U.S. Highway 55 was a north–south

United States highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

. Though it was part of the original 1926 numbering plan, it was deleted within 10 years.

Route description

From its southern terminus in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, U.S. Highway 55 initially followed the route of present-day

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 ...

through

Hampton, Minnesota Hampton is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 689 at the 2010 census. History A post office called Hampton has been in operation since 1856. The city took its name from Hampton Township. Geography According t ...

excepting for later local improvements such as the

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

and Decorah bypasses. It was deleted 80 years ago. North of Hampton, Minnesota, U.S. Highway 55 headed north and west to downtown

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 ...

. Within the village of

, U.S. Highway 55 followed along Main Street and present-day Minnesota Highway 50 to

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

. Within Farmington, the highway had a shared segment with what was then U.S. Highway 65 (now Minnesota Highway 3) to Elm Street in Hampton. From Farmington, U.S. Highway 55 headed westward to Burnsville via present-day 212th Street West, Lakeville Blvd, 210th Street West, Kenwood Trail, and Burnsville Parkway to Lyndale Ave (now Interstate 35W). Following the decommissioning of U.S. Highway 55, the portion of the route between Farmington and Burnsville was subsequently designated as a portion of Minnesota Highway 50, and transferred to County control in 1994 as Dakota County Road 50. From Burnsville, U.S. Highway 55 again turned northwards, following Lyndale Avenue across 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 ...

and into Downtown Minneapolis via Lyndale Avenue, Lake Street, and 3rd Avenue.

History

When the route was designated in 1926, its northern terminus was in

at an intersection with

U.S. 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 that ...

, near the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. Its southern terminus was in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

, at an intersection 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 ...

(or possibly U.S. Highway 20). In 1932, US 55 was extended south to

, to another intersection with US 61. While US 61 followed a more direct route from Dubuque to Davenport, the new US 55 extension followed the western shore of the Mississippi River. Just two years later, in 1934, US 55 was deleted entirely.

U.S. Highway 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues so ...

was extended through Davenport to Dubuque, absorbing the 1932 extension of US 55. The northern half of this stretch was co-signed with an extension of

, which took over the US 55 designation to Hampton, Minnesota. From Hampton, US 52 was routed to

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; ...

via Minnesota Highway 56 to Inver Grove Heights and Robert Street into downtown Saint Paul. The remainder of U.S. Highway 55 north and west of Hampton was designated as U.S. Highway 65. The prior routing of U.S. Highway 65 into from Farmington to Saint Paul was redesignated as

U.S. Highway 218 U.S. Highway 218 (US 218) is an original United States Highway that was created in 1926. Although technically a spur of U.S. Route 18, US 18, US 218 neither begins nor ends at US 18, but overlaps US 18 for near Charles C ...

for one year, and subsequently redesignated as Minnesota Highway 218, and later as Minnesota Highway 3. The number "55" was later proposed for the route which would become U.S. Highway 56.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an government agency, agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Sec ...

Chronological History Documentation: US 56
(correspondence between ODOT, AASHO, and other DOTs)

Major intersections

References

* Information regarding routes of the U.S. Highways within Minnesota was obtained from vintage maps provided by the Mid-West Map Company (1929) and H.M. Gousha Company (1935 and 1940).

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:55 U.S. Highways in Iowa U.S. Highways in Minnesota Former U.S. Highways 1926 establishments in Iowa 1926 establishments in Minnesota 1934 disestablishments in Iowa 1934 disestablishments in Minnesota 55