Minnesota State Highway 95 (MN 95) 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 east-central
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
State Highway 23
Route 23, or Highway 23, can refer to:
International
* European route E23
Australia
* Federal Highway (Australia)
* Monaro Highway
* (South Australia)
* Dorat Road (not signed everywhere)
Austria
* Autobahn Südosttangente Wien
Canada
* Albe ...
near
St. Cloud and continues east and south to its southern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Highways
61 /
10 (
co-signed) at
Cottage Grove.
This highway has two distinct segments (East/West section and a North/South section) that meet at
Taylors Falls.
MN 95 passes through the cities of
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
North Branch,
Taylors Falls,
Stillwater, and
Lakeland.
Route description
State Highway 95 has a somewhat unusual routing, starting with a west-to-east section between
St. Cloud and
Taylors Falls, then finishing with a north–south section between
Taylors Falls and
Cottage Grove. In fact, the Minnesota Legislature originally authorized the east–west and the north–south routes as two separate highways. The Minnesota Highway Department decided to give them both the same route number.
This highway runs through mostly rural areas immediately north and east of 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 ...
, although increasing development in the eastern suburbs of
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; ...
may bring increased traffic to the highway. Primarily a two-lane highway, Highway 95 has a short
concurrency
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
Interstate 94
Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...
/
US Highway 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 tha ...
between
Woodbury Woodbury may refer to:
Geography
Antarctica
*Woodbury Glacier, a glacier on Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory
Australia
* Woodbury, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
England
* Woodbury, Bournemouth, an area in Dorset
*Woodbury, East Devo ...
and
Lakeland, that makes up the only
divided highway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
sections of Highway 95.
The section of Highway 95 from
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
to
North Branch is officially designated the ''State Trooper Timothy J. Bowe Memorial Highway''.
State Parks
Highway 95, on its north–south section, parallels the
St. Croix River and is adjacent to, or close to, several state parks:
*
Wild River State Park
Wild River State Park is a state park of Minnesota, United States, curving along of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), St. Croix River. This long, narrow park is shaped somewhat like a sideways 'S', with development largely concentrated ...
*
Interstate Park
Interstate Park comprises two adjacent state parks on the Minnesota–Wisconsin border, both named Interstate State Park. They straddle ''the Dalles'' of the St. Croix River, a deep basalt gorge with glacial potholes and other rock formations. ...
*
William O'Brien State Park
William O'Brien State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, along the St. Croix River. Its hiking trails traverse rolling glacial moraine, riparian zones, restored oak savanna, wooded areas and bogs. It is a popular place for birdwatching, p ...
*
Afton State Park
Afton State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, on the St. Croix River in Washington County. Its hiking trails offer views of the river, rolling glacial moraine, and bluffland it preserves. It is a popular place for birdwatching, picnics ...
History
Both sections of State Highway 95 were authorized in 1933.
By 1940, Highway 95 was paved between
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
and
North Branch; and between
Scandia
Scandza was described as a "great island" by Gothic-Byzantine historian Jordanes in his work ''Getica''. The island was located in the Arctic regions of the sea that surrounded the world. The location is usually identified with Scandinavia.
Jor ...
and
Afton.
The route was completely paved by 1953.
In 1998, a change was made in the alignment on the south end of Highway 95, between ''Washington County Road 18'' and
I-94. Previously, Highway 95 turned east on ''40th Street South'' in
Afton and then turned north on the ''St. Croix Trail''; present day Highway 95 now continues north along ''Manning Avenue'' (the Afton /
Woodbury Woodbury may refer to:
Geography
Antarctica
*Woodbury Glacier, a glacier on Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory
Australia
* Woodbury, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
England
* Woodbury, Bournemouth, an area in Dorset
*Woodbury, East Devo ...
border) and then runs together with
I-94 briefly east to
Lakeland. The old route of Highway 95 for this section is now signed as ''County Road 18''.
In an effort to maximize driver safety, a
roundabout
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
was constructed at the
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 ...
of Highway 95 and County Road 29 in
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
. The project was completed in November 2010 at a cost of $6.7 million.
A five-mile section of Highway 95 near Bayport in Washington County was honored with a 2013 Perpetual Pavement Award in recognition of its long life without any structural failure and only periodic resurfacing.
Prior to August 2, 2017, MN 95 ran
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 MN 36 from Oak Park Heights to Chestnut Street in downtown Stillwater, where MN 36 then turned east to cross the
Stillwater Lift Bridge. Upon the opening of the
St. Croix Crossing bridge, this concurrency was eliminated and Highways 95 and 36 now have a full interchange with each other.
Major intersections
References
{{Reflist
095 95 or 95th may refer to:
* 95 (number)
* one of the years 95 BC, AD 95, 1995, 2095, etc.
* 95th Division (disambiguation)
* 95th Regiment
** 95th Regiment of Foot (disambiguation)
* 95th Squadron (disambiguation)
* Atomic number 95: americium
*M ...
Transportation in Benton County, Minnesota
Transportation in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota
Transportation in Isanti County, Minnesota
Transportation in Chisago County, Minnesota
Transportation in Washington County, Minnesota