The organized system of Minnesota State Highways (typically abbreviated as MN or TH, and called Trunk Highways), the
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 ...
system for the US state of
Minnesota, was created in 1920 under the "Babcock Amendment" to the state
constitution. No real pattern exists for the numbering of highways. Route commissioning beyond these routes was by legislative action, thus the term legislative route. This included additions and revisions that took place when
US and
Interstate Highway Systems were commissioned.
Minnesota state highway markers use Type D FHWA font for all route numbers and type C for three-digit route markers only if type D font cannot be used. All routes except interstates use or markers. Interstate markers for three-digit routes are wider shields, and respectively.
Although
Minnesota state highways do not follow a distinctive pattern in numbering, they are numbered to avoid conflicting with Interstate Highways and US Highways. Any instance of a state number that matches one is often a ''continuation'' of the particular route (e.g., U.S. Route 169 and Trunk Highway 169). The
Minnesota Department of Transportation
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' ...
(MnDOT) does not consider this a violation of the rule.
List of highways
Other state highways
Special routes
There are also routes officially numbered in the 805 and 905, but they do not have signage. Examples include part of the Sibley Memorial Highway that was bypassed in Mendota in the mid 1995 (MN 913A, numbered for former designation MN 13), and Robert Street between I-494 and University Avenue in St. Paul and West St. Paul (MN 952, numbered for former designation US 52).
Other roads under Minnesota jurisdiction include the MN 371 Business Route, which follows the former route of MN 371 through
Brainerd. MN 23 also has a designated business route through the city of
Willmar (as MN 23 is bypassed around the city), but unlike Business MN 371, Business MN 23 is under local jurisdiction.
Legislative routes defined in the
Minnesota Constitution were signed until 1934, when many were renumbered. Several routes, like
US Highway 208, were planned in the
1934 renumbering but eliminated before the final plan.
References
External links
MnDOT Roadway Data
by Steve Riner
Twin Cities Highways
by Adam Froehlig
{{US state highways, hide=yes
State highways