Minnesota State Highway 3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Minnesota State Highway 3 is a highway in Minnesota. It has been rerouted several times throughout its history. The current route is 43 miles in length.
 |
|||||||||
| Trunk Highway 3 |
|||||||||
| Length: | 43 mi (69 km) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formed: | 1963 | ||||||||
| Decomd.: | -- | ||||||||
| North end: |   I-494/MN 110 in Inver Grove Heights |
||||||||
| South end: | Faribault | ||||||||
| Major cities: | Inver Grove Heights, Rosemount, Farmington, Northfield, Faribault | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
[edit] Termini
Highway 3 runs from Minnesota State Highway 21 in Faribault, Minnesota and officially ends Interstate 494 in Inver Grove Heights, MN. At that point the road is called Robert Street. (It is called Robert Street all the way from the Capital in St. Paul, MN to Rosemount, MN).
[edit] Notes
The current highway can be considered to be the second Highway 3 in the state. The first was farther north, and is now designated as Minnesota State Highway 210. The changeover probably occurred in the early 1930s.
Today's route has had several different designations. Early on, the roadway was part of U.S. Highway 65. It later became U.S. Highway 218, which was eventually redesignated Minnesota State Highway 218. The route became known as Highway 3 in 1963.
The highway was used for the Lafayette Freeway as that road (from downtown St. Paul south past I-494) was built in the 1970s and U.S. Highway 52 was routed onto a stretch of road formerly used by MN-3. Later, once the freeway was finished, U.S. 52 was rerouted along that road and Highway 3 was shortened to its current terminus.
The highway used to end in downtown Saint Paul. In West Saint Paul and Saint Paul, signs are still near the roadway "advertising" it as Highway 3. This section is still under state maintenance as unmarked Minnesota Highway 952.
[edit] References
- Adam Froehlig (January 2, 2003). Minnesota Highway 3. MN Highway Endings. Accessed August 27, 2004.
- Steve Riner (July 26, 2003). Details of Routes 1-25. Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed August 27, 2004.
- Interview with Minnesota Department of Transportation Reference Librarian, conducted by Jake Zappa on April 24, 2006.
