Interstate 90 in Minnesota

Interstate 90 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	275.70 mi[1] (443.70 km)
West end:	I-90 at the South Dakota state line
Major junctions:	MN 23 near Beaver Creek US 75 at Luverne MN 60 at Worthington US 71 at Jackson US 169 at Blue Earth I-35 near Albert Lea US 218 at Austin US 52 near Rochester MN 43 near Winona US 61 near La Crescent
East end:	I-90 at the Wisconsin state line
Minnesota State Highways < MN 89 MN 91 >

In the U.S. state of Minnesota, Interstate 90 traverses the southern side of the state, parallel to the Minnesota-Iowa state line.

Interstate 90 in Minnesota is 276 miles (444 km) in length. The route is located in the southwest, south-central, and southeast parts of the state.

Route description

Interstate 90 enters the state from South Dakota near Beaver Creek. This part of Minnesota has flat to gently rolling terrain and is the beginnings of corn belt farmland.

Rock County, where I-90 enters Minnesota, is one of the only counties in the state lacking a natural lake. The change from semi-arid to a wetter climate happens slowly moving eastbound on I-90 through southern Minnesota. The route passes through the cities of Luverne, Adrian, Worthington, Jackson, Fairmont, and Blue Earth. I-90 has a junction with I-35 at Albert Lea.

East of the city of Austin, I-90 changes direction slightly and heads towards Rochester, and the route enters a much more hilly landscape. This is the driftless area of southeast Minnesota. Unlike the rest of the state, where the most recent glaciations left terrain that is either flat or rolling under a deposit of glacial till, this area escaped the most recent glaciation. The bedrock to the top of the I-90 road cuts is noticeable at this point. The other notable feature of this area are deep, steep valleys cut by water that poured through this area as the ice cap melted.

I-90 drops into the scenic Mississippi River valley just west of Dresbach. The I-90 freeway lanes split apart as you drop down, then rejoin west of the junction with U.S. Highway 61. I-90 then parallels the Mississippi River before turning east and crossing into Wisconsin.

I-90 is atypical in that just across the Minnesota / Wisconsin state line, (immediately west of the community of Dakota) the median is wide enough that farms exist between the road beds.^[2]

Legally, the Minnesota section of Interstate 90 is defined as Route 391 in the Minnesota Statutes. The route is not marked with this number.

History

Interstate 90 in Minnesota was authorized as part of the original interstate network in 1956. The route was completely constructed in Minnesota by 1980.

I-90 in Minnesota closely follows the route of former U.S. Highway 16 over most of its route except from just east of Austin, where I-90 turns toward Rochester and is constructed on a new alignment not previously covered by a highway. The section of I-90 east of Rochester was constructed just south of U.S. Highway 14 and south of the city of Winona.

Between the South Dakota state line and I-90's interchange with present day State Highway 16 at Dexter, I-90 served as a replacement for U.S. 16.

The first section of I-90 in Minnesota constructed was the bypass of Austin. This was completed circa 1960.

Three lanes each way have been constructed on I-90 between its two junctions with U.S. Highway 61 at the communities of Dresbach and Dakota. This is located near the cities of La Crescent and La Crosse.

Notes

The future replacement of the I-90 Dresbach Bridge across the Mississippi River, near La Crescent, is scheduled to begin construction in 2012. The new bridge is expected to be completed by 2015.

Exit list

This section contains a table that is missing mileposts for one or more junctions. Please help by adding the missing mileposts.

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Rock			1	File:Rock County Route 17.svg MN 23 / CR 17 – Jasper, Pipestone	Also leads to Manley one mile (1.6 km) to the south.
			3	File:Rock County Route 4.svg CR 4 – Beaver Creek	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			5	File:Rock County Route 6.svg CR 6 – Beaver Creek, Hills
	Luverne		12	US 75 – Luverne, Rock Rapids
			18	File:Rock County Route 3.svg CR 3 – Magnolia, Kanaranzi
Nobles			26	MN 91 – Lake Wilson, Adrian
			33	CR 13 – Wilmont, Rushmore
	Worthington		42	I-90 Bus. east / CR 25 – Wilmont
			43	US 59 – Slayton, Worthington
			45	I-90 Bus. west / MN 60 – Windom
			47	CR 53	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			50	File:Jackson County Route 1.svg MN 264 / CR 1 – Brewster, Round Lake
Jackson
			57	File:Jackson County Route 9.svg CR 9 – Heron Lake
			64	MN 86 – Lakefield
	Jackson		73	US 71 – Jackson, Windom
			80	File:Jackson County Route 29.svg CR 29 – Alpha
Martin	Sherburn		87	MN 4 – St. James, Sherburn
			93	File:Martin County Route 27.svg MN 263 / CR 27 – Welcome, Ceylon
			99	File:Martin County Route 39.svg I-90 Bus. east / CR 39 – Fairmont
	Fairmont		102	I-90 Bus. west / MN 15 – Madelia, Fairmont
			107	File:Martin County Route 53.svg MN 262 / CR 53 – Granada, East Chain
Faribault			113	File:Faribault County Route 1.svg CR 1 – Huntley, Guckeen
	Blue Earth		119	US 169 – Mankato, Blue Earth
			128	File:Faribault County Route 17.svg MN 254 / CR 17 – Easton, Frost
			134	File:Faribault County Route 21.svg MN 253 / CR 21 – Minnesota Lake, Bricelyn
			138	MN 22 – Wells, Kiester
Freeborn	Alden		146	MN 109 / CR 6 – Alden, Mankato
			154	MN 13 – Waseca, Albert Lea
	Albert Lea		157	CR 22 – Albert Lea
			159	I-35 – Albert Lea, Des Moines, Twin Cities	Signed as exits 159A (south) and 159B (north)
			163	CR 26 – Hayward
			166	CR 46 (Oakland Road) , Petran, Oakland
Mower	Austin		175	File:Mower County Route 46.svg I-90 Bus. east / MN 105 / CR 46 (Oakland Avenue)
			177	US 218 north (14th Street Northwest) – Owatonna	West end of US 218 overlap
			178A	4th Street Northwest
			178B	6th Street Northeast
			179	11th Drive Northeast
			180A	I-90 Bus. west (Oakland Place)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			180B	US 218 south (21st Street Northeast)	East end of US 218 overlap
			181	28th Street Northeast
			183	MN 56 – Brownsdale, Rose Creek
			187	File:Mower County Route 20.svg CR 20
			189	File:Mower County Route 13.svg CR 13 – Elkton
	Dexter		193	MN 16 – Dexter, Preston
Olmsted			205	File:Olmsted County Route 6.svg CR 6
			209	US 63 / MN 30 – Stewartville, Rochester	Signed as exits 209A (south/east) and 209B (north/west)
			218	US 52 – Chatfield, Rochester
			224	File:Olmsted County Route 7.svg MN 42 / CR 7 – Eyota
			229	File:Olmsted County Route 10.svg CR 10 – Dover
Winona			233	MN 74 – St. Charles, Chatfield
			242	File:Winona County Route 29.svg CR 29 – Lewiston
			249	MN 43 south – Rushford	West end of TH 43 overlap
			252	MN 43 north – Winona	East end of TH 43 overlap
			257	MN 76 – Houston
			266	File:Winona County Route 12.svg CR 12 – Nodine
			269	US 14 west / US 61 north – Winona	West end of US 14/US 61 overlap; no eastbound exit (use exit 270)
	Dakota		270	To US 61 north – Dakota
			272A	Dresbach	Westbound exit is part of exit 272B
			272B	Dresbach
			275	US 14 east / US 61 south – La Crescent	East end of US 14/US 61 overlap

References

*Steve Riner Details of Routes 76 to 100. Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed January 12, 2009.

Interstate 90
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