U.S. Route 169 in Minnesota

U.S. Highway 169
U.S. 169 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	359.523 mi[2] (578.596 km)
Existed:	1931[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 169 in Elmore, MN at the Minnesota–Iowa state line
	I-90 in Blue Earth US 14 / MN 60 in Mankato I-494 / MN 5 in Bloomington I-394 in St. Louis Park I-94 / I-694 in Brooklyn Park US 10 / MN 47 in Anoka US 10 / MN 101 in Elk River US 2 in Grand Rapids MN 65 near Pengilly , Nashwauk
North end:	US 53 / MN 169 near Virginia
Location
Counties:	Faribault, Blue Earth, Nicollet, Sibley, Le Sueur, Scott, Hennepin, Anoka, Sherburne, Mille Lacs, Crow Wing, Aitkin, Itasca, Saint Louis
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate • U.S. • State Inter-County • County roads • Legislative routes ← MN 156 MN 169 →

U.S. Route 169 (US 169) is a major north–south highway in the U.S. state of Minnesota, connecting the Minnesota River valley with the Twin Cities and the Iron Range. Much of the route is built to expressway or freeway standards.

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 3 Future 4 Exit list for freeway section in Twin Cities 5 References

Route description

U.S. 169 enters Minnesota near Elmore as a two-lane, undivided highway, continuing as such through Blue Earth, where it crosses Interstate Highway 90. Roughly 5 miles southwest of Mankato, U.S. 169 and State Highway 60 merge to a single expressway through Mankato. In North Mankato, Highway 60 moves from a concurrency with U.S. 169 to another one with U.S. 14.

In Mankato and North Mankato, 169 functions as an arterial highway, passing directly through the cities' downtown area. From Mankato north to Shakopee, the route remains an expressway, except for the section passing through Saint Peter, where 169 is the main street through town.

55 miles (89 km) of U.S. 169 from Saint Peter to I-494 in Bloomington is officially designated the John A. Johnson Memorial Highway. This includes the Bloomington Ferry Bridge between Shakopee and Bloomington. This designation is marked as "Johnson Memorial Drive" on some maps, but not marked as such on directional signs, nor commonly known by this name.

In the Minneapolis area, the route is constructed to freeway standards between Interstate Highway 494 and Hennepin County Road 81. Construction to link the freeway north of I-494 with the freeway segment a few miles south of I-494 is underway. The freeway between Interstate 494 and Interstate 694 was originally built by Hennepin County as County Road 18. In 1988, County Road 18 was transferred to the state of Minnesota and became the new alignment for Highway 169 in the Minneapolis area. In exchange, Hennepin County took over maintenance of two other highways that were formerly state routes.

Also in the Minneapolis area, U.S. 169 is often very congested. However, since the freeway passes very close to residential neighborhoods in many locations, any expansion of the freeway would disrupt housing stock in the surrounding area.

North of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, U.S. 169 continues as an expressway to Mille Lacs Lake, an important resort area. The highway skirts the western shore of the lake. 74 miles (119 km) of U.S. 169 from Elk River to Garrison is officially designated the POW / MIA Memorial Highway. From Mille Lacs Lake, U.S. 169 continues northward to its junction with U.S. 2 at Grand Rapids. Here, 169 turns northeasterly to reach the cities of the Mesabi Iron Range.

At Pengilly, U.S. 169 becomes an expressway and remains such for the rest of its run. It passes through the cities of Hibbing, Chisholm, and Mountain Iron before reaching U.S. 53 at the city of Virginia. This four-lane stretch of 169 is also known as the Highway 169 Cross Range Expressway. The northern terminus of U.S. 169 is at the city of Virginia.

State Highway 169 begins immediately north of Virginia in Wuori Township; and continues northeast for 49 miles (79 km) to the cities of Tower, Ely, and Winton. State Highway 169 is numbered as an extension of U.S. 169.

U.S. 169 is one of three Minnesota U.S. marked highways to carry the same number as an existing state marked highway within the state. The others being Highways 61 and 65.

Legally, the Minnesota section of U.S. 169 is defined as all or part of Routes 5, 7, 383, 3, 18, and 35 in the Minnesota Statutes §§ 161.114(2) and 161.117(4).[1],[2] The route is not marked with those numbers.

History

U.S. 169 was extended into Minnesota circa 1931.^[1] The route in Minnesota was paved by 1940.^[1]

U.S. 169, between the junction with State Highway 60 (south of Mankato) and the Twin Cities, was upgraded to at least expressway status over several stages. The freeway section around Mankato and the adjoining expressway sections were completed in the early 1960s, along with bypasses of Le Sueur, Jordan and Belle Plaine.^[1]

The U.S. 169 freeway bypass around Shakopee was built in the mid-1990s along a new alignment, which included the newly constructed Bloomington Ferry Bridge. Prior to this realignment, U.S. 169 crossed the Minnesota River from downtown Shakopee where it had been co-signed with State Highway 101. North of the river crossing, U.S. 169 had previously been co-signed with what was then U.S. 212 (Flying Cloud Drive) through Eden Prairie until 1996.

A new U.S. 169 interchange with State Highway 19, near Henderson, was completed in 2002.^[1]

An expressway section of Highway 169 through southern Hennepin County was converted to full freeway in 2006, with new interchanges constructed at Pioneer Trail and Anderson Lakes Parkway. At-grade intersections with traffic signals remain in place at the Interstate 494 interchange, which remains a point of frequent congestion.

North of the Twin Cities, Highway 169 has been upgraded to an expressway between Elk River and the southern end of Mille Lacs Lake, with bypasses of Princeton and Milaca built in the late 1980s.

U.S. 169 between Hill City and Grand Rapids has been built to super-2 standards.

The expressway section between Pengilly and the city of Virginia was built in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In 2008, construction began on a new Highway 169 interchange with County Road 81 and 85th Avenue North in Brooklyn Park. This interchange is also known as The Devil's Triangle, or simply as "The Triangle", because of the major traffic congestion during rush hour, especially in the afternoon. Construction was completed on August 11, 2011.

During the flooding of September 2010, flood waters destroyed a 150 foot section of the northbound lanes of Highway 169 between St. Peter and Le Sueur. Mn/DOT believes, "when the flood waters rose up it found a weak spot in the slope or the dirt bank and got under the grass and started mining under the pavement. Finally, it just sucked all the dirt out and the pavement just dropped into a hole." Traffic was detoured to the southbound lanes of 169 for a month, resulting in a temporary two lane expressway, until the northbound section was repaired.

Future

In November 2010, construction began on a completely redesigned Highway 169 interchange at Interstate 494, where three traffic signals currently exist. The new interchange will feature six roundabouts, new flyover bridges, and two new bridges over I-494 that will carry West 78th Street and Washington Avenue. Major construction began in March 2011. Due to an early start, a majority of the construction will be completed in November 2011 including completion of major ramps, removal of all three traffic signals, roundabouts and completion of the new frontage road system. Construction will continue in spring 2012 with the completion of reconstructing surrounding roads and remaining ramps and flyovers with a final completion date of November 2012. The entire project is expected to cost $140 million. ^{[3] [4]}

A study to convert U.S. 169 to a freeway between U.S. 10 in Elk River to 277th Avenue north of Zimmerman was completed in late 2009. A complete review of the project by Mn/Dot will occur in 2011. A complete construction schedule and timeline will then by released by Mn/Dot. Allocation of funds for the project is currently underway and the only thing holding back from starting the project. The project is expected to cost around $178 Million.

^[5]

Exit list for freeway section in Twin Cities

All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	Mile[6]	Destinations	Notes
Scott	Jackson Township	108.829– 109.172	CR 15 (Marystown Road)
	Shakopee	110.485– 111.121	CR 17 (Marschall Road)
		112.424– 113.079	CR 83 (Canterbury Road)
		114.873– 115.033	To MN 13 – Burnsville, Savage	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		115.520– 115.591	CR 18	Southbound exit and entrance
		116.338– 116.763	CR 101 – Shakopee To MN 13 – Burnsville, Savage	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Minnesota River		116.399– 117.612	Bloomington Ferry Bridge
Hennepin	Bloomington	117.606– 118.240	CR 1 east (Old Shakopee Road) / Riverview Road	South end of CR 1 overlap
		118.411– 119.098	CR 1 west (Pioneer Trail)	North end of CR 1 overlap
		119.876– 120.463	Bloomington Ferry Road, Anderson Lakes Parkway
		121.570– 121.580	Highwood Drive, Townline Avenue	At– grade intersection
		122.118– 122.235	I-494 / MN 5 / Frontage Road
	Edina	122.950– 123.325	Valley View Road
	Eden Prairie	124.160– 124.600	US 212 west / MN 62
	Eden Prairie – Edina	124.800– 125.192	Londonderry Road, Bren Road
		125.820– 126.090	7th Street South
	Hopkins	126.656– 126.957	CR 3 – Downtown Hopkins
	Hopkins – St. Louis Park	127.265– 127.760	MN 7 – Minneapolis, Excelsior
	St. Louis Park	127.974– 128.030	36th Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		128.199– 128.448	CR 5 (Minnetonka Boulevard) to US 169 south
		128.755– 128.798	Cedar Lake Road
		129.125– 129.391	Frontage Road	Northbound exit and entrance
		129.816	16th Street
	St. Louis Park – Golden Valley	130.080– 130.466	I-394 – Minneapolis
	Golden Valley – Plymouth	130.565– 130.640	Betty Crocker Drive, Shelard Parkway
	Plymouth	130.780– 131.140	MN 55 – Minneapolis, Buffalo
		131.380– 131.760	13th Avenue, Plymouth Avenue
		132.430– 132.770	CR 70 (Medicine Lake Road)
		133.490– 133.810	36th Avenue North
		134.190– 134.641	CR 9 (Rockford Road)
		135.000– 135.310	49th Avenue North
		135.900– 136.340	CR 10 (Bass Lake Road)
	Maple Grove	136.820– 137.000	63rd Avenue North
		137.630– 138.080	I-94 / I-694
		138.440– 138.880	CR 130 (77th Avenue North, Brooklyn Boulevard)
	Brooklyn Park	139.572	CR 81 / CR 109	Converted from an at– grade to an interchange in 2011
			Freeway ends, US 169 continues as a four-lane expressway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

U.S. Route 169
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