Minnesota State Highway 5

Trunk Highway 5
Fort Road
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	76.347 mi[1] (122.869 km)
Existed:	1934 – present
Major junctions
West end:	MN 19 / MN 22 at Gaylord
	US 212 at Norwood Young America MN 284 at Waconia MN 41 at Chanhassen MN 101 at Chanhassen I-494 / US 212 at Eden Prairie I-494 Bloomington MN 55 at Fort Snelling I-35E at St. Paul
East end:	MN 120 / CSAH 6 at Maplewood/Oakdale
Location
Counties:	Sibley, Carver, Hennepin, Ramsey, Washington
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← MN 4 MN 6 →

Minnesota State Highway 5 (MN 5) is a highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with MN 19 and MN 22 in Gaylord and continues east and northeast to its eastern terminus at its interchange with MN 120 in Maplewood. The route passes through downtown Saint Paul.

Highway 5 is 76 miles (122 km) in length.

Route description

State Highway 5 serves as a northeast–southwest route between Gaylord, Norwood Young America, Chanhassen, Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Richfield, downtown Saint Paul, and Maplewood. The highway is officially marked as an east–west route by its highway shields from beginning to end.

Part of Highway 5 is designed as a freeway near the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. Just to the west of that segment, Highway 5 runs concurrent with I-494 for 11 miles (18 km) between its junction with I-494 near the Airport and the Minnesota River to its junction with I-494 and U.S. 212 in Eden Prairie.

Highway 5 is considered a significant transit corridor, known as the Riverview Corridor, to downtown Saint Paul from the airport and points farther south and west. There has been discussion of creating a bus rapid transit or light rail line along the highway, much like the METRO Blue Line currently runs rails into downtown Minneapolis along State Highway 55.

Highway 5 is also known as Fort Road and West 7th Street in the city of St. Paul.

45 miles (72 km) of Highway 5 is officially designated the Augie Mueller Memorial Highway. This designation is signed from its intersection with State Highway 101 in Chanhassen southwesterly to its intersection with State Highway 19 in Gaylord.

Legally, State Highway 5 is defined as legislative routes 45, 52, 102, 109, 111, and 121 in the Minnesota Statutes. The route is not marked with those numbers.

History

State Highway 5 was authorized in 1934.

The route was completely paved by 1953.

When Highway 5 was slated for expansion in 1956, the construction threatened to demolish the remains of Historic Fort Snelling, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. As a result of public outcry, the highway was built in a short tunnel underneath the Fort Snelling site, sparing the fort from destruction. This effort led to archaeological research into the remains of Fort Snelling and its eventual rebuilding as a state park.^[2]

From 1934 to 1982, the eastern section of the highway between Saint Paul and Stillwater was originally marked as Minnesota 212, as it once reached old U.S. 212 in Saint Paul, but that segment was re-numbered as an extension of Highway 5 circa 1983.^[3] This segment is still marked with the mileposts from 212,^[1] which were a continuation of those from U.S. 212.

In the concurrency with I-494, the MN 5 shield is placed at most, but not all, interchanges. In 2007, new gore signs placed on France Avenue in Bloomington at its interchange with I-494 do not mention the Highway 5 concurrency, whereas the older signs they replaced did. The more recent interchange with Lyndale Ave (2009) displays the names of both highways.

In June 2015, it was announced that Highway 5 will be shortened by 8.3 miles by the state of Minnesota, giving the portion from Minnesota 120 to its eastern conterminous at Minnesota 36 to Washington County. The road is known as 34th St. between Jamaca Ave and Highway 120 and Stillwater Blvd. between Jamaca Ave. and Highway 36. The road is an extension of Washington County Roads 14 and 15. This road is designated from the county line to Manning Ave. as County Road 14 and from Manning Ave. to Highway 36 as County Road 15. This piece of the highway that will be returned to the county was originally marked as Minnesota 212. This portion of highway is now marked with county highway signs as well as Old Highway 5 signs.^[4]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Sibley	Gaylord	0.000	0.000	MN 19 south MN 22 north	West end of MN 19 concurrency West end of MN 22 concurrency
		0.141	0.227	MN 22	East end of MN 22 concurrency
		1.350	2.173	MN 19	East end of MN 19 concurrency
	Green Isle	14.400	23.175	MN 25	South end of MN 25 concurrency
Carver	Young America Township	21.055	33.885	US 212	West end of US 212 concurrency
	Norwood Young America	23.610	37.997	US 212	East end of US 212 concurrency
	Young America Township	26.242	42.232	MN 25	North end of MN 25 concurrency
	Waconia	32.167	51.768	MN 284
	Chanhassen	42.422	68.272	MN 41
		45.486	73.203	MN 101	West end of MN 101 concurrency
		46.132	74.242	MN 101	East end of MN 101 concurrency
Hennepin	Eden Prairie	48.954	78.784	US 212	West end of US 212 concurrency
		50.779	81.721	I-494	East end of US 212 concurrency West end of I-494 concurrency, exits 12B-C
	Fort Snelling	61.184– 61.930	98.466– 99.667	I-494	East end of I-494 concurrency, exit 1A
				Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport	Interchange
		64.053	103.083	MN 55
Mississippi River		64.243– 64.469	103.389– 103.753	Fort Road Bridge
Ramsey	St. Paul	64.530	103.851	Shepard Road
		66.353	106.785	MN 51 (Montreal Avenue)
		66.686	107.321	I-35E	I-35E exit 103B
		69.054	111.132	MN 149 (Smith Avenue)
		70.886	114.080	I-94	I-94 exit 242C
		70.905	114.111	US 52 (Lafayette Freeway)
		71.349	114.825	US 61 (Mounds Boulevard)	West end of US 61 concurrency
		71.939	115.775	US 61 (Arcade Street)	East end of US 61 concurrency
	Maplewood	76.347	122.869	MN 120 (Century Avenue) / CSAH 6 east (Stillwater Road)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Minnesota Highway 5 at MN Highway Endings