Trunk Highway 60 (MN 60) 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 southern

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 t ...

, which runs from

Iowa Highway 60 Iowa Highway 60 (Iowa 60) is a north–south state highway in northwest Iowa. The highway runs at a southwest-to-northeast angle. The southern end of Iowa Highway 60 is near Le Mars at a freeway interchange with U.S. Highway 75 and U.S. H ...

at the

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, 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: Wiscon ...

state line (at Bigelow) and continues east-northeast to its eastern 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 Wabasha), where the route becomes Wisconsin Highway 25 upon crossing the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

. Highway 60 is the only state highway in Minnesota which runs from one border to another. The route runs in a general southwest-to-northeast direction. Its western half forms a large portion of the four-lane expressway connecting

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

and 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 sta ...

Route description

State Highway 60 serves as an east–west marked route in southern Minnesota between Worthington, Windom, St. James,

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

, Faribault, Zumbrota, and Wabasha. Highway 60 runs concurrently with

U.S. Highway 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway Sy ...

south of and into Worthington; with

U.S. Highway 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstat ...

in Windom; with State Highway 4 and State Highway 30 near St. James; with State Highway 15 near Madelia; and with

U.S. Highway 169 U.S. Route 169 (US 169) is a north-south U.S highway that currently runs for 966 miles (1,555 km) from the city of Virginia, Minnesota to Tulsa, Oklahoma at Memorial Drive. Route description Oklahoma US 169 is a major north–south ...

in the

area. In North Mankato, Highway 60 moves from a concurrency with U.S. 169 to another one with

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 ...

, continuing east on a four lane expressway until just past Eagle Lake, where the route leaves U.S. 14 and continues briefly north to Madison Lake then northeast towards the city of Faribault. Highway 60 is a two lane highway at this point and for most of the rest of its way to Faribault and Wabasha. The route has a

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

Interstate 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 borde ...

in Faribault. From Faribault, Highway 60 continues east towards Zumbrota, where it intersects

U.S. Highway 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows ...

. The route briefly runs concurrently with U.S. 52 around Zumbrota on a four lane expressway. Highway 60 then leaves U.S. 52 and continues east-northeast towards Wabasha. The route has

with

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

in Zumbro Falls and a junction with

U.S. Highway 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated ...

in Wabasha. Highway 60 crosses the

at Wabasha on the Wabasha-Nelson Bridge. The route becomes Wisconsin Highway 25 upon crossing the river into Wisconsin.

History

State Highway 60 was formed in 1934 by connecting three Minnesota

constitutional route In the U.S. state of Minnesota, a legislative route is a highway number defined by the Minnesota State Legislature. The routes from 1 to 70 are constitutional routes, defined as part of the Babcock Amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution, ...

segments together. This formed a nearly border-to-border state highway, with its original termini at current U.S. 59 in Worthington and U.S. 61 at Wabasha. The route was extended to the

state line in 1937, and was authorized onto the bridge to

in 1943. The last gravel segment on this route was paved by 1960. Expressway segments were completed from St. James to Lake Crystal in 1980, from Worthington to Windom in 1997, from Bigelow to Worthington in 2013, from St. James to Mountain Lake in 2015, and from Mountain Lake to Windom in 2018.

Major intersections

References