U.S. Route 65 in Minnesota

U.S. Highway 65 (US 65) is a north-south United States Numbered Highway running from Clayton, Louisiana to Albert Lea, Minnesota. In the state of Minnesota, US 65 travels for 15 miles from the Iowa border to a partial interchange with Interstate 35 in Albert Lea. The length of US 65 in Minnesota is the shortest of the five states the route travels through.

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 65 in Minnesota. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 65.

U.S. Highway 65 marker

U.S. Highway 65

US 65 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length15.465 mi[1] (24.889 km)
ExistedNovember 11, 1926[2]–present
Major junctions
South end US 65 at the Iowa state line
Major intersections
North end I-35 in Albert Lea
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountiesFreeborn
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highway System
← MN 64→ MN 65

Historically, US 65 was a prominent route in southern Minnesota. From 1926 to 1935, the route reached Saint Paul. It was then realigned to end in Minneapolis, where the endpoint remained until the route was truncated to Albert Lea in 1980.

Route description

US 65 enters Minnesota just south of the community of Gordonsville. Parallel to a Union Pacific rail line through farmland, the route travels northwest and passes east of Gordonsville and west of downtown Glenville towards its first interchange with I-35.[3][4][5] At the interchange, the road enters the city of Albert Lea, expands to a four-lane divided highway and a business loop of I-35 begins, a route co-signed along US 65. The route curves to a true north-south direction north of 7th street in Albert Lea and narrows to a two-lane urban street known as Broadway Avenue. At a junction with MN 13, the route turns onto a four-lane divided highway known as Main Street and begins traveling east towards I-35. Near the end of the route, it splits from Main Street at a partial interchange with CSAH 46, which continues east and provides access to southbound I-35 via a diamond interchange. US 65 then travels northeast and merges onto northbound I-35 at a partial interchange, where it and business loop 35 end.[6]

The entirety of US 65 in Minnesota is defined as part of Route 1 in Minnesota Statutes § 161.114(2).[7] The route was marked with this number until 1934.[8]

History

US 65 was an original US Highway commissioned in 1926.[2] The original routing corresponded to Minnesota's southernmost portion of the Jefferson Highway and Legislative Route 1 from the Iowa state line to Saint Paul.[9] In 1935, this routing was changed to follow US 55's former route from Farmington to Minneapolis.[10][11] The official 1934 State Highway map showed US 65 extending further north of Minneapolis along MN 65 to McGregor, but this routing was never approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and this portion of the route was taken over by MN 65.[12][11][8]

A portion of US 65 was re-routed to follow the first completed section of I-35 in 1958.[13] As sections of I-35 and I-35W were completed in the 1960s and 1970s, more of the route shifted to follow the freeways. After the freeways were completed, US 65 was truncated to its current endpoint in Albert Lea in 1980.[14]

Jefferson Highway

Jefferson Highway marker

Jefferson Highway

LocationGordonsville to Noyes
Existed1917–1931

The original route of US 65 from the Iowa state line to Saint Paul had previously been established as a portion of the Jefferson Highway, an auto trail which ran from New Orleans to Winnipeg. The Minnesota section of the highway was authorized by the Minnesota Highway Department on September 7, 1917, and followed Legislative Route 1 from the Iowa state line to Saint Paul, before traveling northwest through the cities of Minneapolis, Anoka, Elk River, St. Cloud, Little Falls, Staples, Wadena, Park Rapids, Bemidji, Red Lake Falls, Thief River Falls, Lake Bronson, Hallock, and St. Vincent. The route continued north from the Noyes–Emerson East Border Crossing to end in Winnipeg.[9][15]

Highway 165

Trunk Highway 165 marker

Trunk Highway 165

LocationFaribault to Lakeville
Existed1935–1957

When US 65 was rerouted to end in Minneapolis in 1935, the Minnesota Legislature authorized Trunk Highway 165, which provided a direct connection from Faribault to Lakeville, bypassing the cities of Dundas, Northfield, and Farmington.[10][11] Initially unpaved, the route was completely paved in 1950.[16][17] In 1957, US 65 was re-routed onto the highway, and highway 165 was subsequently decommissioned.[18][19]

Browse numbered routes
← MN 156MN 165→ US 169

Major intersections

Mileage for the highway begins at 300. The entire highway is in Freeborn County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Shell Rock Township300.000482.803
 US 65 south / Jefferson Highway Heritage Byway		Continuation into Iowa
Albert Lea309.288–
309.638		497.751–
498.314
 I-35 / I-35 BL begins		Exit 8 on I-35; southern terminus of BL 35
312.505502.928 MN 13 (Main Street)Formerly US 16
314.480–
314.493		506.107–
506.127

 CSAH 46 to I-35 south		Northbound exit, southbound entrance; formerly US 16
315.465507.692

 I-35 north / I-35 BL ends		National northern terminus of US 65; northern terminus of BL 35; southbound entrance, northbound exit from I-35
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References
  1. "Statewide Trunk Logpoint Listing" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  2. Weingroff, Richard F. (January 9, 2009). "From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System". Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  3. Minnesota Department of Transportation (2020). Township of Shell Rock (PDF) (Map). Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  4. Minnesota Department of Transportation (2020). Municipality of Glenville (PDF) (Map). Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  5. Minnesota Department of Transportation (2021). General Highway Map: Freeborn County, Minnesota (PDF) (Map). Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  6. Minnesota Department of Transportation (2021). Municipality of Albert Lea (PDF) (Map). Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  7. 2018 Minnesota Statutes
  8. American Association of State Highway Officials & State of Minnesota Department of Highways. "Correspondence involving various proposed US highway designations". Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  9. "Jefferson Highway". Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  10. Minnesota Highway Department; McGill-Warner (1933). Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). 1:760,320. St. Paul: Minnesota Highway Department. OCLC 5673160, 80405240. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Minnesota Digital Library. (Showing road conditions as of April 1, 1933)
  11. Minnesota Highway Department; McGill-Warner (1935). Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). 1:760,320. St. Paul: Minnesota Highway Department. OCLC 5673160, 80405240. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Minnesota Digital Library. (Showing road conditions as of April 1, 1935)
  12. Minnesota Highway Department; McGill-Warner (1934). Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). 1:760,320. St. Paul: Minnesota Highway Department. OCLC 5673160, 80405240. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Minnesota Digital Library. (Showing road conditions as of May 1, 1934)
  13. Minnesota Department of Highways; H.M. Gousha (1958). Official Road Map of Minnesota Showing the State Highway System and Main Secondary Roads (Map). 1:760,320. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Highways. OCLC 5673160, 80405240, 173191493. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Minnesota Digital Library.
  14. Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (June 25, 1979). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  15. Rand McNally Official 1923 Auto Trails Map: District Number 9: Minnesota, W. Wisconsin (Map). Rand McNally and Company. 1923. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  16. Minnesota Department of Highways (1949). Official Road Map of Minnesota Showing the State Highway System and Main Secondary Roads (Map). Scale not given. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Highways. OCLC 5673160, 80405240. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Minnesota Digital Library. (Showing road conditions as of January 1, 1949)
  17. Minnesota Department of Highways (1950). Official Road Map of Minnesota Showing the State Highway System and Main Secondary Roads (Map). Scale not given. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Highways. OCLC 5673160, 80405240, 52146707. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Minnesota Digital Library. (Showing road conditions as of January 1, 1950)
  18. Minnesota Department of Highways; H.M. Gousha (1956). Official Road Map of Minnesota Showing the State Highway System and Main Secondary Roads (Map). 1:760,320. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Highways. OCLC 5673160, 80405240, 381173598. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Minnesota Digital Library.
  19. Minnesota Department of Highways; H.M. Gousha (1957). Official Road Map of Minnesota Showing the State Highway System and Main Secondary Roads (Map). 1:760,320. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Highways. OCLC 5673160, 80405240. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Minnesota Digital Library.
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