Minnesota State Highway 169

Trunk Highway 169
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length: 48.853 mi[2] (78.621 km)
Existed: April 22, 1933[1] – present
Major junctions
South end: U.S. 53 at Wuori Township,
north of Virginia
  CR 21 at Pike Township
MN 1 at Vermilion Lake Township
MN 135 at Tower
MN 1 at Ely
North end: CR 18 at Fall Lake Township
Location
Counties: St. Louis, Lake
Highway system

Minnesota Trunk Highways
Interstate • U.S. • State
Inter-County • County roads • Legislative routes

← US 169 MN 171 →

Minnesota State Highway 169 is a highway in northeast Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with U.S. Highway 53 in Wuori Township (immediately north of the city of Virginia) and continues northeast to its northern terminus at the intersection of Lake County Road 18 and Power Dam Road in Fall Lake Township (6-miles east of Ely). State Highway 169 becomes Lake County Road 18 at this point.

State Highway 169 is numbered as an extension of U.S. Highway 169, using the same mileage that began at the Iowa state line.

The route runs concurrent with State Highway 1 for 26 miles (42 km) from Vermilion Lake Township (west of Tower) to Ely.

Minnesota State Highway 169 is 49 miles (79 km) in length.

Contents

Route description

State Highway 169 serves as a north–south route in northeast Minnesota between the cities of Virginia, Tower, Ely, and Winton.

The route passes through the Superior National Forest at two different points.

Soudan Underground Mine State Park is located near State Highway 169, two miles east of Tower.[3]

Bear Head Lake State Park is located 7 miles south of the junction of State Highway 169 and County Road 128 (in Breitung Township, 9 miles east of Tower). The park entrance is located on County Road 128.[4]

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

History

State Highway 169 was numbered as an extension of U.S. 169.

The route was authorized on April 22, 1933 from the city of Virginia to the junction with Highway 135 (formerly 35) in Tower, where the highway terminated until 1953.[5]

The six-mile (10 km) segment running from Ely to Fall Lake Township was authorized in 1949 and originally designated State Highway 221 until 1953, when State Highway 169 was extended over State Highway 1 to Ely.[5]

Highway 169 was paved by 1940. The segment east of Ely was paved by 1950.[5]


Major intersections

County Location Mile[2] Destinations Notes
St. Louis
 Wuori Township 368.026-368.246 US 53 Interchange
Pike Township 374.388 CR 21  
Vermilion Lake Township 381.269 CR 26  
Peyla 385.366 MN 1 West end of MN 1 overlap
MN 1: 258.943 CR 77 (Angus Road)  
Tower MN 1: 263.159 MN 135  
Eagles Nest Township MN 1: 272.483 CR 128 (Bearhead Lake Road)  
Burntside MN 1: 281.866 CR 88  
Ely MN 1: 285.040 CR 21  
412.690 MN 1 East end of MN 1 overlap
Morse Township 413.653 CR 88  
Lake
 Fall Lake Township 415.987 CR 17  
416.889 CR 18 (Power Dam Road)  
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
     Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

  1. ^ "Chapter 440-H.F. No. 2000", Session Laws of Minnesota for 1933 (Mike Holm, Secretary of State): pp. 881-897 
  2. ^ a b "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 1" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 20, 2010. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/d1.pdf. Retrieved November 21, 2010. 
  3. ^ Minnesota DNR website for Soudan Underground Mine State Park
  4. ^ Minnesota DNR website for Bear Head Lake State Park
  5. ^ a b c Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 152-218". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Self-published. http://www.steve-riner.com/mnhighways/r152-218.htm#169. Retrieved November 21, 2010.