Minnesota State Highway 23

Trunk Highway 23
Length:	339.805 mi[1] (546.863 km)
Formed:	1920[2]
SW end:	I-90 and Rock C.R. 17 near Beaver Creek
Major junctions:	U.S. 75 , MN 30 at Pipestone U.S. 59, MN 19, MN 68 at Marshall U.S. 212, MN 67 at Granite Falls U.S. 71 , U.S. 12 at Willmar I-94 at St. Cloud U.S. 10 at St. Cloud U.S. 169 at Milaca MN 65 at Mora I-35 at Hinckley , Sandstone
NE end:	I-35 , U.S. 2 at Duluth
Minnesota State Highways < MN 22 MN 24 >

Minnesota State Highway 23 is a highway that stretches from southwest to northeast Minnesota. At 340 miles (550 km) in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after State Highway 1.

This route, signed east-west, runs roughly diagonally across Minnesota from southwest to northeast. It indirectly connects Duluth to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and passes through the cities of St. Cloud, Willmar, and Marshall.

State Highway 23 runs north from its interchange with Interstate Highway 90, 13 miles (21 km) east of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and then continues north and east across Minnesota to its terminus at its interchange with Interstate Highway 35 in Duluth.

Route description

State Highway 23 directly serves Pipestone, Marshall, Granite Falls, Willmar, Paynesville, Cold Spring, St. Cloud, Hinckley, Sandstone, and Duluth.

Portions of Highway 23 that have been upgraded to a four-lane expressway include approximately 9 miles (14 km) in the Marshall area in addition to longer stretches between Willmar and New London, and between Richmond and Waite Park (St. Cloud).

For a majority of the Willmar area, Highway 23 runs concurrently with U.S. Highway 71, which includes a freeway bypass of the city.

Highway 23 passes through the counties of:

Highway 23 crosses the Minnesota River at Granite Falls. Over the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, traffic has been detoured upstream to the Veterans Bridge until the replacement for the DeSoto Bridge is completed in the fall of 2009.

Running over surface streets in certain towns, Highway 23 is also known as:

• Division Street in St. Cloud.
• Grand Avenue in Duluth.
  The section of Grand Avenue that is marked Highway 23 is from 59th Avenue West and I-35 (in West Duluth) to Idaho Street (in the Morgan Park neighborhood).
• Commonwealth Avenue in the Gary-New Duluth neighborhood of the city of Duluth.
• Evergreen Memorial Highway in the Fond du Lac neighborhood of the city of Duluth.

Parks and Monuments

The highway serves:

• Split Rock Creek State Park in Pipestone County at Ihlen.
• The Pipestone National Monument.
• Camden State Park in Lyon County on the banks of the Redwood River.
• Banning State Park in Pine County on the banks of the Kettle River.

Evergreen Memorial Scenic Drive

50 miles (80 km) of Highway 23 that travels through Pine, Carlton, and Saint Louis counties is officially designated the Veterans Evergreen Memorial Scenic Drive. This portion is between I-35 near Askov and the Gary-New Duluth neighborhood of Duluth, near State Highway 39. The scenic roadway offers views of Banning State Park, the Saint Louis River valley, and nearby Jay Cooke State Park.

The 2005 Minnesota Legislature officially designated the Highway 23 Bridge over the Saint Louis River at Duluth (Fond du Lac neighborhood) as the Biauswah Bridge. On June 28, 2008, this bridge was dedicated as the Biauswah Bridge in honor of Native American Veterans.

A Minnesota Highway in Wisconsin

Minnesota Highway 23 has the rare distinction of being a state highway that passes through another state. At 133rd Avenue West, the southern edge of Duluth, Highway 23 crosses the Saint Louis River into Wisconsin for half a mile before re-entering Minnesota. On some maps, this section is designated "WISC-23", despite there being another Highway 23 in southern Wisconsin. There is no signage, however, along the highway that indicates the brief route across state lines. Nearby is the junction of Highway 23 with State Highway 210 and Jay Cooke State Park.

History

State Highway 23 was authorized between Hinckley and Marshall in 1920. The remainder of Highway 23 was authorized in 1933.

Various sections of Highway 23 were paved from the 1930s through the 1950s. The entire route of Highway 23 was paved by 1961.

The section of present day Highway 23 from its southern terminus to Marshall was originally designated State Highway 39 until 1940.

The section of present day Highway 23 from Marshall to Willmar was originally designated State Highway 17 until 1940.

The Highway 23 designation originally extended west from New London to Benson along present day State Highway 9 (which was also State Highway 17 from around 1940 to the 1960s.)

Highway 23 originally ran through Sandstone proper (to just west of Askov) along the route that later became State Highway 123. This was redesignated around 1946.

After completion of the I-35 freeway, the state maintained Highway 23 through Hinckley and Sandstone. In the present day, Highway 23 is now concurrent with I-35 from Hinckley to Sandstone.

From 1934 to 1963, the northern terminus for Highway 23 was its junction with old U.S. Highway 61 and U.S. Highway 2 in West Duluth.

From 1963 to 1997, Highway 23 continued farther into Duluth proper as a business route via the following local arteries: (Michigan Street/West 1st Street/East 2nd Street/East 3rd Street/East Superior Street.) The former northern terminus for Highway 23 during this time period was at the intersection of Highway 61 and 60th Avenue East in Duluth.

In 1997, the official northern terminus of Highway 23 changed to its junction with I-35 at Grand Avenue in Duluth.

The four-lane Highway 71 / 23 bypass of Willmar was proposed in the 1960s. However a financial crisis in the early 1980s led to the northbound lanes being unpaved, and the bypass had been scaled down to a two-lane facility by the time it opened in 1985. Construction in 2001 completed the bypass to its original four-lane design.^[3][4]

The Highway 23 expressway from Spicer to New London, and the expressway from Richmond to Waite Park (St. Cloud), were both completed by 2005.

Notes

The Highway 23 DeSoto Bridge across the Mississippi River in St. Cloud was closed on March 20, 2008, after bent gusset plates were found in an inspection; similar to gusset plates that caused the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis to collapse on August 1, 2007. The DeSoto Bridge was demolished in October 2008, with a new replacement bridge currently under construction. The new Highway 23 bridge is scheduled to open in November 2009.

A four-lane bypass of Highway 23 around Paynesville is scheduled to be constructed in 2009.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Roads intersected	Notes
Rock	W of Beaver Creek	0.030-0.068	I-90	Interchange; west end of MN 23. Manley is located 1-mile (1.6 km) to the south of the southern edge of the highway.
Pipestone	Jasper	17.444	MN 269	East end of MN 269
	Pipestone	28.436	MN 30 west	West end of MN 30 overlap
		28.689	U.S. 75 south / MN 30 east	East end of MN 30 overlap; south end of U.S. 75 overlap
		29.311	U.S. 75 north	North end of U.S. 75 overlap
Lyon	Florence	51.209	U.S. 14	U.S. 14 crosses bridge over railroad and MN 23. Road just to the north connects the highways.
	Russell	58.076	MN 91	North end of MN 91
	Marshall	72.306	U.S. 59
		73.684-73.693	MN 19 / MN 68
Yellow Medicine	S of Granite Falls	99.540	MN 274	North end of MN 274
	Granite Falls	101.707	MN 67 east	South end of MN 67 overlap
		101.920	U.S. 212 west / MN 67 west	West end of U.S. 212 overlap; north end of MN 67 overlap
	E of Granite Falls	105.141	U.S. 212 east	East end of U.S. 212 overlap
Chippewa	Clara City	118.638-118.650	MN 7
Kandiyohi	SW of Willmar	135.054	Kandiyohi C.S.A.H. 5	An interchange is planned for this intersection during the 2008-2014 time frame
	Willmar	138.054-138.072	U.S. 71 south / Business 71	Interchange; south end of U.S. 71 overlap; access into Willmar via Business 71 (city road)
		US 71 mile 122.651-122.840	Lakeland Drive	Interchange; southbound exit and southbound entrance
		US 71 mile 123.118	Kandiyohi C.S.A.H. 23 (Willmar Avenue)	Interchange; northbound exit and northbound entrance
		US 71 mile 124.283-124.294	U.S. 12	Interchange
		U.S. 71 mile 125.517-12.577	Civic Center Drive	Interchange
		U.S. 71 mile 126.565	MN 294 / Business 71	Interchange: southbound exit and northbound entrance; north end of MN 294 (note that MN 294 is only a short stub, and turns in a city road (Business 71) about 1/2 mile south of this interchange at C.S.A.H. 24)
	N of Willmar	145.849	U.S. 71 north	Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance; north end of U.S. 71 overlap
		146.682	Kandiyohi C.S.A.H. 9	Interchange
	New London	154.468	MN 9	East end of MN 9
Stearns	Paynesville	167.291	MN 4 / MN 55
	Richmond	179.598	MN 22	North end of MN 22
	SW of Waite Park	193.934-193.997	I-94	Interchange
	St. Cloud	198.914-198.920	MN 15 south / C.S.A.H. 75 east	South end of MN 15 overlap; At this intersection C.S.A.H. 75 continues eastward, to remain on MN 23 requires going north on MN 15 for a two block overlap
		199.171	MN 15 north / C.S.A.H. 75 west	North end of MN 15 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
		201.313-201.349	9th Avenue	Interchange
Benton		202.594-202.624	U.S. 10	Interchange
	E of St. Cloud	207.299	MN 95	West end of MN 95
	Foley	215.703	MN 25
Mille Lacs	Milaca	231.135-231.152	U.S. 169	Interchange
Kanabec	Ogilvie	242.189	MN 47 north	West end of MN 47 overlap
		243.256	MN 47 south	East end of MN 47 overlap
	S of Mora	249.334	MN 65 south	South end of MN 65 overlap
	Mora	250.964	MN 65 north	North end of MN 65 overlap
Pine	W of Brook Park	261.385	MN 107	North end of MN 107
	S of Hinckley	268.513	I-35 south	Interchange; south end of I-35 overlap
	Hinckley	I-35 mile 183.105	MN 48	West end of MN 48
	Sandstone	280.028	I-35 north	Interchange; north end of I-35 overlap
		280.432	MN 123	South end of MN 123
	N of Sandstone	284.473	MN 18	East end of MN 18
		284.923-284.961	I-35	Interchange
	W of Askov	287.777	MN 123	North end of MN 123
St. Louis	Duluth	330.729	MN 210	East end of MN 210
		333.510	MN 39	West end of MN 39
		339.805	I-35	Interchange; east end of MN 23

References