Minnesota State Highway 55
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Minnesota State Highway 55 is a highway in Minnesota. It is 225 miles in length.
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| Trunk Highway 55 |
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| Length: | 221 mi (356 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1933 | ||||||||
| Decomd.: | -- | ||||||||
| East end: |  in Hastings |
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| West end: |  in Tenney |
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| Major cities: | Inver Grove Heights, Eagan, Minneapolis, Golden Valley, Plymouth, Buffalo, Annandale, Paynesville, Glenwood | ||||||||
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[edit] Termini
The western terminus of Highway 55 is the North Dakota border near Tenney, Minnesota. In North Dakota, its counterpart is North Dakota Highway 11. The road extends eastward to Hastings, Minnesota where it meets U.S. Highway 61.
[edit] Notes
The western portion of the highway coming into downtown Minneapolis is known as Olson Memorial Highway, named for Floyd B. Olson, a popular Minnesota governor of Norwegian ancestry. He served as the 22nd Governor of Minnesota from January 6, 1931 to August 22, 1936. He died in office from stomach cancer. He was a member of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, and was the first member of the Farmer-Labor Party to hold the office of governor of Minnesota. He died in 1936 at age 44. The part of Highway 55 southeast of downtown is known as Hiawatha Avenue. A light rail corridor, the Hiawatha Line, runs parallel to the highway for much of the Hiawatha Avenue stretch.
In July 2005, the section of Highway 55 that runs through downtown Minneapolis was turned back to local maintenance. To fill the gap, Highway 55 was rerouted along Interstate 94. Westbound, 55 now exits just before downtown at the westbound I-94 exit, and leaves the multiplex at the exit for the Olson Highway, marked with the Highway 55 shield. Eastbound, 55 leaves the Olson Highway at the on-ramp for I-94 eastbound, and leaves the freeway at the exit for Hiawatha Avenue, which is also marked with the Highway 55 shield.
There has been some controversy with expansion of the highway. An area known as Camp Coldwater, considered by some as the "birthplace of Minnesota," was dug up during some construction.
Highway 55 crosses the Minnesota River via the Mendota Bridge, which was the longest continuous bridge made of poured concrete when it was completed in 1926. It is 4119 feet in length.
In late December 2006, someone added a 7 foot painting of Pac-Man near one of the anti-tailgating dots on the road. [1]
[edit] References
- Steve Riner (December 27, 2003). Details of Routes 51-75. Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed August 26, 2004.
