Minnesota State Highway 100 (MN 100) is a
state highway in the
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 sta ...
region 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 ...
, which runs from its
interchange with
Interstate 494
Interstate 494 (I-494) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway making up part of a beltway of I-94, circling through the southern and western portions of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota. The road is coupled with ...
(I-494) in
Bloomington and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with
I-694
Interstate 694 (I-694) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the US state of Minnesota. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with I-94, I-494, and US H ...
in
Brooklyn Center
Brooklyn Center is a first-ring suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. In 1911, the area became a village formed from parts of Brooklyn Township and Crystal Lake Township. I ...
. The southern end of MN 100 continues in Bloomington as Normandale Boulevard (
County Road 34, CR 34). At the north end, the main line of MN 100 merges with I-694 in Brooklyn Center. The route is in length.
Route description
MN 100 serves as a north–south arterial route in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities. The roadway serves the communities of Bloomington,
Edina
EDINA is a centre for digital expertise, based at the University of Edinburgh as a division of the Information Services Group.
Services
EDINA front-end services (those accessed directly by the user) are available free at the point of use for ...
,
St. Louis Park,
Golden Valley,
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...
,
Robbinsdale
Robbinsdale is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota,. The population was 13,953 at the time of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total ...
and Brooklyn Center. MN 100 is constructed to
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
standards. The route is located in
Hennepin County
Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapo ...
.
History
Routing as a beltway
The route was authorized in 1934. MN 100 was originally meant as a
beltway
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
around the Twin Cities (presumably the reason for the round number) and actually achieved that status for about 20 years in the mid-20th century (although it wasn't a full freeway).
All of the current MN 100 was also in the original route. Starting from the current southern terminus, Old MN 100 was
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
eastward with a pre-I-494
MN 5 past the
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport to its intersection with
MN 55. Old MN 100 then continued east concurrent with MN 55 over the
Mendota Bridge
The Mendota Bridge (full name Fort Snelling–Mendota Bridge), in the US state of Minnesota carries State Highway 55 (MN 55) and MN 62 over the Minnesota River between Fort Snelling and Mendota Heights. It is the final bridge over t ...
, then along current
MN 62 through
Mendota Heights, then MN 100 went on Southview Boulevard into
South St. Paul
South St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota, United States, located immediately south and southeast of Saint Paul, Minnesota, St. Paul. It is also east of West St. Paul, Minnesota, West St. Paul. The population ...
. Then old MN 100 followed Grand Avenue downhill, until it met old
MN 56 on ''Concord Street''. Then old MN 100 followed south on Concord Street into
Inver Grove Heights
Inver Grove Heights is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 35,801 at the 2020 census. The city was formed on March 9, 1965, with the merger of the village of Inver Grove and Inver Grove Township.
It is one of 1 ...
, then east over
the railroad bridge into
Newport; and then turning north onto Century Avenue in
Woodbury, which feeds into current
MN 120 north of
I-94 in
Maplewood /
Oakdale. Old MN 100 then turned west upon County Road F and north along White Bear Avenue to meet up with and concurrent westward with old
MN 96 (the section of which is now County Rd 96 in
Vadnais Heights and
Shoreview
Shoreview is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota. The population was 25,043 at the time of the 2010 census. In 2008, Shoreview ranked fourth in a ''Family Circle'' list of best family towns.
Geography
According to the United States Census Burea ...
). Old MN 100 then turned south briefly along
U.S. Highway 8 (US 8, now a city maintained street in
New Brighton), then old MN 100 carried on westward along the current routing of I-694 through New Brighton and
Fridley
Fridley is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 29,590 at the 2020 census. Fridley was incorporated in 1949 as a village, and became a city in 1957. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area as ...
to meet back at its present-day northern terminus at
Brooklyn Center
Brooklyn Center is a first-ring suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. In 1911, the area became a village formed from parts of Brooklyn Township and Crystal Lake Township. I ...
.
Due to traffic pattern changes over the years, it is no longer possible to directly follow the path of old MN 100. Small detours are necessary which involve the use of exits 40 and 60 of the present I-494/I-694 beltway.
Lilac Way
The original construction of MN 100 started in 1935, as a
New Deal project. The project was a cooperative venture between the
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
(WPA) and the Minnesota Highway Department, and was the largest WPA project in the state. The demand for the highway came out of growing pains in the Twin Cities during the 1920s, when Minneapolis city streets were congested and suburban roads were poorly maintained dirt roads. The plan for a
beltway
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
around the Twin Cities incorporated existing roads, both paved and unpaved. A new section of highway, between MN 5 (now I-494 and MN 5) in Edina and then-
US 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 ...
(now
CR 81) in
Robbinsdale
Robbinsdale is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota,. The population was 13,953 at the time of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total ...
was needed to complete the beltway. As such, it was planned as a state-of-the-art highway, with two lanes in each direction separated by wide medians, bridges at major intersections and railroad crossings, and the first
cloverleaf interchanges in Minnesota.
Carl Graeser, the highway engineer and
Arthur R. Nichols, a landscape architect, teamed up to design the highway. A large number of WPA workers worked on the construction of the highway. Since the WPA was designed to keep a large number of workers busy, a lot of hand digging was done as opposed to using bulldozers. Cloverleaf interchanges were built at
MN 7,
US 12
U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) and I-94, but unlike most U.S. routes that ...
(now I-394 and US 12) and MN 55 (Olson Highway).
The landscaping of the highway was meant to give the highway a parkway-like experience. As such, it was built with a wider right-of-way than the typical highway. The Golden Valley Garden Club supported efforts to plant
lilacs along the highway and the ''Minneapolis Journal'' coined the name "Lilac Way". Eventually, 7,000 lilacs were planted. In addition, the builders built five wayside parks along the way. These parks were intended for picnicking and featured stone picnic tables, beehive barbecues, waterfalls and so on. These fixtures provided work for local stonemasons, as another part of the WPA project. The western leg was completed in 1940, but further construction on the beltway was halted with the United States' entry into
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. An extension from then-US 52 (now CR 81) in Robbinsdale to
US 10
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
(near present-day
I-35W Interstate 35W may refer to:
* Interstate 35W (Texas), an Interstate highway serving Fort Worth, Texas, and its suburbs
* Interstate 35W (Minnesota), a Interstate highway serving Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its suburbs
**The I-35W Mississippi Riv ...
) in
New Brighton was built with federal aid to provide access to industrial areas as an asset to the manufacture of "essential war materials".
Graeser Park in Robbinsdale and the St. Louis Park Roadside Park (near the southeast corner of MN 100 and MN 7) are the only remaining roadside parks from the 1930s that are still mostly intact after widening of MN 100.
The beltline was not completed until 1950. At that point, demand from the
baby boom led to rapid growth in the suburbs.
In 2009, restoration of the St. Louis Park Roadside Park was completed and the park renamed Lilac Park. As part of the restoration project, a beehive fireplace from the old Lilac Park to the north was transferred and restored. A new bicycle/walkway path constructed within the park connects the park to the
Southwest LRT Trail
Southwest LRT Trail is a system of shared-use paths for bicycles and pedestrian paths that extends through several western suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are operated by the Three Rivers Park District. Two former rail corridors origina ...
.
Recent construction
![Lilac Park 2017-06-10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Lilac_Park_2017-06-10.jpg)
Conversion of the remaining portion of the road into a freeway is complete. In 2004, construction was finished on the northern portion of MN 100 between I-394 and I-694, making MN 100 a freeway for its entire length.
The section between MN 7 and I-394 in St. Louis Park, the oldest part of the freeway, was reconstructed into a 6-lane freeway, completed in Nov. 2016. MN 100 is now 6 lanes from just north of the I-494 interchange in Edina, to the interchange at Bottineau Boulevard (County Road 81) in Robbinsdale.
As part of these projects, 2 of the original 3 cloverleaf intersections were replaced. The cloverleaf at MN 55 in Golden Valley was changed and rebuilt in 2004 as a signalized
single-point urban interchange
A single-point urban interchange (SPUI, or ), also called a single-point interchange (SPI) or single-point diamond interchange (SPDI), is a type of highway interchange. The design was created in order to help move large volumes of traffic thr ...
(SPUI). The cloverleaf at MN 7/CR 25 was replaced with a
folded diamond interchange. The remaining cloverleaf is at the I-394 interchange.
The original Lilac Park in St. Louis Park was also lost to this construction. Several of the park's WPA-built stone picnic tables and a beehive fireplace were saved and relocated to the remaining portion of St. Louis Park Roadside Park, which was then renamed Lilac Park.
In October of 2020, Hwy. 100's speed limit was increased to 60 miles per hour (100 km/h) for its entire length.
It was originally 55 miles per hour (88 km/h) south of County Road 81 in Robbinsdale to its terminus in Bloomington.
Exit list
References
General references
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External links
{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
Restore Lilac Way website
100
100 or one hundred ( Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
Works Progress Administration in Minnesota
Transportation in Hennepin County, Minnesota