County State-Aid Highway 42 (CSAH 42), usually called County Road 42 (CR 42), is a

county highway A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, a ...

and Scott counties in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. It is a primary

arterial highway An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban area, urban road that sits below freeways/Controlled-access highway#Europe, motorways on the Hierarchy of roads, road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and Speed limit#Maximum sp ...

in the two

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. These two counties form the southernmost portion of the 13-county

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

metropolitan area, although CSAH 42 travels across the northern reaches of the two counties.

Route description

County Road 42 serves as an east–west

arterial route An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roa ...

for the South of the River suburbs of the

Minneapolis – Saint Paul Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

area. The roadway connects the communities of Shakopee, Prior Lake, Savage, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Rosemount, and Hastings; which are all located south of the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It ris ...

. From west to east, the route follows 140th Street, Egan Drive, 150th Street and 145th Street. Its westernmost terminus is at

Shakopee Shakopee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota, United States. It is located southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of ...

in Scott County, where it intersects County Road 17 (Marschall Road). The eastern terminus of County 42 is at

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

in Dakota County, where it meets

U.S. Highway 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated ...

. County 42 is designated as a

principal arterial An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban area, urban road that sits below freeways/Controlled-access highway#Europe, motorways on the Hierarchy of roads, road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and Speed limit#Maximum sp ...

highway by the

Metropolitan Council The Metropolitan Council, commonly abbreviated Met Council or Metro Council, is the regional governmental agency and metropolitan planning organization in Minnesota serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area, accounting for over 55 pe ...

, and the roadway is supposed to have limited commercial access and

traffic signal Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

s only at one-half mile intervals. However, because it was used as a primary commercial road before its designation as a principal arterial highway, it passes directly through the downtown areas of several cities in Scott and Dakota Counties; most notably Burnsville and Apple Valley in Dakota County Most of County Road 42 is designated as part of the National Highway System. The major highways it intersects from west to east are: State Highway 13, Interstate 35W, Interstate 35E,

Cedar Avenue Cedar Avenue is a roadway that runs from Minneapolis to Northfield in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The roadway is known as Minnesota State Highway 77 in the busiest portion of the route, from Minneapolis to Apple Valley. The portions north and ...

two miles (3 km) south of the terminus of State Highway 77, State Highway 3,

U.S. 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows ...

, State Highway 55, and U.S. 61.

History

County Road 42 was authorized and paved during the 1960s. In July 2007, construction began to widen County Road 42 to six lanes from Glendale Road in

Savage Savage may refer to: Places Antarctica * Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land * Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Savage Ridge, Victoria Land United States * Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community * Savage, Minnesota, a city * Savage, Mi ...

to County Road 5 in Burnsville. Also, the old traffic signals between Glendale Road and County Road 5, were replaced with new ones. The project was completed by summer 2008.

Future

A proposed reconstruction project at the interchange with

U.S. Highway 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows ...

in Rosemount, will reconstruct the interchange to a cloverleaf interchange. The purpose of the project is to provide movement between the north and the east with the closure of the nearby US 52 / MN 55 interchange. Phase 1 of construction will start in 2017, with widening of County Road 42 to 4 lanes, including turn lanes and replacement of Highway 52 bridges.

Major Intersections

References

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042 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...