Minnesota State Highway 23 (MN 23) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

that stretches from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1. This route, signed east–west, runs roughly diagonally across Minnesota from southwest to northeast. It indirectly connects Duluth to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and passes through the cities of St. Cloud, Willmar, and Marshall. MN 23 runs north from 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 ...

(I-90), east of the South Dakota line and east of Sioux Falls and then continues north and east across Minnesota to its terminus at its interchange with

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

in Duluth.

Route description

MN 23 directly serves Pipestone, Marshall, Granite Falls, Willmar, Paynesville, Cold Spring, St. Cloud, Foley, Milaca, Mora, Hinckley, Sandstone, and Duluth. Portions of MN 23 that have been upgraded to a four-lane expressway include approximately in the Marshall area in addition to longer stretches between Willmar and New London, and between Richmond and Waite Park (St. Cloud). For a majority of the Willmar area, MN 23 runs concurrently with U.S. Highway 71 (US 71), which includes a freeway bypass of the city. MN 23 crosses 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 ...

at Granite Falls, and the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, over the

Granite City Crossing The Granite City Crossing is a bridge that carries Minnesota State Highway 23 across the Mississippi River in the city of St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. It was built to replace the DeSoto Bridge in the same location. Construction b ...

bridge. Running over surface streets in certain towns, MN 23 is also known as: *Division Street in St. Cloud *4th Street in downtown Milaca *Forest Avenue East in Mora, between

MN 65 Minnesota State Highway 65 (MN 65) is a highway in the east–central and northeast parts of the U.S. state of Minnesota, which starts at its split from I-35W, skipping past the downtown Minneapolis core, only to resume at the intersection wit ...

and Oslin Road *Grand Avenue in Duluth; the section of Grand Avenue that is marked MN 23 is from 59th Avenue West and

(in West Duluth) to Idaho Street (in the Morgan Park neighborhood) *Commonwealth Avenue in the Gary-New Duluth neighborhood of the city of Duluth *Evergreen Memorial Highway in the Fond du Lac neighborhood of the city of Duluth

Parks and monuments

The highway serves: *

Split Rock Creek State Park Split Rock Creek State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, located in Ihlen, or just south of Pipestone. The Works Progress Administration built a dam in 1938 to create a lake, which provided an opportunity for water recreation in an area ...

Pipestone County Pipestone County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,424. Its county seat is Pipestone. History The county was formed on May 23, 1857, by act of the territorial legislature, but was not orga ...

at Ihlen * Pipestone National Monument *

Camden State Park Camden State Park is a List of Minnesota state parks, state park on the Redwood River in southwestern Minnesota near Marshall, Minnesota, Marshall. It is used for picnics, camping, hiking, and other outdoor recreation. The park, originally known ...

in Lyon County on the banks of the

Redwood River The Redwood River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, long, in southwestern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the drainage basin, watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of in an agricultural r ...

Banning State Park Banning State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, stretched along of the Kettle River near Sandstone in Pine County. The centerpiece of the park is of churning rapids, some up to Class IV. The daring kayakers and canoeists who shoot ...

Pine County Pine County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,876. Its county seat is Pine City. The county was formed in 1856 and organized in 1872. Part of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is in Pine ...

on the banks of the Kettle River

Evergreen Memorial Scenic Drive

About of MN 23 that travels through Pine, Carlton, and Saint Louis counties is officially designated the Veterans Evergreen Memorial Scenic Drive. This portion is between

near Askov and the Gary-New Duluth neighborhood of Duluth, near MN 39. The scenic roadway offers views of Banning State Park, the Saint Louis River valley, and nearby

Jay Cooke State Park Jay Cooke State Park is a state park of Minnesota, United States, protecting the lower reaches of the Saint Louis River. The park is located about southwest of Duluth and is one of the ten most visited state parks in Minnesota. The wester ...

. The 2005 Minnesota Legislature officially designated the MN 23 Bridge over the Saint Louis River at Duluth ( Fond du Lac neighborhood) as the Biauswah Bridge. On June 28, 2008, this bridge was dedicated as such in honor of American Indian veterans.

Segment in Wisconsin

MN 23 has the rare distinction of being a state highway that passes through another state. At 133rd Avenue West, along the southern edge of Duluth, MN 23 crosses the Saint Louis River into Douglas County, Wisconsin, in the Town of Superior, for before re-entering Minnesota. On some maps, this section is designated "WISC-23", despite there being another Highway 23 in southern Wisconsin. There is no signage, however, along the highway that indicates the brief route across state lines. Nearby is the junction between MN 23 and MN 210 and

Transit

Intercity bus service along the MN 23 corridor is provided along the southwestern portion of the highway between Willmar and Pipestone by Jefferson Lines.

History

MN 23 was authorized November 2, 1920, from Paynesville to Mission Creek, south of Hinckley. By 1933, the highway was paved between Roscoe and Cold Spring and from St. Cloud to Mission Creek. It was extended west to Benson and east to Duluth in 1934. Various sections of the highway were paved from the 1930s through the 1950s; the entire length was paved by 1961. The section of present-day MN 23 from its southern terminus to Marshall was originally designated MN 39 until 1940. The section between Marshall and Willmar was originally designated MN 17 until 1940. The MN 23 designation originally extended west from New London to Benson along the modern MN 9; which was also MN 17 from around 1940 to the 1960s. MN 23 originally ran through Sandstone proper to just west of Askov along the route that later became MN 123; this was redesignated 1946. From 1934 to 1963, the northern terminus for MN 23 was its junction with old US 61 and US 2 in West Duluth. From 1963 to 1997, MN 23 continued farther into Duluth proper as a business route using several local arteries including Michigan Street, West 1st Street, East 2nd Street, East 3rd Street, and East Superior Street. The former northern terminus for MN 23 during this time period was at the intersection of US 61 (now MN 61) and 60th Avenue East in Duluth. In 1997, the official northern terminus changed to its junction with

at Grand Avenue in Duluth. After completion of the

freeway, the state maintained MN 23 through Hinckley and Sandstone; now MN 23 runs concurrently with I-35 from Hinckley to Sandstone. The four-lane US 71 / MN 23

bypass Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart bypas ...

of Willmar was proposed in the 1960s. However a financial crisis in the early 1980s led to the northbound lanes being unpaved, and the bypass had been scaled down to a two-lane facility by the time it opened in 1985. Construction in 2001 completed the bypass to its original four-lane design. The MN 23 expressway from Spicer to New London, and the expressway from Richmond to Waite Park ( St. Cloud), were both completed by 2005. In February 2008, a bus crash occurred on MN 23 near Cottonwood when a school bus carrying 28 students from Lakeview Public Schools was struck by a driver who ran through a stop sign which caused the bus to fall onto a pickup killing four students and injuring 17 others. The DeSoto Bridge across the Mississippi River in St. Cloud was closed on March 20, 2008, after bent gusset plates were found in an inspection; similar to gusset plates that caused the

I-35W Bridge The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (officially known as Bridge 9340) was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River one-half mile (875 m) downstream from the Saint Anthony Falls in Min ...

in Minneapolis to collapse on August 1, 2007. The DeSoto Bridge was demolished in October 2008, and a new replacement bridge, the

, was completed on October 29, 2009. The Paynesville Bypass project began on April 26, 2010. The project consists of constructing a four-lane bypass around Paynesville, running from County Road 6 (CR 6) in Kandiyohi County to CR 123 in Stearns County. The project was completed in July 2012. The length of the new bypass is . The project includes grading, construction of eight bridges, surfacing and lighting, and it cost $32.2 million (equivalent to $ in ). Another project expanded MN 23 to four lanes from St. Cloud eastward to Foley, which began July 1, 2011, and finished sometime in late 2012. This project expanded an segment of the highway. While this section is technically part of the St. Cloud-to-I-35 portion of the corridor (and thus has less overall priority), the increase in traffic along this particular stretch led to a decision to expand the highway, as there have been major safety and mobility issues the last couple decades due to growth in the St. Cloud area.

Future

MnDOT has designated MN 23 as a medium-priority Interregional Corridor along the majority of its length. As such, there are long-range plans to expand significant portions of the highway from two to four lanes. This resulted in the creation of the Highway 23 Coalition, and its ultimate vision for MN 23 is a four-lane expressway running from its interchange with

I-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 ...

in the southwest corner of Minnesota northeastward to its interchange with

near Hinckley, although severe funding shortages are currently limiting expansion to certain segments. Currently, the section of highway that has the highest overall priority for expansion is the corridor between Willmar and St. Cloud. This is due in part to the corridor carrying a heavy volume of traffic (higher than what a standard two-lane highway is designed to safely carry), plus a subsequently higher-than-average accident rate. In addition, southwest Minnesota lacks four-lane access to both the Twin Cities ( Minneapolis–Saint Paul) and the Interstate Highway System, and a MN 23 expressway from Willmar (which is the largest municipality in southwest Minnesota) to St. Cloud would greatly alleviate both these issues. The "Gaps" project is a multi-stage project to widen MN 23 to four lanes in the two remaining two-lane sections between Willmar and St. Cloud. The North Gap started expansion in May 2022, and is expected to complete in November 2023. The South Gap is planned to begin in 2023 and be completed in 2024.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
MN 23
at The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page

023 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...