Minnesota State Highway 43 (MN 43) is a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...

in southeast

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 intersection with State Highway 44 in Mabel and continues north to its northern terminus at the

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

state line at Winona, where it becomes

Wisconsin Highway 54 State Trunk Highway 54 (often called Highway 54, STH-54 or WIS 54) is a Wisconsin state highway running east–west across central Wisconsin. It is in length. Route description Minnesota state line to Plover WIS 54 begins at the we ...

upon crossing the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. Highway 43 is in length.

Route description

State Highway 43 serves as a north–south route between Mabel, Rushford, and Winona in southeast Minnesota. The route crosses the Root River in Fillmore County. Highway 43 passes through the Richard J. Dorer State Forest. The northern terminus of Highway 43 is at the

at Winona, where the route becomes

upon crossing the Main Channel and

North Channel North Channel may refer to: *North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland) The North Channel (known in Irish and Scottish Gaelic as , in Scots as the ) is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland. It begins no ...

bridges over the river to

WinonaMinnesotaSignBridgeWIS54WestTerminus

History

State Highway 43 was authorized in 1920 between Rushford and Winona. The remainder of the route between Rushford and Mabel was authorized in 1933. Highway 43 was paved from Wilson to Winona by 1929. The only gravel section remaining by 1940 was south of Rushford. The route was completely paved by 1953. A major project in the 1980s to rebuild Highway 43 from Interstate 90 to Winona as an expressway ran out of money. Only one carriageway was actually paved. There is still visible road bed and bridges east of the roadway in this section. In response to the I-35W Bridge collapse in

Minneapolis 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 ...

on August 1, 2007, all Minnesota bridges were ordered to be inspected. During an inspection, "gusset plate

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engi ...

issues" were discovered in the Main Channel Bridge (Highway 43 / Highway 54), which crosses the

between Winona, MN and nearby Fountain City, WI. The Main Channel Bridge (Bridge #5900) was closed to traffic on June 3, 2008.

MnDOT The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state' ...

made a statement this was due to

gusset plate Gusset plate is a plate for connecting beams and girders to columns. A gusset plate can be fastened to a permanent member either by bolts, rivets or welding or a combination of the three. They are used in bridges and buildings, as well as oth ...

corrosion issues similar to those that caused the I-35W Bridge to collapse.Minnesota Highway 43 / Wisconsin Highway 54 - Mississippi River Crossing at Winona - project status

. Accessed June 5, 2008. The Main Channel Bridge reopened to car traffic on June 14, 2008. Commercial vehicles were still directed to find alternate routes across the river. The bridge was scheduled for replacement in 2017, which has been moved up to 2014.

Major intersections

References

{{Reflist 043 Transportation in Fillmore County, Minnesota Transportation in Winona County, Minnesota