Interstate 35 in Minnesota

In the U.S. state of Minnesota, Interstate 35 is a highway in southeast, east-central, and northeast Minnesota. The route runs north–south from the Iowa state line through the twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul; where it splits into Interstates 35E and 35W; and ends in the city of Duluth at its junction with Minnesota State Highway 61.

Interstate 35 in Minnesota is 220 miles (350 km) in length, not including the mileage on Interstates 35E or 35W.

1 Route description
2 History
3 Notes
4 Exit list
5 References

Route description

Interstate 35 enters the state at Freeborn County. This part of Minnesota has rolling terrain and extensive farmland. I-35 has a junction with I-90 at the city of Albert Lea. Other cities along this part of the state are Owatonna and Faribault.

After passing through Lakeville and entering Burnsville, the highway splits into Interstates 35W and 35E (signed for Minneapolis and Saint Paul, respectively).

Interstates 35W and 35E join again at Columbus, near Forest Lake. The route then continues as Interstate 35. In contrast to the rolling terrain of I-35 south of the Twin Cities area, this region is quite flat. This is the Anoka Sand Plain, an area that was formed by outwash under the last glaciers that lay over this area as they melted. This is an extensive region that continues north for another twenty miles (32 km). The urban sprawl of the northern Twin Cities continues along I-35 to North Branch.

In Pine City and Hinckley, there are museums near I-35 commemorating the Great Hinckley Forest Fire that occurred in 1894.

Between Sandstone and Moose Lake, the landscape around I-35 makes a dramatic change. Exposed granite can be seen at the surface, and the deciduous forest changes to evergreens.

I-35 climbs Thompson Hill as it approaches the city of Duluth. As the highway enters the city limits at Boundary Avenue, the Saint Louis River and Lake Superior are in view. I-35 then descends Thompson Hill into Duluth, with numerous exits. The freeway has an interchange with I-535 / U.S. 53, known locally as the "Can of Worms". The junction features a pair of left exits from I-35, a stoplight, and lane drops over the I-35 bridge. Map and aerial photo

I-35 then proceeds to downtown Duluth. After multiple exits, I-35 leaves the downtown area and follows the Lake Superior shoreline for two miles (3 km) to its national northern terminus at its junction with Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. At this junction where Interstate 35 ends, Highway 61 begins its route northeast along the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Interstate 35 in Minnesota from the Iowa state line to the city of Duluth is officially designated the Red Bull Highway, named after the 34th Infantry (Red Bull) Division.

Legally, the Minnesota section of Interstate 35 is defined as Routes 390, 395, and 396 in the Minnesota Statutes § 161.12(2). The route is not marked with those numbers. The I-35 legislative route designation and mileposts follow I-35E in the Twin Cities area.

History

Interstate 35 in Minnesota was authorized as part of the primary interstate network in 1956. It was mostly constructed in the 1960s. The route in Minnesota replaced portions of old U.S. Highway 61 and old U.S. Highway 65.^[2]

I-35 was generally constructed along former routes of U.S. 65 south of the Twin Cities and U.S. 61 north of the Twin Cities.

The first section to be constructed (the first Interstate Highway opened in Minnesota) was about 10 miles (16 km) north of Owatonna, immediately west of present day Steele County Road 45 and Rice County Road 45.^[2]

By 1961, the section of I-35 around Hinckley and Sandstone was under construction.^[2]

Three lanes each way have been constructed on I-35 between the I-35E / I-35W split at Columbus to U.S. Highway 8 at Forest Lake. Three lanes have also been constructed on I-35 northbound at Thompson Hill, right before entering the city of Duluth. Additionally, three lanes have been constructed on I-35 southbound in Duluth at Thompson Hill between Central Avenue and U.S. Highway 2-westbound. Three lanes in each direction have also been constructed on I-35 in Duluth between the Can of Worms interchange (I-535 / U.S. 53) and the Mesaba Avenue interchange.

From November 1971 to October 1987, the national northern terminus for Interstate 35 was its interchange with Mesaba Avenue in Duluth.

The last section of Interstate 35 in Minnesota to be constructed was around downtown Duluth. The I-35 extension to Lake Avenue in Duluth was open to traffic in October 1987. The temporary I-35 extension to 10th Avenue East in Duluth was open to traffic in November 1989. The I-35 extension to its present day junction with 26th Avenue East and Highway 61 in Duluth was open to traffic in October 1992.

Notes

Interstates 35 and 35E closely parallel U.S. Highway 61 from the city of Saint Paul to the city of Wyoming.

Interstate 35 parallels Chisago County Road 61, State Highway 361, Pine County Road 61, and Carlton County Road 61.

State Highway 23 runs concurrent with Interstate 35 between Hinckley and Sandstone.

Exit list

County	Location	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Freeborn		2	CR 5
		5	CR 13 – Twin Lakes, Glenville
	Albert Lea	8	US 65 / I-35 Bus. north – Albert Lea, Glenville
		11	CR 46 – Albert Lea
		12	US 65 / I-35 Bus. south – Albert Lea	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		13	I-90 - La Crosse, Sioux Falls	Signed as exits 13A (east) and 13B (west)
		18	MN 251 – Clarks Grove, Hollandale
		22	CR 35 – Hartland, Geneva
Steele	Ellendale	26	MN 30 – New Richland, Blooming Prairie
		32	CR 4 – Hope
	Owatonna	40	US 14 east / US 218 – Owatonna, Rochester, Austin	South end of US 14 overlap
		41	Bridge Street
		42A	CR 45 – Owatonna
		42B	US 14 west – Waseca	North end of US 14 overlap
		43	CR 34 (26th Street)
		45	CR 9 – Clinton Falls
	Medford	48	CR 12 / CR 23 – Medford
Rice	Faribault	55	Faribault	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		56	MN 60 – Waterville, Faribault
		59	MN 21 – Le Center, Faribault
		66	CR 1 – Montgomery, Dundas
		69	MN 19 – Northfield, New Prague
Scott		76	CR 2 – New Market, Elko
Dakota	Lakeville	81	CR 70 – Farmington, Lakeville
		84	CR 60 (185th Street West)
		85	CR 5 / CR 50
		86	CR 46
	Burnsville	87	Crystal Lake Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		88A	I-35W north – Minneapolis	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			I-35E north – St. Paul	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
See I-35W and I-35E
Anoka	Columbus		I-35E south – St. Paul	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		127	I-35W south – Minneapolis	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		129	MN 97 / CR 23
Washington	Forest Lake	131	CR 2 – Forest Lake
Washington	Forest Lake	132	US 8 – Taylors Falls	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Chisago	Wyoming	135	US 61 south / CR 22 – Wyoming
	Stacy	139	CR 19 – Stacy
		143	CR 17
	North Branch	147	MN 95 – Cambridge, North Branch
	Harris	152	CR 10 – Harris
	Rush City	159	MN 361 / CR 1 – Rush City
Pine	Rock Creek	165	MN 70 – Rock Creek, Grantsburg
	Pine City	169	CR 7 – Pine City
	Pine City	171	CR 11
		175	CR 14 – Beroun
		180	MN 23 west / CR 61 – Mora	South end of MN 23 overlap
	Hinckley	183	MN 48 / CR 61 – Hinckley
	Sandstone	191	MN 23 east / CR 61 – Sandstone	North end of MN 23 overlap
		195	MN 18 / MN 23 – Askov, Finlayson
	Willow River	205	CR 43 – Bruno, Willow River
		209	CR 46 – Sturgeon Lake
Carlton	Moose Lake	214	MN 73 – Moose Lake
		216	MN 27 – Moose Lake	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Barnum	220	CR 6 – Barnum
		227	CR 4 – Mahtowa, Wrenshall
		235	MN 210 – Carlton, Cromwell
	Cloquet	237	MN 33 – Cloquet – Iron Range
	Scanlon	239	MN 45 / CR 45 – Cloquet, Scanlon
		242	CR 1 – Thomson, Esko
		245	CR 61
Saint Louis		246	CR 13 (Midway Road)
	Proctor	249	Boundary Avenue, Skyline Parkway
	Duluth	250	US 2 west – Grand Rapids, Proctor	South end of US 2 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		251A	Cody Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		251B	MN 23 south (Grand Avenue)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		252	Central Avenue
		253A	US 2 east / LSCT east – Wisconsin	North end of US 2 overlap
		253B	40th Avenue West
		254	27th Avenue West
		255A	US 53 north / 21st Avenue West
		255B	I-535 south / US 53 south – Wisconsin
		256A	Mesaba Avenue, Superior Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		256B	5th Avenue West, Lake Avenue
		258	21st Avenue East	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		259	MN 61 / LSCT – North Shore	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; northern end of LSCT concurrency
			London Road/26th Avenue East	At-grade intersection
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

^ Federal Highway Administration, Route Log and Finder List: Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002
^ ^a ^b ^c Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 26-50". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Self-published. http://www.steve-riner.com/mnhighways/r26-50.htm#35.

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