U.S. Route 52 in Minnesota

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U.S. Highway 52
Length: 377 mi (607 km)
243 miles along I-94
Formed: 1934
South end: U.S. 52 at Prosper, Minnesota
Major
junctions:
I-90 near Rochester
U.S. 63/U.S. 14 at Rochester
I-94/I-35E/U.S. 10 in St. Paul
I-35W in Minneapolis
I-394/U.S. 12 in Minneapolis
U.S. 169 in Brooklyn Park
U.S. 75 in Moorhead
North end: I-94/U.S. 52 at Fargo, ND
Minnesota State Highways
< TH 51 US 53 >
United States Numbered Highways
List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Route 52 enters the state of Minnesota at Prosper, Minnesota, north of the town of Burr Oak, Iowa. The road is marked north-south in Minnesota along its independent segment. Highway 52 is not signed along Interstate Highway 94 from downtown St. Paul to the North Dakota border in Moorhead.

Contents

[edit] Route Description

U.S. Highway 52 enters Fillmore County and heads through the same Driftless Area it ran through in Iowa. The road heads through Preston and proceeds north to Chatfield. Highway 52 leaves the river bluffs near Chatfield and enters terrain typical of southern Minnesota. This area is mostly farmland for the rest of the length until the road enters Rochester. Interstate 90 intersects Highway 52 south of Rochester, and is a major junction. Highway 52 expands to a 4-lane freeway north of the junction. The road expands further to 6-lanes around Rochester, from the junction with U.S. Route 63 to north of the city. U.S. Route 14 is a major route, and connects Owatonna to Rochester. North of Rochester, Highway 52 becomes a 4-lane expressway through the farmland of Olmsted and Goodhue Counties. Zumbrota is bypassed by the highway and the road heads to Dakota County. In Cannon Falls, Highway 52 has two traffic lights in the southern part of town. North of Coates, the road enters the edge of the Twin Cities area. The road enters Inver Grove Heights where it becomes the Lafayette Freeway north of Concord Blvd. Highway 52 splits with Minnesota State Highway 55 north of there. Highway 55 heads to Minneapolis, while Highway 52 heads to St. Paul. I-494 intersects 52 in the northern part of Inver Grove Heights. The St. Paul Downtown Airport is right off of Highway 52 in Saint Paul. After Highway 52 crosses the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, the road intersects Interstate Highway 94 and follows that road all the way to the North Dakota border. U.S. Highway 52 is not signed along the length of its concurrency with I-94 between downtown St. Paul and the North Dakota border.

[edit] History

U.S. Highway 52 was extended into the state of Minnesota in 1934. The road replaced the former routing of U.S. Route 55 from the Iowa border to the Twin Cities, and the former route of U.S. Highway 10S from Minneapolis west to North Dakota. Interstate 94 replaced most of the routing of Highway 52 west of St. Cloud, and the routing from St. Cloud to Minneapolis was replaced by U.S. Highway 10, U.S. Highway 169, and Hennepin County 81.. Highway 52 was routed along University Avenue through Minneapolis and St. Paul until about 1995. The highway was routed along Robert Street through St. Paul and into Inver Grove Heights until 1995, when Highway 52 was moved onto the Lafayette Freeway. U.S. Highway 52 was built as an expressway from Rochester to St. Paul in the 1960s. The road was expanded to a 6-lane freeway through Rochester in 2005.

[edit] Miscellanea

Highway 52's freeway portion in the Rochester area is the only non-Interstate Highway in Minnesota to carry numbered exits.

[edit] Junction/Exit list

County Location Type Mile Destinations Notes
Olmsted Marion Offramp, intersection on US 52 46 I-90 east La Crosse Left turn southbound
Offramp, intersection on US 52 46 I-90 west Albert Lea Left turn southbound
Exit 47 Image:Olmsted County Route 36.svg CR 36 (Marion Rd)
Rochester Exit 50 Image:Olmsted County Route 1.svg CR 1 (11th Ave SE)
Exit 51 US 63 , Broadway, Stewartville To I-90 West
Exit 53 Image:Olmsted County Route 25.svg CR 25 (16th Street SW) Apache Mall, Olmsted County Fairgrounds
Half-interchange 54 US 14 east (12th Street SW) Winona No access northbound
Half-interchange 54 Image:Olmsted County Route 22.svg CR 22 (W Circle Dr) No access northbound
Half-interchange 55 6th Street SW No access southbound
Exit 55 2nd Street SW Mayo Clinic, St. Marys Hospital
Exit 56 Civic Center Dr NW
Exit 56 US 14 west , Owatonna
Exit 56 19th Street NW, Elton Hills Dr NW
Exit 58 Image:Olmsted County Route 22.svg CR 22 east (37th Street NW)
Exit 59 Image:Olmsted County Route 22.svg CR 22 west (55th Street NW)
Exit 61 Image:Olmsted County Route 14.svg CR 14 (75th Street NW)
Oronoco Exit 65 Image:Olmsted County Route 12.svg CR 12 , Oronoco Intersections between here and mile 120
Goodhue Pine Island Exit 70 Image:Goodhue County Route 11.svg CR 11 , Pine Island
Zumbrota Exit 75 TH 60 east , Mazeppa, Zumbro Falls
Exit 77 Image:County Route 10.svg TH 58 / CR 10 , Zumbrota, Red Wing
Exit 78 TH 60 west , Wanamingo, Kenyon
Hader Intersection 86 Image:County Route 8.svg TH 57 / CR 8 , Wanamingo, Mantorville
Intersection 89 Image:Goodhue County Route 9.svg CR 9 , Goodhue, Dennison
T-intersection to south 91 Image:Goodhue County Route 1.svg CR 1 south
T-intersection to north 91 Image:Goodhue County Route 1.svg CR 1 north
Cannon Falls Stoplight 96.5 Image:Goodhue County Route 24.svg CR 24 north (65th Avenue)
Stoplight 96.6 Image:Goodhue County Route 24.svg CR 24 west
Exit 98 TH 19 , Cannon Falls, Northfield
Dakota Hampton Exit 105 Image:Dakota County Route 47.svg TH 50 / TH 56 / CR 47 , Farmington, Kenyon
Coates Exit 113 CR 46
Rosemount Exit 115 CR 42 , Rosemount
Intersection/Exit 117 TH 55 east , Hastings Intersection northbound and Exit southbound
Exit 118 117th St
Inver Grove Heights Exits for remainder of route in Minnesota 120 CR 56 (Concord Boulevard) Intersections between here and Mile 65
121 TH 55 west , Minneapolis Northbound exit and southbound entrance
122 To TH 55 west / 80th Street East
123 CR 26 (70th Street East)
124 Upper 55th Street East
125 I-494 / TH 110
South St. Paul 126 Southview Boulevard, Mendota Road
South St. Paul/West St. Paul 127 Wentworth Avenue, Thompson Avenue
128 Butler Avenue
Ramsey St. Paul 129 TH 156 (Concord Street)
130 Eaton Street Southbound exit and northbound entrance
130 Plato Boulevard, Fillmore Avenue
131 I-94 east / US 10 Northbound exit and southbound entrance
131 I-94 west / US 10 west to I-35E (US 52 north) Northbound exit and southbound entrance

[edit] References