Minnesota State Highway 15

Trunk Highway 15
Length:	154.322 mi (248 km)
Formed:	1920, 1933, 1950
South end:	IA 15 at the Minnesota - Iowa state line
Major junctions:	I-90 at Fairmont MN 30 near Lewisville MN 60 at Madelia U.S. 14 , MN 68 at New Ulm MN 19 at Winthrop U.S. 212 near Brownton MN 7 , MN 22 at Hutchinson U.S. 12 at Dassel MN 24 , MN 55 at Kimball I-94 at St. Cloud MN 23 , Stearns C.R. 75 at St. Cloud
North end:	U.S. 10 at Sauk Rapids / Sartell, immediately north of St. Cloud
Minnesota State Highways < US 14 MN 16 >

Minnesota State Highway 15 is a highway in south-central and central Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 15 at the Iowa state line and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with U.S. Highway 10 in Sartell / Sauk Rapids, immediately north of St. Cloud.

Highway 15 is 154 miles (248 km) in length.

Route description

State Highway 15 serves as a north-south arterial route between Fairmont, Madelia, New Ulm, Hutchinson, and St. Cloud in south-central and central Minnesota.

The route passes through the counties of:

Highway 15 parallels State Highway 4 throughout its route in south-central and central Minnesota.

Flandrau State Park is located on Highway 15 in Brown County on the Cottonwood River. The park is located immediately south of New Ulm.
Minnesota DNR website for Flandrau State Park - Link

St. Cloud area

Highway 15 is a four-lane highway on the west side of St. Cloud from Interstate Highway 94 to U.S. Highway 10. Highway 15 crosses the Bridge of Hope at the Mississippi River between Sartell and Sauk Rapids.

In the 1970s, Highway 15 through the St. Cloud area was planned to be constructed as a freeway, providing a high-speed connection between I-94 and U.S. 10. However, funding fell short of completing the freeway beyond Highway 23 / County Road 75 (2nd Street South). As a result, it was eventually decided that right-of-way needed to build interchanges would be sold off so the remaining segment of Highway 15 across the Mississippi River, connecting to U.S. 10, could be built. Therefore, from 2nd Street South to U.S. 10, the highway is currently built as an expressway with signalized intersections.^[1] As of now, Highway 15 is able to serve traffic, with stretches posted at a 60 mph (97 km/h) speed limit. However continuing increases in traffic in the St. Cloud area will require the highway to be eventually converted to a freeway in the long term (post 2030).

History

State Highway 15 was authorized in 1920, 1933, and 1950.

The section of Highway 15 between New Ulm and the Iowa state line was originally Constitutional Route 15, dating back to 1920.

The section of Highway 15 between St. Cloud and Kimball was originally part of Constitutional Route 24.

The middle section of Highway 15 was authorized in 1933, the northernmost section in 1950. This northerly section was originally part of State Highway 152 and was routed through downtown St. Cloud. Now, it bypasses central St. Cloud to the west side of town.

By 1940, only two short gravel sections of Highway 15 remained, both paved by 1953.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Roads intersected	Notes
Martin	Fairmont	12.351-12.367	I-90	Interchange
Watonwan	S of Lewisville	27.276	MN 30 east	South end of MN 30 overlap
	N of Lewisville	33.380-33.442	MN 30 west / MN 60 west	Interchange; north end of MN 30 overlap; south end of MN 60 overlap
	Madelia	37.513-37.559	Watonwan C.S.A.H. 9	Interchange
		38.776	Watonwan C.S.A.H. 3	Interchange
		39.174-39.228	MN 60 east	Interchange; north end of MN 60 overlap
Brown	N of Madelia	45.354	MN 257	East end of MN 257
	S of New Ulm	54.635	MN 68 east	South end of MN 68 overlap
	New Ulm	58.862	U.S. 14 west / MN 68 west	North end of MN 68 overlap; south end of U.S. 14 overlap
		U.S. 14 mile 103.111-103.235	Front Street	Interchange; about 1/2 mile east of intersection with U.S. 14 west / MN 68 west
Nicollet	NE of New Ulm	60.252	U.S. 14 east	North end of U.S. 14 overlap
Sibley	Winthrop	76.546	MN 19
McLeod	W of Brownton	89.155	U.S. 212
	Hutchinson	101.286	MN 7 / MN 22
Meeker	Dassel	115.079	U.S. 12
	N of Kingston	126.028	MN 24 south	South end of MN 24 overlap
Stearns	Kimball	131.529	MN 55 / MN 24 north	North end of MN 24 overlap
	St. Cloud	145.059-145.079	I-94	Interchange
		149.066-149.074	MN 23 west / C.S.A.H. 75 east (2nd Street South)	South end of MN 23 overlap; at this intersection, MN 23 is to the west, and C.S.A.H. 75 is to the east. MN 23 overlaps MN 15 from this intersection northward for two blocks.
		149.310-149.318	MN 23 east / C.S.A.H. 75 west (Division Street)	North end of MN 23 overlap; at this intersection, C.S.A.H. 75 is to the west, and MN 23 continues to the east after a two block overlap of MN 15
Benton	Sauk Rapids	152.929	C.S.A.H. 33 (Benton Drive)	Interchange at north end of Bridge of Hope
	Sauk Rapids, Sartell	154.322	U.S. 10	North end of MN 15; partial interchange: MN 15 north enters U.S. 10 west, MN 15 south exits U.S. 10 east

References