U.S. Route 52 in Minnesota

U.S. Highway 52
Length:	377 mi (607 km) 243 miles along I-94
Formed:	1934
South end:	US 52 at Prosper, MN
Major junctions:	I-90 near Rochester US 14 / US 63 at Rochester I-494 in Inver Grove Heights I-35E / I-94 / US 10 in St. Paul
North end:	I-94 / US 52 at Fargo, ND
Minnesota State Highways < MN 51 US 53 > United States Numbered Highways List – Bannered – Divided – Replaced

U.S. Highway 52 enters the state of Minnesota at the unincorporated community of Prosper, north of the town of Burr Oak, Iowa. The road is marked north-south in Minnesota along its independent segment. Highway 52 is not signed along Interstate Highway 94 from downtown St. Paul to the North Dakota state line in Moorhead.

Route Description

U.S. Highway 52 in Rochester. The independent segment of Highway 52 is the only non-Interstate Highway in Minnesota to carry numbered exits.

U.S. Highway 52 enters Fillmore County and heads through the same Driftless Area it ran through in Iowa. The road heads through Preston and proceeds north to Chatfield. Highway 52 leaves the river bluffs near Chatfield and enters terrain typical of southern Minnesota. This area is mostly farmland for the rest of the length until the road enters the city of Rochester. Interstate 90 intersects Highway 52 south of Rochester, and is a major junction. Highway 52 expands to a 4-lane freeway north of the junction. The road expands further to 6-lanes around Rochester, from the junction with U.S. Highway 63 to north of the city. U.S. Highway 14 is a major route, and connects Owatonna to Rochester. North of Rochester, Highway 52 becomes a 4-lane expressway through the farmland of Olmsted and Goodhue counties. Zumbrota is bypassed by the highway and the road heads to Dakota County. In Cannon Falls, Highway 52 has two traffic lights in the southern part of town. North of Coates, the road enters the edge of the Twin Cities area. The road enters Inver Grove Heights where it becomes the Lafayette Freeway north of Concord Boulevard. Highway 52 splits with State Highway 55 north of there. Highway 55 heads to Minneapolis, while Highway 52 heads to St. Paul. Interstate 494 intersects 52 in the northern part of Inver Grove Heights. The St. Paul Downtown Airport is right off of Highway 52 in St. Paul. After Highway 52 crosses the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, the road intersects Interstate Highway 94 and follows that road all the way to the North Dakota border. U.S. Highway 52 is not signed along the length of its concurrency with I-94 between downtown St. Paul and the North Dakota state line.

History

Preston Overlook, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, on U.S. Highway 52 in Fillmore County.

U.S. Highway 52 was extended into the state of Minnesota in 1934. The road replaced the former routing of old U.S. Highway 55 from the Iowa state line to the Twin Cities, and the former route of old U.S. Highway 10S from Minneapolis west to North Dakota. Interstate 94 replaced most of the routing of Highway 52 west of St. Cloud, and the routing from St. Cloud to Minneapolis was replaced by U.S. Highway 10, U.S. Highway 169, and Hennepin County Road 81. Highway 52 was routed along University Avenue through Minneapolis and St. Paul until about 1995 (In 1986, Highway 52 on University Avenue between I-35W and the St. Paul border was turned over to Hennepin County maintenance and renumbered County 36 / 37, creating a gap in Highway 52 until the 1995 route change; however, a U.S. 52 reassurance sign still stands indicating this routing today when entering Minneapolis city limits on westbound University Avenue). 52 was routed along Robert Street through St. Paul, West St. Paul, and into Inver Grove Heights until 1995; when 52 was moved onto the nearby Lafayette Freeway. U.S. Highway 52 was built as an expressway from Rochester to St. Paul in the 1960s. The section of Highway 52 in Rochester was expanded to a 6-lane freeway in 2005.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Fillmore	Prosper	0	US 52	State line
		1	MN 44 east
	Harmony	9	MN 139 south
	Preston	17	MN 16 east	South end of MN 16 overlap.
		20	MN 16 west	North end of MN 16 overlap
	Chatfield	34	MN 30 east / MN 74 north	South end of MN 30 overlap. MN 74 begins.
Olmsted		34	MN 30 west	North end of MN 30 overlap.
	Marion	46	I-90 east  – La Crosse
		46	I-90 west – Albert Lea
		47	CR 36 (Marion Rd)
	Rochester	50	CR 1 (11th Ave SE)
		51	US 63 (Broadway) – Stewartville	To I-90 West
		53	CR 25 (16th Street SW)	Apache Mall, Olmsted County Fairgrounds
		54	US 14 east (12th Street SW) – Winona	No access northbound
		54	CR 22 (W Circle Dr)	No access northbound
		55	6th Street SW	No access southbound
		55	2nd Street SW	Mayo Clinic, St. Marys Hospital
		56	Civic Center Dr NW
		56	US 14 west – Owatonna
		56	19th Street NW, Elton Hills Dr NW
		58	CR 22 east (37th Street NW)
		59	CR 22 west (55th Street NW)
		61	CR 14 (75th Street NW)
	Oronoco	65	CR 12 – Oronoco
Goodhue	Pine Island	70	CR 11 – Pine Island
	Zumbrota	75	MN 60 east – Mazeppa, Zumbro Falls
		77	MN 58 / CR 10 – Zumbrota, Red Wing
		78	MN 60 west , Kenyon
	Hader	86	MN 57 / CR 8 – Wanamingo, Mantorville
	Wastedo	89	CR 9 – Goodhue, Dennison
		91	CR 1 south
		91	CR 1 north
	Cannon Falls	96.5	CR 24 north (65th Avenue)
		96.6	CR 24 west
		98	MN 19 – Cannon Falls, Northfield
Dakota	Hampton	105	MN 50 / MN 56 / CR 47 – Farmington, Kenyon
	Coates	113	CR 46
	Rosemount	115	CR 42 – Rosemount
		117	MN 55 east – Hastings	Intersection northbound and Exit southbound
		118	117th St
	Inver Grove Heights	120	CR 56 (Concord Boulevard)
		121	MN 55 west – Minneapolis	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		122	To MN 55 west / 80th Street East
		123	CR 26 (70th Street East)
		124	Upper 55th Street East
		125	I-494 / MN 110
	South St. Paul	126	Southview Boulevard, Mendota Road
	South St. Paul/West St. Paul	127	Wentworth Avenue, Thompson Avenue
		128	Butler Avenue
Ramsey	St. Paul	129	MN 156 (Concord Street)
		130	Eaton Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		130	Plato Boulevard, Fillmore Avenue
		131	I-94 east / US 10	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		131	I-94 west / US 10 west / US 52 north to I-35E	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
US 52 continues unsigned, overlapping Interstate 94.

References

• Steve Riner Details of Routes 51-75. The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed March 24, 2007.
• Adam Froehlig US Route 52 Exit List Twin Cities Highways. Accessed August 5, 2007.
• Matt Salek US 52 Exits: SE Minnesota Upper Midwest Freeway Exit Guides. Accessed August 5, 2007.

U.S. Route 52
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