Interstate 35 in Minnesota

This article is about the section of Interstate 35 in Minnesota. For the entire length of the highway, see Interstate 35.

Interstate 35
Interstate 35 highlighted in red
Route information
Defined by MS § 161.12(2)
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	220.46 mi (354.80 km)
Major junctions
South end:	I-35 towards Des Moines, IA
	I-90 near Albert Lea US 14 at Owatonna I-35E / I-35W at Burnsville I-35E / I-35W at Columbus US 8 at Forest Lake US 2 at Duluth I-535 / US 53 at Duluth
North end:	MN 61 at Duluth
Location
Counties:	Freeborn, Steele, Rice, Scott, Dakota, Anoka, Washington, Chisago, Pine, Carlton, St. Louis
Highway system
Main route of the Interstate Highway System Main • Auxiliary • Business Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate • US • State • Legislative routes ← MN 34 I-35E →

In the U.S. state of Minnesota, Interstate 35 is a highway in southeast, east-central, and northeast Minnesota. The route runs north–south from the Iowa state line through the twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul; where it splits into Interstates 35E and 35W; and ends in the city of Duluth at its junction with Minnesota State Highway 61.

Interstate 35 in Minnesota is 220 miles (350 km) in length, not including the mileage on Interstates 35E or 35W.

Route description

Interstate 35 enters the state at Freeborn County. This part of Minnesota has rolling terrain and extensive farmland. I-35 has a junction with I-90 at the city of Albert Lea. Other cities along this part of the state are Owatonna and Faribault.

After passing through Lakeville and entering Burnsville, the highway splits into Interstates 35W and 35E (signed for Minneapolis and Saint Paul, respectively).

Interstates 35W and 35E join again at Columbus, near Forest Lake. The route then continues as Interstate 35. In contrast to the rolling terrain of I-35 south of the Twin Cities area, this region is quite flat. This is the Anoka Sand Plain, an area that was formed by outwash under the last glaciers that lay over this area as they melted. This is an extensive region that continues north for another twenty miles (32 km). The urban sprawl of the northern Twin Cities continues along I-35 to North Branch.

In Pine City and Hinckley, there are museums near I-35 commemorating the Great Hinckley Forest Fire that occurred in 1894.

Between Sandstone and Moose Lake, the landscape around I-35 makes a dramatic change. Exposed granite can be seen at the surface, and the deciduous forest changes to evergreens.

I-35 climbs Thompson Hill as it approaches the city of Duluth. As the highway enters the city limits at Boundary Avenue, the Saint Louis River and Lake Superior are in view. I-35 then descends Thompson Hill into Duluth, with numerous exits. The freeway has an interchange with I-535 / U.S. 53, known locally as the "Can of Worms". The junction features a pair of left exits from I-35, a stoplight, and lane drops over the I-35 bridge. Map and aerial photo

I-35 then proceeds to downtown Duluth. After multiple exits, I-35 leaves the downtown area and follows the Lake Superior shoreline for two miles (3 km) to its national northern terminus at its junction with Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. At this junction where Interstate 35 ends, Highway 61 begins its route northeast along the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Interstate 35 in Minnesota from the Iowa state line to the city of Duluth is officially designated the Red Bull Highway, named after the 34th Infantry (Red Bull) Division.

Legally, the Minnesota section of Interstate 35 is defined as Routes 390, 395, and 396 in the Minnesota Statutes § 161.12(2). The route is not marked with those numbers. The I-35 legislative route designation and mileposts follow I-35E in the Twin Cities area.

History

Interstate 35 in Minnesota was authorized as part of the primary interstate network in 1956. It was mostly constructed in the 1960s. The route in Minnesota replaced portions of old U.S. Highway 61 and old U.S. Highway 65.

I-35 was generally constructed along former routes of U.S. 65 south of the Twin Cities and U.S. 61 north of the Twin Cities.

The first section to be constructed (the first Interstate Highway opened in Minnesota) was about 10 miles (16 km) north of Owatonna, immediately west of present day Steele County Road 45 and Rice County Road 45.

By 1961, the section of I-35 around Hinckley and Sandstone was under construction.

Three lanes each way have been constructed on I-35 between the I-35E / I-35W split at Columbus to U.S. Highway 8 at Forest Lake. Three lanes have also been constructed on I-35 northbound at Thompson Hill, right before entering the city of Duluth. Additionally, three lanes have been constructed on I-35 southbound in Duluth at Thompson Hill between Central Avenue and U.S. Highway 2-westbound. Three lanes in each direction have also been constructed on I-35 in Duluth between the Can of Worms interchange (I-535 / U.S. 53) and the Mesaba Avenue interchange.

From November 1971 to October 1987, the national northern terminus for Interstate 35 was its interchange with Mesaba Avenue in Duluth.

The last section of Interstate 35 in Minnesota to be constructed was around downtown Duluth. The I-35 extension to Lake Avenue in Duluth was open to traffic in October 1987. The temporary I-35 extension to 10th Avenue East in Duluth was open to traffic in November 1989. The I-35 extension to its present day junction with 26th Avenue East and Highway 61 in Duluth was open to traffic in October 1992.

Notes

Interstates 35 and 35E closely parallel U.S. Highway 61 from the city of Saint Paul to the city of Wyoming.

Interstate 35 parallels Chisago County Road 61, State Highway 361, Pine County Road 61, and Carlton County Road 61.

State Highway 23 runs concurrent with Interstate 35 between Hinckley and Sandstone.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Freeborn			2	CR 5
			5	CR 13 – Twin Lakes, Glenville
	Albert Lea		8	US 65 / I-35 Bus. north – Albert Lea, Glenville
			11	CR 46 – Albert Lea
			12	US 65 / I-35 Bus. south – Albert Lea	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			13	I-90 - La Crosse, Sioux Falls	Signed as exits 13A (east) and 13B (west)
			18	MN 251 – Clarks Grove, Hollandale
			22	CR 35 – Hartland, Geneva
Steele	Ellendale		26	MN 30 – New Richland, Blooming Prairie
			32	CR 4 – Hope
	Owatonna		40	US 14 east / US 218 – Owatonna, Rochester, Austin	South end of US 14 overlap
			41	Bridge Street
			42A	CR 45 – Owatonna
			42B	US 14 west – Waseca	North end of US 14 overlap
			43	CR 34 (26th Street)
			45	CR 9 – Clinton Falls
	Medford		48	CR 12 / CR 23 – Medford
Rice	Faribault		55	Faribault	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			56	MN 60 – Waterville, Faribault
			59	MN 21 – Le Center, Faribault
			66	CR 1 – Montgomery, Dundas
			69	MN 19 – Northfield, New Prague
Scott			76	CR 2 – New Market, Elko
Dakota	Lakeville		81	CR 70 – Farmington, Lakeville
			84	CR 60 (185th Street West)
			85	CR 5 / CR 50
			86	CR 46
	Burnsville		87	Crystal Lake Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			88A	I-35W north – Minneapolis	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				I-35E north – St. Paul	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
See I-35W and I-35E
Anoka	Columbus			I-35E south – St. Paul	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			127	I-35W south – Minneapolis	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			129	MN 97 / CR 23
Washington	Forest Lake		131	CR 2 – Forest Lake
			132	US 8 – Taylors Falls	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Chisago	Wyoming		135	US 61 south / CR 22 – Wyoming
	Stacy		139	CR 19 – Stacy
			143	CR 17
	North Branch		147	MN 95 – Cambridge, North Branch
	Harris		152	CR 10 – Harris
	Rush City		159	MN 361 / CR 1 – Rush City
Pine	Rock Creek		165	MN 70 – Rock Creek, Grantsburg
	Pine City		169	CR 7 – Pine City
			171	CR 11
			175	CR 14 – Beroun
			180	MN 23 west / CR 61 – Mora	South end of MN 23 overlap
	Hinckley		183	MN 48 / CR 61 – Hinckley
	Sandstone		191	MN 23 east / CR 61 – Sandstone	North end of MN 23 overlap
			195	MN 18 / MN 23 – Askov, Finlayson
	Willow River		205	CR 43 – Bruno, Willow River
			209	CR 46 – Sturgeon Lake
Carlton	Moose Lake		214	MN 73 – Moose Lake
			216	MN 27 – Moose Lake	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Barnum		220	CR 6 – Barnum
			227	CR 4 – Mahtowa, Wrenshall
			235	MN 210 – Carlton, Cromwell
	Cloquet		237	MN 33 – Cloquet – Iron Range
	Scanlon		239	MN 45 / CR 45 – Cloquet, Scanlon
			242	CR 1 – Thomson, Esko
			245	CR 61
Saint Louis			246	CR 13 (Midway Road)
	Proctor		249	Boundary Avenue, Skyline Parkway
	Duluth		250	US 2 west – Grand Rapids, Proctor	South end of US 2 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
			251A	Cody Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			251B	MN 23 south (Grand Avenue)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			252	Central Avenue
			253A	US 2 east / LSCT east – Wisconsin	North end of US 2 overlap
			253B	40th Avenue West
			254	27th Avenue West
			255A	US 53 north / 21st Avenue West
			255B	I-535 south / US 53 south – Wisconsin
			256A	Mesaba Avenue, Superior Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			256B	5th Avenue West, Lake Avenue
			258	21st Avenue East	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			259	MN 61 / LSCT – North Shore	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; northern end of LSCT concurrency
				London Road/26th Avenue East	At-grade intersection
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Interstate 35
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