Interstate 90 in Minnesota
Interstate 90 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Veterans Memorial Highway | ||||
Map I-90 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Defined by MS § 161.%section% | ||||
| Maintained by MnDOT | ||||
| Length | 275.70 mi[1] (443.70 km) | |||
| NHS | Entire route | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  I-90 at the South Dakota state line | |||
 US 75 at Luverne  US 59 / MN 60 at Worthington US 71 at Jackson US 169 at Blue Earth I-35 near Albert Lea US 218 at Austin US 63 at Stewartville US 52 near Rochester  US 14 / US 61 near La Crescent | ||||
| East end | I-90 at the Wisconsin state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Minnesota | |||
| Counties | Rock, Nobles, Jackson, Martin, Faribault, Freeborn, Mower, Olmsted, Winona | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
Interstate 90 (I-90) in the US state of Minnesota runs for 276 miles (444 km) across the southern side of the state, parallel to the Iowa state line. The route connects the cities of Worthington, Albert Lea, Austin, and Rochester. The city of Winona is also in close proximity to I-90, with about 10 miles (16 km) between the Interstate and the city.
Route description
I-90 enters the state from South Dakota near Beaver Creek. This part of Minnesota has flat to gently rolling terrain and is the beginnings of Corn Belt farmland. The flat terrain is often subject to blowing and drifting snow in colder months, and the western portions of the highway are closed multiple times each winter.
Rock County, where I-90 enters Minnesota, is one of the only counties in the state lacking a natural lake. The change from semiarid to a wetter climate happens slowly moving eastbound on I-90 through southern Minnesota. The route passes through the cities of Luverne, Adrian, Worthington, Jackson, Fairmont, and Blue Earth. I-90 has an interchange with I-35 at Albert Lea.
East of the city of Austin, I-90 changes direction slightly and heads toward Rochester, and the route enters a much more hilly landscape. This is the Driftless Area of southeast Minnesota. Unlike the rest of the state, where the most recent glaciations left terrain that is either flat or rolling under a deposit of glacial till, this area escaped the most recent glaciation. The bedrock to the top of the I-90 road cuts is noticeable at this point. The other notable feature of this area are deep, steep valleys cut by water that poured through this area as the ice cap melted.
I-90 drops into the scenic Mississippi River valley just west of Dresbach. The carriageways split apart as they descend, and they rejoin west of the junction with US Highway 61 (US 61). I-90 then parallels the Mississippi River before turning east and crossing the Dresbach Bridge over the river into Wisconsin.
I-90 is atypical in that, just across the Minnesota–Wisconsin state line, (immediately west of the community of Dakota) the median is wide enough that farms exist between the road beds.[2]
Legally, the Minnesota section of I-90 is defined as unmarked Legislative Route 391 in the Minnesota Statutes. I-90 is not marked with this legislative number along the actual highway.
History
I-90 in Minnesota was authorized as part of the original Interstate network in 1956. The first section of I-90 in Minnesota constructed was the bypass of Austin in 1961.[3] The wayside rest area near Blue Earth is where the east-building I-90 and west-building I-90 teams linked up in 1978, thus completing construction in Minnesota and joining the 3,099.07 miles (4,987.47 km) of the Interstate.[4] Plaques dedicating the pavement completion and describing the significance of this segment are on display at the rest area.[5] Since being overlaid with bituminous paving in 2006,[6] the original four-foot-wide (1.2 m) gold-colored cement concert line marking the completion of I-90 has been replaced with gold paint on just the shoulder portions of the roadway at the same location.
I-90 in Minnesota closely follows the route of old US 16 over most of its route except from just east of Austin, where I-90 turns toward Rochester and is constructed on a new alignment not previously covered by a highway. The section of I-90 east of Rochester was constructed just south of US 14 and south of the city of Winona.
I-90 served as a replacement for old US 16 between the South Dakota state line and I-90's interchange with present-day Minnesota State Highway 16 (MN 16) at Dexter.
Exit list
| County | Location | mi[7] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock | Beaver Creek Township | 0.000 | 0.000 |  I-90 west – Sioux Falls | Continuation into South Dakota | |
| 1.057 | 1.701 | 1 |   MN 23 / CSAH 17 – Jasper, Pipestone | |||
| Beaver Creek | 3.895 | 6.268 | 3 |  CSAH 4 – Beaver Creek | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| 5.074 | 8.166 | 5 |  CSAH 6 – Beaver Creek, Hills | |||
| Luverne | 12.479 | 20.083 | 12 | US 75 – Luverne, Rock Rapids | Also access to Pipestone | |
| Magnolia | 18.483 | 29.746 | 18 |  CSAH 3 – Magnolia, Kanaranzi | ||
| Nobles | Adrian | 26.620 | 42.841 | 26 |  MN 91 – Adrian, Lake Wilson | Also access to Ellsworth, Lismore |
| Rushmore | 33.707 | 54.246 | 33 |  CSAH 13 – Rushmore, Wilmont | ||
| Worthington | 42.255 | 68.003 | 42 |    I-90 BL east / CSAH 25 – Worthington, Wilmont | Road from exit into Wilmont was formerly MN 266 | |
| 43.739 | 70.391 | 43 | US 59 – Worthington, Slayton | Also access to Fulda | ||
| 45.148 | 72.659 | 45 |  I-90 BL west / MN 60 – Windom | Also access to Sioux City | ||
| Lorain Township | 47.796 | 76.920 | 47 |  CSAH 53 | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| Nobles–Jackson county line | Lorain–Ewington township line | 50.738 | 81.655 | 50 |   MN 264 / CSAH 1 – Brewster, Round Lake | |
| Jackson | Rost Township | 57.728 | 92.904 | 57 |  CSAH 9 – Heron Lake, Okabena | |
| Hunter Township | 64.767 | 104.232 | 64 |  MN 86 – Lakefield, Spirit Lake | ||
| Jackson | 73.813 | 118.791 | 73 | US 71 – Jackson, Spirit Lake | ||
| Alpha | 80.083 | 128.881 | 80 |  CSAH 29 – Alpha | ||
| Martin | Sherburn | 87.309 | 140.510 | 87 |  MN 4 – Sherburn, St. James, Trimont, Estherville | |
| Welcome | 93.675 | 150.755 | 93 |   MN 263 / CSAH 27 – Welcome, Ceylon | ||
| Fairmont | 99.807 | 160.624 | 99 |  I-90 BL east / CSAH 39 – Fairmont | ||
| 102.053 | 164.238 | 102 |  I-90 BL west / MN 15 – Madelia, Fairmont | Also access to Armstrong, Truman | ||
| Granada | 107.202 | 172.525 | 107 |  CSAH 53 – Granada, East Chain | Road from exit into Granada was formerly MN 262 | |
| Faribault | Guckeen | 113.272 | 182.294 | 113 | CSAH 1 – Guckeen, Huntley | |
| Blue Earth | 119.909 | 192.975 | 119 | US 169 – Blue Earth, Mankato, Winnebago, Elmore | Green Giant | |
| Emerald Township | 128.538 | 206.862 | 128 |   MN 254 south / CSAH 17 – Easton, Frost | ||
| Brush Creek Township | 134.546 | 216.531 | 134 |   MN 253 south / CSAH 21 – Minnesota Lake, Bricelyn | ||
| Foster Township | 138.630 | 223.103 | 138 |  MN 22 – Wells, Kiester | ||
| Freeborn | Alden | 146.292 | 235.434 | 146 |   MN 109 / CSAH 6 – Alden, Mankato | |
| Albert Lea | 154.739 | 249.028 | 154 |  MN 13 to US 69 – Albert Lea, Waseca | ||
| 157.826 | 253.996 | 157 |   CSAH 22 – Albert Lea | |||
| Bancroft Township | 159.740 | 257.077 | 159 | I-35 – Albert Lea, Des Moines, Minneapolis, St. Paul | Signed as exits 159A (south) and 159B (north); I-35 exits 13A-B | |
| Hayward | 163.705 | 263.458 | 163 |  CSAH 26 – Hayward | ||
| Oakland | 166.321 | 267.668 | 166 |  CSAH 46 (Oakland Road) – Petran, Oakland | ||
| Mower | Austin | 175.488 | 282.421 | 175 |  I-90 BL east / MN 105 / CSAH 46 / Oakland Avenue | |
| 177.188 | 285.156 | 177 |  US 218 north / 14th Street NW – Owatonna | West end of US 218 overlap | ||
| 177.872 | 286.257 | 178A | 4th Street NW | |||
| 178.506 | 287.278 | 178B | 6th Street NE | |||
| 179.148 | 288.311 | 179 | 11th Drive NE | |||
| 179.741 | 289.265 | 180A | I-90 BL west / Oakland Place | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||
| 180.024 | 289.721 | 180B |  US 218 south / 21st Street Northeast | East end of US 218 overlap | ||
| 180.500 | 290.487 | 181 | 28th Street NE | |||
| Windom Township | 183.562 | 295.414 | 183 |  MN 56 – Brownsdale, Rose Creek | ||
| Marshall Township | 187.338 | 301.491 | 187 |  CSAH 20 | ||
| Dexter Township | 189.584 | 305.106 | 189 | CSAH 13 – Elkton | ||
| Dexter | 193.048 | 310.681 | 193 |  MN 16 – Dexter, Grand Meadow, Spring Valley, Preston | ||
| Olmsted | High Forest Township | 205.054 | 330.002 | 205 | CSAH 6 | |
| Stewartville | 209.270 | 336.787 | 209 |  US 63 / MN 30 – Stewartville, Rochester | Signed as exits 209A (south/east) and 209B (north/west) | |
| Marion Township | 217.620 | 350.225 | 218 | US 52 – Chatfield, Rochester | Also access to Twin Cities; Chatfield only appears on eastbound signage, Rochester only appears on westbound signage | |
| Eyota | 223.606 | 359.859 | 224 |    MN 42 north / CSAH 7 – Eyota | ||
| Dover | 228.572 | 367.851 | 229 |  CSAH 10 – Dover | ||
| Winona | St. Charles | 232.291 | 373.836 | 233 |  MN 74 – St. Charles, Chatfield | |
| Fremont Township | 242.061 | 389.559 | 242 | CSAH 29 – Lewiston | ||
| Warren Township | 249.103 | 400.892 | 249 |  MN 43 south – Rushford | West end of MN 43 overlap | |
| Wilson Township | 252.059 | 405.650 | 252 | MN 43 north – Winona | East end of MN 43 overlap | |
| Pleasant Hill Township | 257.692 | 414.715 | 258 |  MN 76 south – Houston | ||
| Nodine | 266.017 | 428.113 | 267 |  CSAH 12 – Nodine | ||
| New Hartford Township | 270.288 | 434.986 | 269 |    US 14 west / US 61 north / Great River Road north – Winona | Westbound access to US 14 west/US 61 north; west end of US 14 / US 61 overlap; eastbound exit via exit 270 | |
| Dakota | 271.232 | 436.506 | 270 |  To US 14 west / US 61 north – Dakota | US 14 and US 61 signed eastbound only; westbound entrance via exit 269 | |
| Dresbach | 272.663– 272.681 | 438.809– 438.838 | 273 | Dresbach | Signed as exits 273A (first exit) and 273B (second exit) eastbound | |
| La Crescent | 275.243 | 442.961 | 276 |   US 14 east / US 61 south / Great River Road south – La Crescent, La Crosse | East end of US 14 / US 61 overlap | |
| Mississippi River | 275.701 | 443.698 | I-90 Mississippi River Bridge | |||
 I-90 east – Tomah | Continuation into Wisconsin | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| ||||||
References
*Steve Riner Details of Routes 76 to 100. Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed January 12, 2009.
- ^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ Google (June 8, 2009). "Interstate 90 in Minnesota" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
- ^ "Construction Project Log Record" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
- ^ Roethele, Sue (October 1978). "Last Segment of I-90 Opens in Minnesota" (PDF). DOT Scene. Minnesota Department of Transportation. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
- ^ A Golden Dedication for I-90 (Minnesota Historical Marker). Minnesota Historical Society; Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
- ^ "Construction Project Log Record" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
- ^ Minnesota Department of Transportation (August 14, 2014). "Statewide Trunk Logpoint Listing" (PDF). St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2015-07-05.