Interstate 94 in Minnesota

Interstate 94 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	259 mi[citation needed] (416.82 km)
West end:	I-94 at the North Dakota state line
Major junctions:	US 75 at Moorhead US 59 at Fergus Falls US 71 at Sauk Centre I-35W at Minneapolis I-35E at Saint Paul
East end:	I-94 at the Wisconsin state line
Minnesota State Highways < MN 93 MN 95 >

In the U.S. state of Minnesota, Interstate 94 runs east-west through the central portion of the state. Interstate 94 in Minnesota is 259 miles (417 km) in length.

Route description

Lowry Hill Tunnel in Minneapolis.

Interstate 94 enters the state from North Dakota at the city of Moorhead and immediately heads southeast.

Traveling southeast from Moorhead, there are several places where the elevation of I-94 rises slightly; these are "beaches" that formed as the glacial lake rose or fell. Finally, at Rothsay, I-94 climbs the last beach line and enters terrain more typical for Minnesota. From Rothsay to the Twin Cities, the terrain of I-94 is rolling with frequent lakes visible from the highway.

I-94 traverses by Fergus Falls, Alexandria, and Sauk Centre on its way to St. Cloud. The "original main street" in Sauk Centre near I-94 commemorates the Sinclair Lewis novel that skewered this town.

From St. Cloud to Minneapolis, it's difficult to tell where the sprawl from one city ends and the other begins. Monticello is roughly the midpoint, and is an exurb for both St. Cloud and Minneapolis.

Upon arrival to the Twin Cities, I-94 approaches first Minneapolis from the north, then the highway turns east after passing through the Lowry Hill Tunnel and heads to Saint Paul. Upon leaving Saint Paul, the route travels through suburban Washington County and exits the state into Wisconsin.

Interstate 94 in Minnesota passes through the counties of:

Between exits 201 (Albertville) and 194 (Monticello) sits the Minnesota Road Research Facility.

Legally, the Minnesota section of Interstate 94 is defined as Route 392 in the Minnesota Statutes § 161.12(4).[1]

History

Interstate 94 in Minnesota was authorized as part of the original interstate network in 1956. It was mostly constructed in the 1960s.

I-94 follows the original route of U.S. Highway 52 from Moorhead to St. Cloud, then I-94 stays south of the Mississippi River along the former route of State Highway 152 between St. Cloud and the Twin Cities. I-94 then passes through both downtowns and exits toward Wisconsin along the former route of U.S. Highway 12.

The first section of I-94 in Minnesota constructed was between Moorhead and St. Cloud in the early 1960s.

The section of I-94 between Saint Paul and Minneapolis was completed in 1964.

The section of I-94 through north Minneapolis was completed in 1984.

The last section of I-94 in Minnesota constructed was the ten miles (16 km) between its junction with I-494 / I-694 at Woodbury and the Wisconsin state line at Lakeland. This was completed in 1985.

In 2004, a major traffic bottleneck was relieved when a third lane was constructed between Brooklyn Boulevard at Brooklyn Center and Hemlock Lane at Maple Grove. This is located immediately east of the I-494 / 694 / 94 interchange in Maple Grove.

Notes

• 40 miles (64 km) north of the Twin Cities near Otsego, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) operates the Minnesota Road Research Facility, which studies the effect of traffic on various road surface types. Westbound traffic is redirected onto 3.5 miles (5.5 km) of pavement outfitted with thousands of sensors. There is a straight-through bypass (the original highway) that can be used when researchers are examining the road up close.
• U.S. Highway 52 is invisibly concurrent with Interstate 94 between the city of Moorhead and downtown Saint Paul. U.S. 52 is signed on maps for this portion, but not along the actual highway.
• U.S. Highway 12 is invisibly concurrent with Interstates 94 and 394 through Minneapolis and Saint Paul to the Minnesota/Wisconsin state line at Hudson. U.S. 12 is signed on maps for this portion, but only briefly along the actual highway.
• Following the I-35W Bridge collapse on August 1, 2007, the detour for I-35W followed I-94 from I-35W to State Highway 280. I-94 was quickly widened by a lane in each direction for this portion to accommodate the additional traffic burden. This detour ended on September 18, 2008 when a new bridge replacing the collapsed span opened.

Auxiliary routes

• I-394 - Direct link between Minneapolis and western suburbs
• I-494 - Southern/western portion of beltway loop
• I-694 - Northern/eastern portion of beltway loop

Lane configurations

• 3 lanes in both directions from the North Dakota state line to U.S. 75 (Moorhead).
• 2 lanes in both directions from U.S. 75 to State Highway 101 (Rogers).
• 3 lanes in both directions from State Highway 101 to I-494 (Maple Grove).
• 4 lanes eastbound between I-494 and U.S. 169, 4 lanes westbound between Boone Avenue and Hemlock Lane (Brooklyn Park).
• 3 lanes each direction from Boone Avenue to Brooklyn Blvd.
• 4 lanes each direction between Brooklyn Blvd. to the I-94 split from I-694.
• 2 lanes each direction transitioning from I-694 mainline to I-94 mainline. (Brooklyn Center).
• 4 lanes in both directions from I-694 / State Highway 252 to Dowling Avenue (Minneapolis).
• 5 lanes (with the exception of 4 under Broadway bridge) in both directions from Dowling Avenue to I-394 / U.S. 12 / Lyndale/Hennepin Avenues.
• 3 lanes westbound, 2 lanes eastbound until Lowry Hill Tunnel.
• 3 lanes each direction from Lowry Hill tunnel to State Highway 280 (Saint Paul).
• 4 lanes (with the exception of 3 under Snelling Avenue bridge) each direction from State Highway 280 to I-35E.
• 3 lanes each direction from I-35E to Wisconsin border, with short segment of 5 lanes each direction between U.S. 10 / U.S. 61 and Mounds Blvd.

Exit list

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

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
Clay	Moorhead		1A	US 75 – Moorhead, Breckenridge	I-94 enters Minnesota concurrent with U.S. Route 52
			1B	20th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			2	File:Clay County Route 52.svg I-94 Bus. west / CR 52 – Moorhead
	Dilworth		6	File:Clay County Route 11.svg MN 336 / CR 11 to US 10 – Detroit Lakes, Sabin, Dilworth, Glyndon
	Sabin		15	File:Clay County Route 10.svg CR 10 – Sabin, Downer
	Barnesville		22	MN 9 – Barnesville
			24	MN 34 – Detroit Lakes, Barnesville
Wilkin	Pelican Rapids		32	File:Wilkin County Route 30.svg MN 108 / CR 30 – Pelican Rapids, Lawndale
Otter Tail	Rothsay		38	Rothsay
	Elizabeth		50	File:Otter Tail County Route 88.svg US 59 north / CR 88 – Fergus Falls, Pelican Rapids, Detroit Lakes	North end of US 59 overlap
	Fergus Falls		54	MN 210 west – Fergus Falls, Breckenridge	West end of TH 210 overlap
			55	File:Otter Tail County Route 1.svg CR 1 – Fergus Falls, Wendell
			57	File:Otter Tail County Route 25.svg MN 210 east / CR 25 – Fergus Falls	East end of TH 210 overlap
			61	File:Otter Tail County Route 82.svg US 59 south / CR 82 – Elbow Lake, Fergus Falls	South end of US 59 overlap
	Dalton		67	File:Otter Tail County Route 35.svg CR 35 – Dalton
Grant	Ashby		77	File:Otter Tail County Route 10.svg MN 78 / CR 10 – Ashby, Barrett
Douglas	Evansville		82	MN 79 / CR 41 – Evansville, Elbow Lake
	Brandon		90	CR 7 – Brandon
	Garfield		97	MN 114 / CR 40 – Garfield, Lowry
	Alexandria		100	MN 27 – Alexandria
			103	MN 29 – Alexandria, Glenwood
	Osakis		114	MN 127 / CR 3 – Osakis, Westport
Todd	West Union		119	CR 46 – West Union
Stearns	Sauk Centre		124	Sinclair Lewis Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; provides access to CR 72 (Sinclair Lewis Avenue)
			127	US 71 / MN 28 – Sauk Centre, Willmar, Glenwood
	Meire Grove		131	MN 4 – Meire Grove, Paynesville
	Melrose		135	CR 13 – Melrose
	New Munich		137	MN 237 / CR 65 – New Munich
	Freeport		140	CR 11 – Freeport
	Albany		147	MN 238 / CR 10 – Albany
	Avon		153	CR 9 – Avon
	Collegeville		156	CR 159  – St. John's University
	St. Joseph		158	CR 75 – St. Cloud
			160	CR 2 – St. Joseph, Cold Spring
	Waite Park		164	MN 23 – St. Cloud, Waite Park, Paynesville
	St. Cloud		167	MN 15 – St. Cloud, Kimball	Signed as exits 167A (south) and 167B (north)
			171	CR 75 / CR 7 – St. Augusta, St. Cloud
			173	Opportunity Drive	Opportunity Drive is part of CR 75, although not signed as so on the exit signs as to avoid potential confusion with the previous exit, which is a main entrance to/from St. Cloud
Wright	Clearwater		178	MN 24 – Clearwater, Annandale
	Hasty		183	CR 8 – Hasty, Silver Creek
	Monticello		193	MN 25 – Monticello, Buffalo
			194	CR 18 / CR 39 – Monticello
	Albertville		201	CR 19 – Albertville, St. Michael	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			202	CR 37 – Albertville
	St. Michael		205	MN 241 / CR 36 – St. Michael
Hennepin	Rogers		207	MN 101 – Elk River, Rogers
	Maple Grove		213	CR 30 (Maple Grove Parkway)
			215	CR 109 (Weaver Lake Road)
			216	I-494	West end of I-694 overlap
			28	CR 61 (Hemlock Lane)
			29	US 169	Signed as exits 29A (south) and 29B (north)
	Brooklyn Park
			30	Boone Avenue
			31	CR 81
	Brooklyn Center		33	CR 152 (Brooklyn Boulevard)
			34	To MN 100 / Shingle Creek Parkway
			225	I-694 east / MN 252 north	East end of I-694 overlap
	Minneapolis		226	53rd Avenue North, 49th Avenue North
			228	Dowling Avenue North
			229	CR 81 (West Broadway Avenue) / Washington Avenue North
			230	MN 55 (Olson Highway, 7th Street North) / 4th Street North
			231A	I-394 west / US 12 west	West end of US 12 overlap
			231B	Lyndale Avenue, Hennepin Avenue
			233A	11th Street	Westbound exit only
			233B	I-35W south
			233C	I-35W north	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; closed after I-35W Bridge collapse on August 1, 2007; reopened to local exits only
			234A	MN 55 (Hiawatha Avenue)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			234B	5th Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			234C	Cedar Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			235A	25th Avenue, Riverside Avenue
Dartmouth Bridge over the Mississippi River
Hennepin	Minneapolis		235B	Huron Boulevard
Ramsey	St. Paul		236	MN 280 / University Avenue, Pelham Boulevard	Was officially designated detour for I-35W north
			237	Cretin Avenue, Vandalia Street
			238	MN 51 / Snelling Avenue
			239A	Hamline Avenue	Westbound exit only
			239B	Lexington Parkway
			240	Dale Street
			241A	Marion Street, Kellogg Boulevard - State Capitol
			241B	10th Street, 5th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			241C	I-35E south	West end of I-35E overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			242A	12th Street - State Capitol	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			242B	I-35E north / US 10 west	East end of I-35E overlap; west end of US 10 overlap
			242C	7th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			242D	US 52 south / 6th Street	East end of US 52 overlap
			243	US 61 north (Mounds Boulevard) / Kellogg Boulevard	West end of US 61 overlap
			244	US 10 south / US 61	East end of US 10/US 61 overlap
			245	White Bear Avenue
			246A	Ruth Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			246BC	McKnight Road	Signed as exits 246B (south) and 246C (north) eastbound, and as 247B (both directions) westbound
	Maplewood
			247	MN 120 (Century Avenue)	Signed as exit 247A westbound
Washington	Woodbury		249	I-494 south / I-694 north
			250	File:Washington County Route 13.svg CR 13 (Inwood Avenue, Radio Drive)
			251	File:Washington County Route 19.svg CR 19 (Keats Avenue, Woodbury Drive)
			253	File:Washington County Route 15.svg MN 95 south / CR 15 (Manning Avenue)	West end of TH 95 overlap
	Lakeland		258	File:Washington County Route 18.svg MN 95 north / CR 18 – Stillwater	East end of TH 95 overlap

References

*Steve Riner Details of Routes 76 to 100. Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed January 6, 2009.

Interstate 94
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