Minnesota State Highway 62 (Hennepin County)

Trunk Highway 62
Crosstown Highway
MN 62 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	12.350 mi (19.875 km)
Existed:	1988 – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-494 / CR 62 at Eden Prairie
	US 169 / US 212 at Eden Prairie MN 100 at Edina I-35W / MN 121 at Richfield MN 77 / CR 152 at Minneapolis
East end:	MN 55 at Fort Snelling
Location
Counties:	Hennepin
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← MN 61 MN 62 →

Minnesota State Highway 62 (MN 62) is a highway in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota. The route was part of Hennepin County Road 62 until 1988, when a portion of the route was inherited by the state. The western terminus of the route is at Interstate Highway 494 in Eden Prairie, where the roadway continues west as Hennepin County Road 62 to Hennepin County Road 101. The eastern terminus of the route is at State Highway 55 near the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis. Locally, the route is known as "the Crosstown," though signage with this name does not appear on the highway itself, but only on local streets adjacent to the road. It is also used as an alternate name, even by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Though it does follow the 62nd Street plane for most of its route, that name is less frequently used. Highway 62 is 12 miles (19 km) in length.

Route description

State Highway 62 serves as an east–west route between Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Edina, Richfield, Minneapolis, and Fort Snelling. The route is constructed to freeway standards for most of its length, except for the western 1/2 mile, which is an expressway with two signal-controlled intersections. The route is located in Hennepin County.

Due to the existence of a second State Highway 62 in the southwest corner of the state between Fulda and Windom, the stretch of Highway 62 in the Twin Cities area starts its numbering at milepost 100. This is unorthodox in that the two state highways have a combined length of 36 miles (58 km). "Mile 100" is calibrated where Hennepin County Roads 101 and 62 meet at the Eden Prairie / Minnetonka boundary line; though the mileposts themselves, starting with mile 104, do not appear until the state-maintained section inside the I-494 beltway.

History

State Highway 62 in the Twin Cities area was authorized in 1988. Prior to 1988, the route was designated as Hennepin County Road 62. The route was built mostly in the late 1960s by Hennepin County.

The original Hennepin County numbering of 62 corresponded with 62nd Street in Minneapolis. However, some portions of Highway 62 do stray from the 62nd Street plane, as near the eastern terminus, Highway 62 runs along the plane of 58th Street.

Highway 62 previously had a traffic light at its eastern terminus at Highway 55 until an interchange was reconstructed during construction of the METRO Blue Line light rail in 2004.

I-35W and Highway 62 Crosstown Commons reconstruction project

A typical traffic jam, before reconstruction, in the Crosstown Commons. The atypical part was that this picture was taken on a Saturday afternoon, not during a Monday thru Friday rush hour.

The Twin Cities' Highway 62 had one of the most notorious junctions in the region where it interwove with Interstate Highway 35W. This mile-long stretch was known informally as the "Crosstown Commons". Plans to "unweave" and expand this section of roadway to improve traffic flow had come and gone for many years, frustrating the 200,000 drivers who used it daily. Construction of the current design was expected to begin in July 2006, but was delayed due to state budget deficits.

The project was adequately funded during Governor Tim Pawlenty's second term and bids were received in April 2007. The bid was won by the Ames, Lunda, and Schafer consortium for $288 million. Construction began in May 2007. The project included 25 new bridges, 63 lane-miles of highway, and expanded the total roadway width from 6 lanes to 12 lanes at Lyndale Avenue. The bridges were cast in Coates, Minnesota and trucked in for on-site erection. The new design includes transit / HOV lanes and was completed in November 2010.^[1] The new interchange features three through-lanes for I-35W (including one HOV lane) in each direction and two separate through-lanes for Highway 62 in each direction, eliminating the need to weave across traffic. The 2007 cost of correcting the deficiencies in that short stretch of highway was estimated to be $285 million.^[2]

Exit list

The entire route is in Hennepin County. All exits are unnumbered.

Location	mi[3]	km	Destinations	Notes
Eden Prairie–Minnetonka line	103.592	166.715	I-494 / CSAH 62 west (62nd Street)	At-grade intersection; western terminus; road continues as CSAH 62 (62nd Street)
	104.510– 104.942	168.193– 168.888	CR 61 (Shady Oak Road)
Eden Prairie–Edina line	105.706– 106.025	170.117– 170.631	US 169	Cloverleaf interchange
	105.459– 105.541	169.720– 169.852	US 212 west	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Edina	106.240– 106.679	170.977– 171.683	CR 158 (Gleason Road)
	107.171– 107.481	172.475– 172.974	Tracy Avenue
	108.124– 108.512	174.009– 174.633	MN 100	Cloverleaf interchange
	109.062– 109.102	175.518– 175.583	Valley View Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	109.292– 109.602	175.888– 176.387	CR 17 (France Avenue)
Edina–Richfield– Minneapolis tripoint	109.882– 110.142	176.838– 177.256	CR 31 (Xerxes Avenue)
Richfield–Minneapolis line	110.352– 110.632	177.594– 178.045	CR 32 (Penn Avenue)
	111.421– 111.475	179.315– 179.402	I-35W south – Albert Lea	I-35W exit 11; westbound entrance from I-35W NB includes direct entrance ramp from MN 121
			Lyndale Avenue
	112.032– 112.267	180.298– 180.676	I-35W north – Minneapolis	I-35W exit 11
	112.412– 112.612	180.910– 181.231	CR 35 (Portland Avenue)	No westbound entrance
Minneapolis	113.242– 113.282	182.245– 182.310	Bloomington Avenue	Eastbound exit and entrance
	113.462– 113.852	182.599– 183.227	MN 77 south / CR 152 north (Cedar Avenue)
	114.202– 114.532	183.790– 184.321	28th Avenue
	114.722– 114.962	184.627– 185.013	34th Avenue
Unorganized Territory of Fort Snelling	115.683	186.174	MN 55 west (Hiawatha Avenue) / Minnehaha Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	115.982	186.655	MN 55 east	Continuation of freeway beyond eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

References

• Adam Froehlig (November 23, 2003). Minnesota Highway 62 (I). MN Highway Endings. Accessed August 26, 2004.
• Adam Froehlig (March 18, 2003). Minnesota Highway 62 (II). MN Highway Endings. Accessed August 26, 2004.
• Steve Riner (December 27, 2003). Details of Routes 51-75. Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed August 26, 2004.

External links

Route map: Google

• I-35W and Highway 62 - Crosstown Commons - Reconstruction project - web page