U.S. Route 61 in Minnesota

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 61 in Minnesota. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 61.

For the route located in northeast Minnesota on the North Shore of Lake Superior numbered 61, see Minnesota State Highway 61.

U.S. Highway 61
Map      US 61
Route information
Defined by MS § 161.%section%
Maintained by MnDOT
Length	164.93 mi (265.43 km)
Existed	November 26, 1926–present
Tourist routes	Great River Road
Major junctions
South end	US 61 / US 14 / WIS 16 at La Crescent
Major intersections	I-90 at Dakota, near La Crescent US 14 at Winona US 63 at Lake City US 63 at Red Wing MN 55 at Hastings US 10 at Denmark Township I-494 at Newport I-94 / US 10 at Saint Paul I-694 at Maplewood US 8 at Forest Lake
North end	I-35 at Wyoming
Location
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Counties	Houston, Winona, Wabasha, Goodhue, Dakota, Washington, Ramsey, Chisago
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Minnesota Trunk Highway System Interstate US State Legislative Scenic
← MN 60 → MN 61

U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) is a U.S. Highway in southeast and east-central Minnesota, which runs from the River Bridge over the Mississippi River at La Crescent and continues north to its northern terminus at its junction with Interstate 35 (I-35) at the city of Wyoming.

US 61 in Minnesota is 165 miles (266 km) in length. The highway connects the cities of La Crescent, Winona, Wabasha, Lake City, Red Wing, Hastings, Cottage Grove, Saint Paul, Forest Lake, and Wyoming.

Route description

US 61 enters the state of Minnesota at the city of La Crescent on the River Bridge over the Mississippi River between the cities of La Crosse and La Crescent. US 61 runs concurrently with US 14 and State Highway 16 (MN 16) as it enters the state. The four-lane divided highway continues north through La Crescent. US 61 follows the Mississippi River through southeast Minnesota; through the cities of Winona, Wabasha, Lake City, and Red Wing.

US 61 is a two-lane roadway between Wabasha and Red Wing. US 61 crosses the Mississippi River at Hastings over the new Hastings Bridge and joins US 10 at Cottage Grove. US 61 and US 10 run concurrently as a freeway between Cottage Grove and the city of Saint Paul. Within the city of Saint Paul, US 61 follows I-94 for a short distance, and then follows Mounds Boulevard, East 7th Street, and Arcade Street through the east side of St. Paul.

US 61 then proceeds north to Maplewood, where it becomes a four-lane highway named Maplewood Drive to White Bear Lake. Between I-694 and the central business district of White Bear Lake, the road serves one of the Twin Cities region's major car dealership areas. After leaving White Bear Lake, US 61 is a two-lane roadway again to Forest Lake and then to its northern terminus at the city of Wyoming. US 61 closely parallels I-35E and I-35 from Saint Paul to Wyoming.

Approximately 120 miles (190 km) of US 61 from La Crescent to Cottage Grove in southeast Minnesota is officially designated the Disabled American Veterans Highway. Legally, the Minnesota section of US 61 is defined as unmarked legislative routes 3, 104, 102 and 1 in the Minnesota Statutes. US 61 is not marked with these legislative numbers along the actual highway.

History

US 61 in Minnesota is an original U.S. Highway, established on November 26, 1926. It originally extended north to the Canadian border at Grand Portage, but it was cut back to its present terminus in 1991. The portion between Duluth and Grand Portage is now MN 61. Segments of the old alignment that parallel MN 61 and I-35 have been designated County Road 61 (CR 61).

In 1929, the only unpaved portions were from Hastings to Wabasha and from Winona to the state line. It was completely paved by 1940.

The expressway sections south of Wabasha were built in the 1960s and the 1970s. The four lane divided highway section between Red Wing and MN 316 near Miesville was completed in 1997. The freeway section of US 61 between Cottage Grove and I-494 at Newport was completed in 2007.

The US 61 Hastings High Bridge received considerable attention from increased bridge inspections in 2008 following the August 1, 2007, I-35W Bridge collapse in nearby Minneapolis. The Hastings High Bridge, a steel arch structure built in 1951, is structurally deficient and shows considerable deterioration. It is also a notorious traffic bottleneck because it has only one lane each way and dumps southbound US 61 traffic into downtown Hastings. Starting in October 2010, the Hastings bridge will be replaced, with the projected completion in 2013.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Mississippi River		0.000	0.000		US 14 east / US 61 south / WIS 16 east / Alt. I-90 east – La Crosse	Wisconsin state line
				La Crosse West Channel Bridge
Houston	La Crescent	1.712	2.755		MN 16 west (Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway) / Great River Road south / CSAH 6 west to MN 26 – Hokah, Rushford	North end of MN 16 overlap; south end of Great River Road overlap
Winona	Dresbach Township	4.074	6.556	276	I-90 east – La Crosse, Tomah, Madison	North end of I-90 Alt. overlap; south end of I-90 overlap
	Dresbach	6.636	10.680	273B	Dresbach	No northbound entrance; signed as exit 273B&A northbound
		7.087	11.405	273A	Dresbach	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Dakota	8.736	14.059	270	I-90 west – Albert Lea	North end of I-90 overlap
		8.925	14.363	9	CR 12 / CR 101 – Dakota	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-90 exit 271 (northbound)
	Richmond Township	17.438	28.064		CSAH 7 / Great River Road Spur – Pickwick
	Winona	25.688	41.341		MN 43 – Rushford, Wisconsin, Minnesota State College Southeast Technical
		27.159	43.708		CSAH 44 / Great River Road Spur – Winona State University, MN Marine Art Museum
		29.522	47.511		US 14 west / Pelzer Street – Rochester, St. Marys University	North end of US 14 overlap
	Rollingstone Township	46.118	74.220		MN 248 west – Rollingstone, Altura, Minnesota City
Wabasha	Weaver	46.740	75.221		MN 74 south – Whitewater State Park, St. Charles
	Greenfield Township	53.979	86.871		MN 42 south / CSAH 18 – Plainview
	Wabasha	60.172	96.837		MN 60 (Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway) to Great River Road (Wisconsin Route) – Zumbro Falls, Wabasha, Wisconsin, National Eagle Center
	Lake City	74.005	119.100		US 63 south (Lyon Avenue / Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway) – Zumbro Falls, Rochester	South end of US 63 overlap
Goodhue	Red Wing	88.957– 89.424	143.162– 143.914		MN 292 / Great River Road Spur	Both ends of MN 292 loop
		91.047	146.526		US 63 north / MN 58 south (Plum Street) – Minnesota State College Southeast Technical, Wisconsin	North end of US 63 overlap
		96.561	155.400		MN 19 west – Cannon Falls
		97.701	157.235		CSAH 18 (Prairie Island Boulevard) – Prairie Island Indian Community, Treasure Island Resort & Casino, Lock and Dam No. 3
	Welch Township	101.142	162.772		CSAH 7 (Welch Village Road) – Welch, Welch Village
		104.480	168.144		MN 316 north / Great River Road north – Hastings	North end of Great River Road overlap
Dakota	Douglas Township	107.588	173.146		MN 50 west to MN 20 – Hampton, Cannon Falls
	Hastings	115.706	186.211		MN 316 south / Great River Road south	South end of Great River Road overlap
		115.806	186.372		Great River Road Spur (21st Street)
		116.310	187.183		18th Street East	Former MN 291 east
		116.848	188.049		MN 55 west
		117.407	188.948		CSAH 42 west (2nd Street) / Great River Road (National Route) north	Interchange; south end of Great River Road (National Route) overlap (US 61 south of here is an alternate route of the Great River Road)
Mississippi River		117.458– 117.810	189.030– 189.597		Hastings Bridge
Washington	Denmark Township	119.120	191.705		US 10 east / Great River Road (National Route) south / I-94 Alt. east – Prescott	North end of Great River Road overlap; south end of I-94 Alt. / US 10 overlap
	Cottage Grove	119.966	193.067		MN 95 north (Manning Avenue) – Stillwater
		122.826– 123.270	197.669– 198.384	—	CSAH 19 / CR 19A (Innovation Road)	Interchange; south end of freeway
		124.050– 124.579	199.639– 200.490	—	Jamaica Avenue	Interchange
		125.952	202.700	—	Grange Boulevard / 80th Street	Interchange
	St. Paul Park	127.730– 128.236	205.562– 206.376	127	CSAH 22 (70th Street) / Summit Avenue	Interchange
	Newport	129.183– 129.700	207.900– 208.732	129	Glen Road	Interchange
		130.053– 130.450	209.300– 209.939	130A	I-494 / Great River Road (National Route) south	Interchange; I-494 exits 63A&B; south end of Great River Road overlap
Ramsey	St. Paul	130.665	210.285	130B	Maxwell Avenue / Bailey Road	Interchange; north end of freeway
		134.956	217.191		Great River Road (National Route) north (Warner Road / County 36)	north end of Great River Road overlap
		135.550	218.147		I-94 east (US 12) / East 3rd Street	North end of I-94 Alt. overlap; south end of I-94 / US 12 overlap; US 61 south follows exit 244; no access from US 61 south to 3rd Street or 3rd Street to US 61 north
		136.685	219.973		I-94 west / US 10 west (US 12) / Kellogg Boulevard / Mounds Boulevard	North end of I-94 / US 10 / US 12 overlap; US 61 north follows exit 243
		137.424	221.162		MN 5 west (7th Street)	South end of MN 5 overlap
		138.014	222.112		MN 5 east (East 7th Street)	North end of MN 5 overlap
	Maplewood	141.464– 141.754	227.664– 228.131		MN 36 – Stillwater	Interchange
	Vadnais Heights	143.461– 143.586	230.878– 231.079		I-694	Interchange; I-694 exit 48
	Vadnais Heights–Gem Lake line	144.467	232.497		CSAH 15 (County E)	Former MN 244 north
	White Bear Lake	146.726	236.133		CSAH 96 west	Former MN 96 west
		147.822	237.896		MN 96 east – Stillwater
Washington	Forest Lake	159.295	256.360		MN 97 west – Lino Lakes, Twin Cities	South end of MN 97 overlap
		159.615	256.875		MN 97 east	North end of MN 97 overlap
		161.567– 161.705	260.017– 260.239		US 8 – Taylors Falls	Interchange
Chisago	Wyoming	164.858	265.313		CSAH 22 (Wyoming Trail)	Former MN 98 east; south end of CR 22 overlap
		165.111	265.720		CSAH 30 north (Forest Boulevard) / Old US 61	Former US 61 north
		165.487	266.326		I-35 / CSAH 22 west – St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth	Interchange; north end of CR 22 overlap; I-35 exit 135
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

See also

• Highway 61 Revisited (song) and album

Further reading

• Johnson, Nathan (2021). Highway 61 Through Minnesota. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467106931.