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[1] (578.596 km)
Existed:	1931[2] – 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, St. Louis
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← MN 156 MN 169 →

U.S. Highway 169 (U.S. 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.

Route description

First reassurance marker in Minnesota north of the Iowa state line

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.

US 169 northbound concurrent with MN 22 and MN 99 in Saint Peter

In Mankato and North Mankato, U.S. 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 U.S. 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 County Road 69 in Shakopee and State Highway 610. 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)., The route is not marked with those numbers.

History

U.S. 169 was extended into Minnesota circa 1931.^[2] The route in Minnesota was paved by 1940.^[2]

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.^[2]

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.^[2]

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 have been removed at the recently constructed Interstate 494 interchange, which was previously 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.

In November 2010, construction began on a completely redesigned Highway 169 interchange at Interstate 494, where three traffic signals had existed. The new interchange features 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. Construction continued in spring 2012 with the completion of reconstructing surrounding roads and remaining ramps. Mn/DOT completed the entire project in November 2012. The 2010 cost of the construction project was $140 million.^{[3] [4]}

Future

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. In the meantime, the 14 miles between U.S. 10 in Elk River to 277th Avenue north of Zimmerman will be resurfaced during the 2012 construction season. The construction will begin in May 2012.^[5]

Major intersections

All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi[6]	km	Destinations	Notes
Faribault	Elmore	0.000	0.000	US 169 south – Algona, Fort Dodge	Continuation into Iowa
	Blue Earth			I-90 – Fairmont, Albert Lea
	Winnebago			MN 109 east
Blue Earth	Amboy			MN 30 east
	South Bend Township			MN 60 west – Lake Crystal	Southern end of MN 60 overlap
				County 90
				MN 68 north – New Ulm
	Mankato			Frontage Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
				MN 66 (Riverfront Drive)
Nicollet	North Mankato			Lookout Drive, Center Street
				North Mankato, Mankato
Blue Earth–Nicollet county line	Mankato–North Mankato city line			US 14 / MN 60 east – New Ulm, Waseca	Northern end of MN 60 overlap
Nicollet	St. Peter			MN 99 west – Nicollet	Southern end of MN 99 overlap
				MN 22 south	Southern end of MN 99 overlap
				MN 99 east (Broadway Avenue) – Le Center	Northern end of MN 99 overlap
				MN 22 north – Gaylord	Northern end of MN 22 overlap
Sibley	Henderson Township			MN 93 south / County 8 – Le Sueur	Southern end of MN 93 overlap
				MN 93 north – Henderson	Northern end of MN 93 overlap
Le Sueur	Le Sueur			MN 112 south – Le Sueur
Le Sueur–Scott county line	Tyrone–Blakeley township line			MN 19 – New Prague, Gaylord
Scott	Belle Plaine			MN 25 north / County 64
	Jordan			MN 282 north to MN 21 / County 9
				MN 21 south – Jordan, New Prague	MN 21 only signed southbound
	Shakopee			County 69 (Old Brick Yard Road)	Interchange under construction
		108.829– 109.172	175.143– 175.695	County 15 (Marystown Road)
		110.485– 111.121	177.808– 178.832	County 17 (Marschall Road)
		112.424– 113.079	180.929– 181.983	County 83 (Canterbury Road)
		114.873– 115.033	184.870– 185.128	To MN 13 / County 21 – Burnsville, Savage	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
		115.520– 115.591	185.911– 186.026	County 21	No northbound exit
		116.338– 116.763	187.228– 187.912	County 101 to MN 13 – Shakopee, Burnsville, Savage	Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Minnesota River		116.399– 117.612	187.326– 189.278	Bloomington Ferry Bridge
Hennepin	Bloomington	117.606– 118.240	189.269– 190.289	County 1 east (Old Shakopee Road) / Riverview Road
		118.411– 119.098	190.564– 191.670	County 1 west (Pioneer Trail)
		119.876– 120.463	192.922– 193.866	Bloomington Ferry Road, Anderson Lakes Parkway
		121.570– 121.580	195.648– 195.664	Washington Avenue, Marth Road
		122.118– 122.235	196.530– 196.718	I-494 / MN 5
	Edina	122.950– 123.325	197.869– 198.472	Valley View Road
	Eden Prairie–Edina city line	124.160– 124.600	199.816– 200.524	US 212 west / MN 62
		124.800– 125.192	200.846– 201.477	Londonderry Road, Bren Road
	Hopkins–Edina city line	125.820– 126.090	202.488– 202.922	7th Street South
	Hopkins	126.656– 126.957	203.833– 204.317	County 3 – Downtown Hopkins
		127.265– 127.760	204.813– 205.610	MN 7 – Minneapolis, Excelsior
	St. Louis Park	127.974– 128.030	205.954– 206.044	36th Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
	Minnetonka–St. Louis Park city line	128.199– 128.448	206.316– 206.717	County 5 (Minnetonka Boulevard)
		128.755– 128.798	207.211– 207.280	Cedar Lake Road
		129.125– 129.391	207.807– 208.235	Frontage Road	Northbound exit and entrance
		129.816	208.919	16th Street
	St. Louis Park–Golden Valley city line	130.080– 130.466	209.343– 209.965	I-394 – Minneapolis
	Plymouth–Golden Valley city line	130.565– 130.640	210.124– 210.245	Betty Crocker Drive, Shelard Parkway
		130.780– 131.140	210.470– 211.049	MN 55 – Minneapolis, Buffalo
		131.380– 131.760	211.436– 212.047	13th Avenue, Plymouth Avenue
	Plymouth–Golden Valley– New Hope city line	132.430– 132.770	213.125– 213.673	County 70 (Medicine Lake Road)
	Plymouth–New Hope city line	133.490– 133.810	214.831– 215.346	36th Avenue North
		134.190– 134.641	215.958– 216.684	County 9 (Rockford Road)
		135.000– 135.310	217.261– 217.760	49th Avenue North
	Maple Grove–Brooklyn Park city line	135.900– 136.340	218.710– 219.418	County 10 (Bass Lake Road)
		136.820– 137.000	220.190– 220.480	63rd Avenue North
		137.630– 138.080	221.494– 222.218	I-94 / I-694
		138.440– 138.880	222.798– 223.506	County 130 (77th Avenue North, Brooklyn Boulevard)
	Brooklyn Park	139.572	224.619	County 81 (Bottineau Boulevard) / County 109 (85th Avenue North)
				County 30 (93rd Avenue North)
				MN 610
Mississippi River				Anoka-Champlin Mississippi River Bridge
Anoka	Anoka			US 10 east / MN 47 – Coon Rapids	Southern end of US 10 overlap
				Main Street, Greenhaven Road
Sherburne	Elk River			US 10 west / MN 101 south	Northern end of US 10 overlap
				County 33
	Baldwin Township			County 9
	Princeton			County 29 (Rum River Drive)
Mille Lacs				MN 95 – St. Cloud, Princeton
				County 29 (Rum River Drive)
	Milaca			MN 23 – Milaca
	Onamia			MN 27 west	Southern end of MN 27 overlap
	Cove			MN 27 east – Wahkon, Isle	Northern end of MN 27 overlap
Aitkin	No major junctions
Crow Wing	Garrison			MN 18 west – Deerwood, Brainerd	Southern end of MN 18 overlap
Aitkin	Hazelton Township			MN 18 east – Malmo	Northern end of MN 18 overlap
	Aitkin			MN 47 south
				MN 210 west	Southern end of MN 210 overlap
	Hassman			MN 210 east	Northern end of MN 210 overlap
	Hill City			MN 200
Itasca	Grand Rapids			US 2 west – Bemidji	Southern end of US 2 overlap
				US 2 east – Duluth	Northern end of US 2 overlap
	Pengilly			MN 65 south	Southern end of MN 65 overlap
	Nashwauk			MN 65 north	Northern end of MN 65 overlap
St. Louis	Hibbing			MN 73 south – Floodwood
				1st Avenue (US 169 Bus.)
				MN 37 east
				Howard Street (US 169 Bus.)
	Chisholm			MN 73 north	Northern end of MN 73 overlap
	Mountain Iron			County 102
	Virginia			US 53 / MN 169 begins	National end of US 169
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Unopened

References

Route map: Bing

U.S. Route 169
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