Minnesota State Highway 56 (MN 56) 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-access ...

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 In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their i ...

with U.S. Highway 63 near the

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

state line and

Chester, Iowa Chester is a city in Howard County, Iowa, United States. The population was 139 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, a decrease of 7.9% from the 151 population in the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. Chester is located close to the ...

, and continues north to its northern terminus at its

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

with U.S. Highway 52 and State Highway 50 in

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

Route description

Highway 56 serves as a north–south route in southeast Minnesota between Le Roy, Adams, Brownsdale, Hayfield, Dodge Center, West Concord, Kenyon, and Hampton. Highway 56 begins near the Minnesota - Iowa state line and heads west through the towns of Le Roy, Adams, Taopi and

Rose Creek Rose Creek is an urban stream in San Diego, California that drains to Mission Bay. It flows in a north-to-south direction through Rose Canyon and San Clemente Canyon and their tributary canyons. Both Rose Creek and Rose Canyon are named for San ...

. Near Le Roy, Highway 56 passes near

Lake Louise State Park Lake Louise State Park is a Minnesota state park just north of the Iowa border near the small town of Le Roy in Mower County, Minnesota, directly south of Rochester. It has a 25 acre man-made lake and of mixed prairie and deciduous forest. ...

. The route then heads due north west of Rose Creek and has an interchange with Interstate Highway 90 five miles (8 km) east of

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. Highway 56 heads through northern

Mower County Mower County () is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,029. The county seat is Austin. Mower County comprises the Austin Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Rochester-Austin Co ...

and enters Dodge County north of Waltham. State Highway 30 intersects this route just west of Hayfield. Ten miles north of Hayfield, Highway 56 is

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 ...

with the

U.S. Highway 14 U.S. Route 14 (abbreviated U.S. 14 or US 14), an east–west route, is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It currently has a length of 1,398 miles (2,250 km), but it had a peak length of 1,429 miles (2,300 km). For ...

bypass around Dodge Center. After passing through West Concord, the route crosses into Goodhue County. In

Kenyon Kenyon may refer to: Names * Kenyon (given name) * Kenyon (surname) Places * Kenyon, Cheshire, United Kingdom, a village * Kenyon, Minnesota, United States, a city * Kenyon, Rhode Island, United States, a village * Kenyon, former name of Pineridg ...

, Highway 56 intersects State Highway 60 and State Highway 246 north of the city. The intersection of Highway 56 and State Highway 19 at Stanton is located between

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connec ...

and

Cannon Falls Cannon Falls is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,083 at the 2010 census. Located along U.S. Route 52, southeast of the Twin Cities, Cannon Falls is the home of Pachyderm Studio, where many famous musici ...

. Highway 56 enters

Dakota County Dakota County may refer to: *Dakota County, Minnesota in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of east-central Minnesota *Dakota County, Nebraska Dakota County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of th2020 United States Census the populati ...

near Randolph, and continues for ten more miles until it reaches its northern terminus at U.S. 52 and State Highway 50 at

. At its southern end, Highway 56 is officially designated as the ''Shooting Star Scenic Byway'' from

U.S. 63 U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a , north–south United States Highway primarily in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 (I-20) in Ruston, Louisiana; the northe ...

north to its interchange with

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

. This byway is so named because of the endangered wildflowers that bloom in June and July.

History

Highway 56 was authorized on November 2, 1920 between U.S. Route 16 and

. The route was extended south to U.S. Highway 63 and north through 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 statu ...

to U.S. Highway 169 in Aitkin in 1933. The route was then terminated to various locations in

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

from 1963 to 1974. The portion of Highway 56 through and north of

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 ...

was renumbered State Highway 47 in 1963. Highway 56 had its northern terminus at what was then State Highway 3 in downtown St. Paul (now U.S. 52) from 1974 to 1994, and has ended at its current northern terminus at

since 1994. Part of the former route (''Concord Street'') from Interstate Highway 494 in

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 ...

to U.S. Highway 52 in Saint Paul is now marked as State Highway 156. In addition, the portion of the former route beyond that (''Concord Blvd.'') running from Interstate 494 south to U.S. Highway 52 in Inver Grove Heights, MN is now designated as '' Dakota County Road 56''.

Major intersections

References

{{Reflist 056 Transportation in Fillmore County, Minnesota Transportation in Mower County, Minnesota Transportation in Dodge County, Minnesota Transportation in Goodhue County, Minnesota Transportation in Dakota County, Minnesota