northernmost section in 1950. This northerly section was originally part of Minnesota Highway 152 and was routed through downtown St. Cloud. Now, it bypasses central St. Cloud to the west side of town.

By 1940, only two short gravel sections of Highway 15 remained, both paved by 1953.

[edit] Major Intersections

County	Location	Mile	Roads intersected	Notes
Martin	Fairmont	12.351-12.367	I-90	Interchange
Watonwan	S of Lewisville	27.276	TH 30 east	South end of TH 30 overlap
	N of Lewisville	33.380-33.442	TH 30 west / TH 60 west	Interchange; north end of TH 30 overlap; south end of TH 60 overlap
	Madelia	37.513-37.559	Watonwan CSAH 9	Interchange
		38.776	Watonwan CSAH 3	Interchange
		39.174-39.228	TH 60 east	Interchange; north end of TH 60 overlap
Brown	N of Madelia	45.354	TH 257	East end of TH 257
	S of New Ulm	54.635	TH 68 east	South end of TH 68 overlap
	New Ulm	58.862	US 14 west / TH 68 west	North end of TH 68 overlap; south end of US 14 overlap
	New Ulm	US 14 mile 103.111-103.235	Front Street	Interchange; about 1/2 mile east of intersection with US 14 west / TH 68 west
Nicollet	NE of New Ulm	60.252	US 14 east	North end of US 14 overlap
Sibley	Winthrop	76.546	TH 19
McLeod	W of Brownton	89.155	US 212
McLeod	Hutchinson	101.286	TH 7 / TH 22
Meeker	Dassel	115.079	US 12
Meeker	N of Kingston	126.028	TH 24 south	South end of TH 24 overlap
Stearns	Kimball	131.529	TH 55 / TH 24 north	North end of TH 24 overlap
	St. Cloud	145.059-145.079	I-94	Interchange
		149.066-149.074	TH 23 west / CSAH 75 east (2nd Street South)	South end of TH 23 overlap; at this intersection, TH 23 is to the west, and CSAH 75 is to the east. TH 23 overlaps TH 15 from this intersection northward for two blocks
		149.310-149.318	TH 23 east / CSAH 75 west (Division Street)	North end of TH 23 overlap; at this intersection, CSAH 75 is to the west, and TH 23 continues to the east after a two block overlap of TH 15
Benton	Sauk Rapids	152.929	CSAH 33 (Benton Drive)	Interchange at north end of Bridge of Hope
Benton	Sauk Rapids, Sartell	154.322	US 10	North end of TH 15; partial interchange: TH 15 north enters US 10 west, TH 15 south exits US 10 east