Interstate 90 in Minnesota

Interstate 90
Interstate 90 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	275.70 mi[1] (443.70 km)
Major junctions
West end:	I‑90 at the South Dakota state line
	MN 23 near Beaver Creek US 75 at Luverne US 59 / MN 60 at Worthington US 71 at Jackson US 169 at Blue Earth I-35 near Albert Lea US 218 at Austin US 63 at Stewartville US 52 near Rochester US 14 / US 61 near La Crescent
East end:	I-90 at the Wisconsin state line
Location
Counties:	Rock, Nobles, Jackson, Martin, Faribault, Freeborn, Mower, Olmsted, Winona
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← MN 89 MN 91 →

In the U.S. state of Minnesota, Interstate 90 traverses the southern side of the state, parallel to the Minnesota-Iowa state line. The route connects the cities of Rochester, Worthington, Albert Lea, and Austin. The city of Winona is also in close proximity to I-90, with about 10 miles away separating the interstate and the city.

Interstate 90 in Minnesota is 276 miles (444 km) in length. The route crosses the far southern parts of the state.

Route description

Interstate 90 enters the state from South Dakota near Beaver Creek. This part of Minnesota has flat to gently rolling terrain and is the beginnings of corn belt farmland. The flat terrain is often subject to blowing and drifting snow in colder months, and the western portions of the highway are closed multiple times each winter.

Rock County, where I-90 enters Minnesota, is one of the only counties in the state lacking a natural lake. The change from semi-arid to a wetter climate happens slowly moving eastbound on I-90 through southern Minnesota. The route passes through the cities of Luverne, Adrian, Worthington, Jackson, Fairmont, and Blue Earth. I-90 has a junction with I-35 at Albert Lea.

East of the city of Austin, I-90 changes direction slightly and heads towards Rochester, and the route enters a much more hilly landscape. This is the driftless area of southeast Minnesota. Unlike the rest of the state, where the most recent glaciations left terrain that is either flat or rolling under a deposit of glacial till, this area escaped the most recent glaciation. The bedrock to the top of the I-90 road cuts is noticeable at this point. The other notable feature of this area are deep, steep valleys cut by water that poured through this area as the ice cap melted.

The I-90 Bridge between La Crosse, Wisconsin and Dresbach, Minnesota

I-90 drops into the scenic Mississippi River valley just west of Dresbach. The I-90 freeway lanes split apart as you drop down, then rejoin west of the junction with U.S. Highway 61. I-90 then parallels the Mississippi River before turning east and crossing into Wisconsin.

I-90 is atypical in that just across the Minnesota / Wisconsin state line, (immediately west of the community of Dakota) the median is wide enough that farms exist between the road beds.^[2]

Legally, the Minnesota section of Interstate 90 is defined as unmarked Legislative Route 391 in the Minnesota Statutes. Interstate 90 is not marked with this legislative number along the actual highway.

History

Interstate 90 in Minnesota was authorized as part of the original interstate network in 1956. The first section of I-90 in Minnesota constructed was the bypass of Austin in 1961.^[3] The wayside rest area near Blue Earth, Minnesota, is where the east-building I-90 and west-building I-90 teams linked up in 1978, thus completing construction in Minnesota and joining the 3,099.07 miles of the interstate.^[4] Plaques dedicating the pavement completion and describing the significance of this segment are on display at the rest area.

I-90 in Minnesota closely follows the route of old U.S. Highway 16 over most of its route except from just east of Austin, where I-90 turns toward Rochester and is constructed on a new alignment not previously covered by a highway. The section of I-90 east of Rochester was constructed just south of U.S. Highway 14 and south of the city of Winona.

I-90 served as a replacement for old U.S. 16 between the South Dakota state line and I-90's interchange with present day State Highway 16 at Dexter.

Three lanes each way have been constructed on I-90 between its two junctions with U.S. Highway 61 at the communities of Dresbach and Dakota to facilitate commuter traffic between La Crosse and Winona.

Future

A replacement of the I-90 Mississippi River Bridge near La Crescent is under construction. The new bridge is expected to be completed by 2015.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Rock		0.000	0.000		I‑90 west	Continuation into South Dakota
				1	MN 23 / County 17 – Jasper, Pipestone	Also leads to Manley one mile (1.6 km) to the south
	Beaver Creek			3	County 4 – Beaver Creek	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				5	County 6 – Beaver Creek, Hills
	Luverne			12	US 75 – Luverne, Rock Rapids	Also access to Pipestone
	Magnolia			18	County 3 – Magnolia, Kanaranzi
Nobles	Adrian			26	MN 91 – Adrian, Lake Wilson
	Rushmore			33	County 13 – Rushmore, Wilmont
	Worthington			42	I-90 Bus. east / County 25 – Worthington, Wilmont
				43	US 59 – Worthington, Slayton
				45	I-90 Bus. west / MN 60 – Worthington, Windom	Also access to Mankato, Sioux City, Twin Cities
				47	County 53	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Nobles–Jackson county line				50	MN 264 / County 1 – Brewster, Round Lake
Jackson				57	County 9 – Heron Lake, Okabena
				64	MN 86 – Lakefield, Spirit Lake
	Jackson			73	US 71 – Jackson, Windom, Spirit Lake
	Alpha			80	County 29 – Alpha
Martin	Sherburn			87	MN 4 – Sherburn, St. James, Trimont, Estherville
	Welcome			93	MN 263 / County 27 – Welcome, Ceylon
	Fairmont			99	I-90 Bus. east / County 39 – Fairmont
				102	I-90 Bus. west / MN 15 – Fairmont, Madelia, Truman, Armstrong	Also access to Mankato, Twin Cities
	Granada			107	County 53 – Granada, East Chain	Road from exit into Granada was formerly MN 262
Faribault	Guckeen			113	County 1 – Guckeen, Huntley
	Blue Earth			119	US 169 – Blue Earth, Mankato, Winnebago, Elmore
				128	MN 254 south / County 17 – Easton, Frost
				134	MN 253 south / County 21 – Minnesota Lake, Bricelyn
				138	MN 22 – Wells, Kiester
Freeborn	Alden			146	MN 109 / County 6 – Alden, Mankato
	Albert Lea			154	MN 13 – Albert Lea, Waseca
				157	County 22 – Albert Lea
				159	I-35 – Albert Lea, Des Moines, Minneapolis, St. Paul	Signed as exits 159A (south) and 159B (north)
	Hayward			163	County 26 – Hayward
	Oakland			166	County 46 (Oakland Road) – Petran, Oakland
Mower	Austin			175	I-90 Bus. east / MN 105 / County 46 / Oakland Avenue – Austin
				177	US 218 north / 14th Street Northwest – Austin, Owatonna	West end of US 218 overlap
				178A	4th Street Northwest – Austin
				178B	6th Street Northeast – Austin
				179	11th Drive Northeast – Austin
				180A	I-90 Bus. west / Oakland Place – Austin	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				180B	US 218 south / 21st Street Northeast – Austin	East end of US 218 overlap
				181	28th Street Northeast – Austin
				183	MN 56 – Brownsdale, Rose Creek
				187	County 20
				189	County 13 – Elkton
	Dexter			193	MN 16 – Dexter, Grand Meadow, Spring Valley, Preston
Olmsted				205	County 6
	Stewartville			209	US 63 / MN 30 – Stewartville, Rochester	Signed as exits 209A (south/east) and 209B (north/west)
	Rochester			218	US 52 – Chatfield, Rochester	Also access to Twin Cities
	Eyota			224	MN 42 north / County 7 – Eyota
	Dover			229	County 10 – Dover
Winona	St. Charles			233	MN 74 – St. Charles, Chatfield
				242	County 29 – Lewiston
				249	MN 43 south – Rushford	West end of MN 43 overlap
	Winona			252	MN 43 north – Winona	East end of MN 43 overlap
				257	MN 76 south – Houston
	Nodine			267	County 12 – Nodine
				270	US 14 west / US 61 north – Winona	Westbound access to US 14 west/US 61 north; west end of US 14 / US 61 overlap; no eastbound exit (use exit 271)
	Dakota			271	To US 14 west / US 61 north – Dakota	Eastbound access to US 14 west/US 61 north; no westbound entrance (that is at exit 270)
	Dresbach			273A	Dresbach	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance (westbound exit and eastbound entrance are at exit 273B)
				273B	Dresbach	No westbound entrance
	La Crescent			276	US 14 east / US 61 south – La Crescent, La Crosse	East end of US 14 / US 61 overlap
Mississippi River				I-90 Mississippi River Bridge
La Crosse					I-90 east	Continuation into Wisconsin
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

Route map: Bing

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 90 in Minnesota.

*Steve Riner Details of Routes 76 to 100. Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed January 12, 2009.

Interstate 90
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