Minnesota State Highway 51

Trunk Highway 51 marker

Trunk Highway 51
Snelling Avenue
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length: 11.274 mi[1] (18.144 km)
Existed: 1933[2] – present
Major junctions
South end: MN 5 (W. 7th Street) at St. Paul
  I-94 at St. Paul
MN 36 at Roseville
North end: I-694 , U.S. 10 at Arden Hills
Location
Counties: Ramsey
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highways
← MN 50US 52 →

Minnesota State Highway 51 (MN 51) is a highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 5 (W. 7th Street) in Saint Paul and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with Interstate 694 / U.S. Highway 10 in Arden Hills. The route is 11 miles (18 km) in length.

Highway 51 is also known as Snelling Avenue for most of its route. A small section of the route is known as Montreal Avenue in the "West Seventh" and Highland neighborhoods of Saint Paul, and the northern section in Arden Hills is known as Hamline Avenue.

Route description

State Highway 51 serves as a north–south route between Saint Paul, Falcon Heights, Roseville, and Arden Hills in Ramsey County.

It is not to be confused with nearby Ramsey County Road 51 (Lexington Avenue / Parkway), which runs parallel to State Highway 51 and ends at the same southern terminus intersection.

Highway 51 begins at its intersection with State Highway 5 (W. 7th Street) in the "West Seventh" neighborhood of Saint Paul. 51 follows Montreal Avenue for 10 blocks. 51 then leaves Montreal Avenue and turns north on Snelling Avenue. Highway 51 remains on Snelling Avenue for the remainder of its route. It continues through the Highland Park / MacGroveland / Merriam Park areas to its junction with Interstate 94. The route then continues through the Midway neighborhood. After crossing over two railroad lines and entering Falcon Heights, the route passes along the east side of the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, making it a busy thoroughfare during the State Fair season. The route continues north into Roseville and Arden Hills. Most of Highway 51's length through Roseville and Arden Hills is an expressway (divided highway) with signalized intersections. Highway 51 does have an interchange with State Highway 36 in Roseville.

The northern terminus of Highway 51 at I-694 in Arden Hills is also shared with the westbound interchange for U.S. Highway 10; this interchange has lane drops that cause traffic congestion on the I-694 freeway. In response, Mn/DOT is eventually planning to rebuild I-694 through this area, including the interchange with Highways 51 and 10. This reconstruction project began the week of September 19, 2011.[3]

From south to north, the route adjoins the campuses of Macalester College, Hamline University, Northwestern College, and Bethel University.

Como Park, Zoo, and Conservatory in Saint Paul is located 7 blocks east of the junction of Highway 51 (Snelling Avenue) and Como Avenue. Eastbound Como Avenue becomes Horton Avenue. The park entrance is on Horton Avenue near Lexington Parkway.

Rosedale Center and Har Mar Mall shopping centers are located on the route in Roseville.

Highway 51 parallels State Highway 280 through Falcon Heights and the Midway neighborhood of Saint Paul.

History

State Highway 51 was authorized in 1933.

The route was paved by 1935.

The original alignment on the south end of Highway 51 was from West 7th Street up Edgecumbe Road to Snelling Avenue. This section of Highway 51 was later rerouted to Montreal Avenue.

From 1934 to 1935, the north end of Highway 51 previously followed Snelling Avenue northbound to County Road B in Roseville, then 51 turned westbound to Fairview Avenue and ran northbound along Fairview Avenue and New Brighton Road to old U.S. Highway 8 in New Brighton.

By 1935, Snelling Avenue was extended north to the point where Highway 51 now bends to follow Hamline Avenue after crossing the Roseville / Arden Hills boundary line. The northern terminus of the route was at old U.S. Highway 10, which is the present day junction of Snelling Avenue and County Road E in Arden Hills. There was a plan until the 1970s to extend Highway 51 beyond its current northern terminus at I-694 in Arden Hills to proceed north to I-35W near Lexington Avenue in Blaine.

The section of Highway 51 in Roseville and Arden Hills was built as a divided highway by 1970.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Ramsey County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
St. Paul0.0000.000 MN 5 (West Seventh Street)
0.0070.011 County 51 (Lexington Parkway)
1.2482.008 County 42 (Ford Parkway)
1.8733.014 County 38 (Randolph Avenue)
3.3555.399 County 35 (Marshall Avenue)
3.5465.707 I-94 eastbound, via Concordia Avenue
3.6055.802 I-94 westbound, via St. Anthony Avenue
3.8506.196 County 34 (University Avenue)
4.756-4.778 County 33 (Pierce Butler Route)Interchange
4.966-5.017 County 32 (Energy Park Drive)Interchange
5.209-5.471 County 31 east / County 75 west (Como Avenue)
Falcon Heights6.350-6.360 County 30 (Larpenteur Avenue)
Roseville7.350-7.357 County 25 (County Road B)
7.501-7.778 MN 36Interchange
7.909-8.003 County 78 (County Road B2)Interchange
8.377-8.387 County 23 (County Road C2)
Arden Hills9.60115.451 County 50 (Hamline Avenue)
10.381-10.508 County 15 (County Road E)Interchange, Old U.S. 10
11.24518.097 I-694 / US 10 westboundInterchange
11.29518.178 County 50 north (Hamline Avenue)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Route map: Bing

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 5" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 20, 2010. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  2. ↑ Riner, Steve. "Details of Routes 51-75". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Retrieved 2006-04-06.
  3. ↑ Minnesota Department of Transportation (2006). "Expansion I-694 35E to 35W". Retrieved 2006-04-06.