North Star Highways
Minnesota Geographic Trivia

Highways
  • Most expensive projects: "ROC 52", a complete reconstruction of US 52 through Rochester was a design-build project estimated at 240 million dollars. The Wakota Bridge (I-494 across the Mississippi River, aproach roads, and US 10/61 upgrades) is costing 250 million, but is broken down into 9 seperate contracts.
  • Most expensive projects ever proposed: The original plans for reconstruction of I-35W from Burnsville to Minneapolis and I-494 across Bloomington in the late 1980s were on the order of 1 billion each. The staggering costs sunk these proposals, which resurfaced later as a number of smaller projects reduced in scope.
  • Oldest Trunk Highways: The original highway system, as chartered in 1920, is still largely intact and includes most of the major routes in the state. About a third of the system maintains its original numbers.
  • Newest Trunk Highways: MN 336 was created in 1992 over county roads to provide a connection between I-94 and US 10. MN 312 and MN 610 are two new freeways being built since the mid 1990s, but planned much earlier.
  • Earliest Paved Highways: What became US 10 between Minneapolis and Little Falls was the earliest significant stretch of paved road. It was paved by about 1925
  • Last Unpaved Highways: MN 74 north of Elba is the last remaining unpaved trunk highway, remaining so because of  low traffic volume and potential flood damage. It is a candidate for removal from the system. Other trunk highways that had unpaved segments until recently were MN 1, MN 65, MN 249, and MN 330. By 1998, these were all paved or removed from the system.
  • Earliest Interstate Segments: Portions of the US 52 and US 61 expressways were upgraded to interstate standards. The US 65 bypass of Oxboro (now part of Bloomington) and Richfield was planned before the Interstates, but was incorporated into the system upon competion. The Wakota Bridge, which is now being replaced, also was planned pre-interstate. The earliest Interstate planned and built as part of the system was I-35 between Owatonna and Faribault.
  • Most Recent Interstates: I-394 was built in the early 1990s. The last segments of rural interstates to be completed were I-94 around St. Cloud and I-90 near Blue Earth, in the late 1970s.
  • Minnesota SPUIs: Single Point Urban Interchanges are an expensive but effective upgrade to the standard diamond interchange, where only a single traffic signal is needed for the ramps. The first SPUI in the state was I-35 at Lake Ave. in Duluth, followed by 24th Ave at I-494, Hiawatha Ave. at Lake Street, MN 100 at MN 55, I-494 at Penn Ave, US 10/61 at Glenn Road, and US 52 at 19th St. in Rochester.
  • Longest Highways: The longest trunk highway is US 59, at 432 miles. The longest state numbered highway is MN 1, at 348 miles. According to Steve Riner, there is a legend that this route was created in order to re-use signs pulled down from the old MN 1, which covered basically what is now I-35 and MN 61. (On the other hand, there is a report that this is when the signs switched from black and yellow to black and white). MN 23 is a close second at 341 miles.
  • Shortest Highways: One candidate for the shortest non-secret trunk highway would be MN 308, which is a few blocks long and is a basically a driveway for the Minnesota Regional Treatment Center- Brainerd. The shortest non-secret trunk highway ever was probably MN 322, a two block long connector betweeen MN 18 and MN 371 in Brainerd. Many secret trunk highways are only a few hundred yards long- basically the distance from an interchange ramp to the next crossroad.
  • Most Traveled Highways: I-94 east of the Lowry Tunnel carries 208,000 vehicles per day in a total of six through lanes plus two auxillary lanes. The most traveled highay that still has traffic signals and for which interchanges are not immediately planned is MN 252 near I-94, which carries 69,000 vehicles a day.
  • Least Traveled Highways: MN 308 near Roseau carries 50 vehicles a day. MN 312, which in it's current incarnation is essentially an exit ramp to Eden Prairie Road, is the least traveled metro freeway with 5000 vehicles a day.
  • Most Changed Highways: MN 45 and MN 121 cover none of their original routings.
  • Least Changed Highway: MN 58 has always had the same number and extent that it did initially in 1920. MN 44 does currently, but was extended westward for a number of years.
  • Most Numbers on a Highway: Broadway Ave. between Lowry and 36th Ave has had  six different numbers. It is not now part of the trunk highway system.
  • Least numbers on a Highway: A significant portion of the trunk highway system has the same numbers that it did in 1920. To name a few: 13, 15, 20, 32, 43. No number above 70 is original
  • Unusual Highway Numbers: MN 175 and 610 are numbered because of proximity to US 75 and US 10.  No one has been able to find a convincing explanation as to why MN 197 has such a strange number (It does not match the legislative route number, and the highest arbitrarily assigned number is in the 120s). There are two MN 62s because the one in the Twin Cities used to be County 62. MN 210 and MN 371 retain the numbers of former US highways. MN 100 was given a memorable number because it was a pre-interstate beltway. MN 101 may have been a curtailed attempt at a second beltway. There's a legend that MN 46 was numbered as such because it was 46 miles long. Although probably apocryphal, it appears on the US Forest Service web site, and the number 46 was originally intended for an entirely different highway.
  • About 35W and 35E, the "suffixed interstates": The question is often asked why have interstates with letters on the end, rather than finding different numbers. Early on, there were many suffixed interestates in the country, but these were either minor branch routes, or long interstates deserving their own number (such as I-35W-> I-135 in Kanses. I-35 in the Twin Cities, and in Dallas-Fort Worth are unique situations, in that the interstate divides into seperate but equal paths. Besides the fact that neither Minneapolis or St. Paul want to be "demoted"  to a three digit number, their is no logical canditate for the through route. The exit numbering and the official route designation follow I-35E, but that is unsuitable as the through route because of the truck restriction on the "parkway" section.
  • Why MN 62, MN 100, MN 77, MN 610, et al are not interstates: First and most importantly, Mn/DOT does not see any advantage to having a pointed shield as opposed to a square one, unlike some states who try to get any highway that might remotely qualify designated an interstate. It is unlikely that Minnesota would be able to get them incorporated as fully funded interstates, so the shield would be the only difference. Secondly, although the newer sections basically meet interstate design standards, there are significant older sections that don't. I-394 was a special case, as they basically removed US 12 in it's entirety and built I-394 as a fully funded interstate on the existing right-of-way.
Bridges and Tunnels
  • Longest Bridge: Located near the source of rivers, Minnesota does not have bridges that can compare to other places in length. The longest bridge entirely in the state is MN 77 over the Minnesota River. The two Duluth Bridges to Wisconsin are longer.
  • Toll Bridges: The only toll bridges partially within the state are the 19th Ave Bridge between Fargo and Moorhead, and the International Bridge between International Falls and Fort Francis. Both are privately owned. Other toll bridges in recent history were the Baudette to Rainy River bridge, which was taken over by the state and province and had tolls removed, and the Newport Bridge, which closed because of deteriorating structure.
  • Highway Tunnels:  There are 11 highway tunnels in the state. There are two blasted rock tunnels on MN 61 northeast of Two Harbors. There are 9 cut & cover tunnels: four on I-35 in dowtown Duluth, three on I-94 and associated ramps near downtown Minneapolis, one on the 6th street ramp in downtown St. Paul, and one on Hiawatha Avenue under Minnehaha Parkway.
  • Most Extravagant Bridge: The Hennepin Avenue Suspension Bridge was about three times as expensive as the least costly design that could have been built. Building the new Wabasha Street bridge as a cable-stayed bridge, with similar extravagance, was rejected in favor of putting decoration on a nondescript concrete beam design.
Geographic Quirks
  • The reason there are two cities instead of one: Minneapolis grew up near St. Anthony Falls, where the waterfall provided free power for industry. St. Paul on the other hand was more of a transportion center, as it was near the upper limit of the navigable portion of the Mississippi River, at the last spot where the bluffs were far enough away from the river to allow transfer from ships to oxcarts and later railroads. Stillwater was in the early days the third major city. The territorial legistature encouraged seperate developement by splitting up the prizes: Stillwater got the prison, St. Paul got the capitol, and Minneapolis got the University. Stillwater never took off like the other two cities, and today is being engulfed by St. Paul suburban developement.
  • Robbing Paul to pay Peter: In the territorial days, there was a bill to move the capitol from St. Paul to St. Peter, where developers had given legislators choice lots. Joe Roulette, a Senator from Pembina (which was then part of Minnesota Territory), put a stop to that when he physically grabbed the bill and hid with it until it was to late to pass it.
  • Surveying Mistakes: The Lost Forty, a stand of old growth pine trees in Chippewa National Forest, was preserved because a surveying error showed the area as underwater, and therefore not belonging to anyone. Until 1963, it was thought that Misquah Hills was the highest point in Minnesota, not Eagle Mountain. Any map before that time erroniously lists Misquah Hills as the high point.
  • Bypassing customs: Because of the remote but heavily touristed border with Ontario, one may obtain a permit to cross the border where a customs station is not available, a Remote Area Border Crossing Permit, now called CanPass. This is valid between  Lake of the Woods and Lake Superior. Formerly there was a customs station for the benefit of canoers on the heavily used route into Quetico Park via Prairie Lake, which connects to Lake Saganaga and the Gunflint Trail, but this has been closed.
Names and Places
  • Oldest Names: The oldest European names in Minnesota are from the French. The St. Croix River has had it's name since the late 1700s. The grave of some early French explorer was near the mouth, hence the name St. Croix = "Holy Cross". Earlier it was called Riviere Tombeau = "Tomb". Most geographic features did of course have Native American names, but most of those were translated to French and/or English
  • Newest Names: Beautiful Island Lake in Chippewa National Forest was named as such in the mid 1990s. The previous name "Squaw Lake" was ordered to be changed by the legislature because some liberals alleged that "squaw" was a French epiteth. Not liking men in suits downstate ordering them to change the name of their lake, local residents originally petitioned for "Politically Correct Lake". This was rejected. "Squall Lake" was also suggested but not formally submitted. Apple Valley was named after the California town by home builder Orin Thompson. Upon incorporation in the 1960s, this name was chosen over the township name of Lebanon in a referendum.
  • Unusual Name Origins. La Crescent was chosen to evoke the crusades and pick a fight with rival La Crosse, on the mistaken assumption that La Crosse meant "The cross". Cannon is a corruption of French canot=canoe. Kathio (as in the state park) came from someone misreading sloppy handwirting of the name Izatys, the Indian name for the region. Nowthen supposedly came from the fact that the postmaster often used these words in conversations. Nodine was orginally named Rose Hill, but was changed by some surveyors who couldn't find a place to eat.  Miere Grove was founded by the Meyer brothers, but the according to legend one of them got drunk on the way to register the name and there was some miscommunication about the spelling.
  • Oldest Towns: St Anthony (later Minneapolis), Pig's Eye (later St. Paul), and Stillwater date from the 1840s.
  • Newest Towns: Columbus was incorporated this year to prevent Forest Lake from taking pieces of the twonship. St. Augusta was incorporated a few years ago after fighting off an annexation attempt by St. Cloud. The newest town outside the metro essentially built from scratch was Silver Bay, built as a company town by the Reserve Mining Company in the 1950s.
  • Largest City: Minneapolis is the largest city, with 382,618.
  • Smallest City:  Tenney is the smallest "city", with 6 people, up from 4 in the 1990 census. Under Minnesota law, settlements must have 100 people to incorporate, but existing towns are grandfathered in.
Sociology
  • Politics: Reflecting it's long history as a mining, farming, and industrial state, Minnesota has traditionally been very liberal. Now that those industries are on the wane, and with the rise of the suburbs and the middle class, Minnesota has gotten much more conservative. This change often surprises national political commentators. Ideologically, Minnesota is close to the center of the spectrum politically nowdays. The Governor and the House are Republicans, whereas the Senate and Attorney General are Democrats. Properly speaking, the Minnesota Democrats are the DFL, the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, created years ago when the ultra-liberal Farmer-Labor party merged with the more centrist Democratic Party.
  • Economy: Minnesota is a very diverse state economically. The south is general farming, the west is grain farming. The northeast is mainly tourism, with some remnants of the once mighty logging and mining industries. The Twin Cities used to be based on transportion and such industries as milling and brewing, but have since diversified into things like video production and technology.

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