Minnesota State Highway 210 (MN 210) 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 ...

in west-central, central, and northeast

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

North Dakota Highway 210 North Dakota Highway 210 (ND 210) is a east–west state highway in the U.S. state of North Dakota. It serves as a bypass of Wahpeton. Route description The route begins at an interchange with Highway 13 west of Wahpeton. It travels nort ...

(ND 210) at the

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

state line (at Breckenridge), and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with MN 23 in

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

near the Saint Louis River. The route runs across Minnesota from west-central to northeast; connecting Fergus Falls, Brainerd, and

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. At the western terminus of MN 210, upon crossing the Red River, the roadway becomes ND 210 and feeds into ND 13. MN 210 is in length.

Route description

MN 210 serves as an east–west route in west-central, central, and northeast Minnesota between Breckenridge, Fergus Falls, Staples, Baxter, Brainerd,

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

, and

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. For part of its route (), MN 210 is

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 US Highway 10 (US 10) between Motley and Staples in

central Minnesota Central Minnesota is the central part of the state of Minnesota. No definitive boundaries of the region exist, but most definitions would include the land north of Interstate 94, east of U.S. Highway 59, south of U.S. Highway 2, and west of U.S ...

. The highway crosses the Washington Street Bridge at 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 ...

in Brainerd and the Saint Louis River in

Thomson Thomson may refer to: Names * Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin * Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson Businesses and organizations * SGS-Thomson Mic ...

. The portion of MN 210 in

Aitkin County Aitkin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,697. Its county seat is Aitkin. Part of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is in the county. The county was created in 1857 and organized ...

is officially designated the " Dale Wayrynen Memorial Highway". This same designation is also signed on MN 210 in Carlton County from

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

westbound to the county line with Aitkin County. MN 210 passes through the

Cuyuna Range The Cuyuna Range is an inactive iron range to the southwest of the Mesabi Range, largely within Crow Wing County, Minnesota. It lies along a line between Brainerd, Minnesota, and Aitkin, Minnesota. The width ranges from 1 to 10 miles (1.6 to 16 ...

Crow Wing County Crow Wing County is a County (United States), county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 66,123. Its county seat is Brainerd, Minnesota, Brainerd. The coun ...

and the Fond du Lac State Forest in Carlton County.

Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area (CCSRA) is a state park unit of Minnesota, USA, being developed to rehabilitate a portion of the Cuyuna Range where mining pits and piles of waste rock were left behind after decades of open-pit mining for ...

is located on the highway in Crow Wing County near

Crosby Crosby may refer to: Places ;Canada *Crosby, Ontario, part of the township of Rideau Lakes, Ontario *Crosby, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the city of Markham, Ontario ;England *Crosby, Cumbria *Crosby, Lincolnshire *Crosby, Merseyside ** Crosby (U ...

and Ironton; northeast of Brainerd.

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 western ...

is located on MN 210 in Carlton County. The park is located between Carlton and Fond du Lac (Duluth).

History

MN 210 was authorized on July 1, 1949 between then- US 61 (now MN 45) in Carlton and MN 23 in Duluth, acting as an eastern extension of US 210. Circa 1955, the highway was expanded on the west end of US 210, replacing former MN 3 from Staples to the North Dakota state line at Breckenridge. The original eastern segment was subsequently renumbered as part of MN 39 in 1956. When US 210 was removed in 1970, the highway was redesignated MN 210. The historic original route of MN 210 between Carlton and Duluth was changed back at this time as well. MN 210 runs along the original mainline of the

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...

as built westward from Carlton to Staples. Between Henning and Breckenridge, the highway runs along a former branch line of the Northern Pacific Railway. Most of the branch line has since been abandoned. The western section of the highway, between Breckenridge and Fergus Falls, was originally part of 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, p ...

3. Between Fergus Falls and Henning, the highway was part of Constitutional Route 36. The section between Carlton and Motley was part of Constitutional Route 2.

US 210

MN 210 from Carlton to Motley, the eastern portion of the present day highway, was originally part of U.S. Route 210 from 1926 to 1970. During 1970, US 210 was decommissioned from Carlton to Motley and re-designated MN 210 that same year. US 210 was originally commissioned in 1926 by the

American Association of State Highway Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United St ...

, as one of the original US Highways. In the 1934 numbering plan, US 210 from Carlton to Motley was slated to be re-designated as U.S. Route 208. The road was almost re-numbered because of a routing change in its parent road ( US 10). Ultimately, US 10 was routed along former US 10N. US 208 was shown on some maps in the mid-1930s running from Carlton to Motley, but the number was not officially commissioned or signed, and US 210 kept its number.

Major intersections

References

External links

Endpoints of historic U.S. Highway 210
{{US 10 210 210 U Transportation in Wilkin County, Minnesota Transportation in Otter Tail County, Minnesota Transportation in Todd County, Minnesota Transportation in Morrison County, Minnesota Transportation in Cass County, Minnesota Transportation in Crow Wing County, Minnesota Transportation in Aitkin County, Minnesota Transportation in Carlton County, Minnesota Transportation in St. Louis County, Minnesota