State Route 62 in Minnesota
| SR-62 | |||
| Get started | Minnetonka | ||
| End | South St. Paul | ||
| Length | 19 mi | ||
| Length | 31 km | ||
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State Route 62 or SR-62 is a state route and partial freeway in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The highway forms an east-west route at the southern edge of the Minneapolis-St. Paul, between Minnetonka and South St. Paul. The route is 31 kilometers long.
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Travel directions
State Route 62 in the suburbs of Minneapolis.
State Route 62 is a continuation of 62nd Street in the Minnetonka suburb. State Route 62 begins where it connects to Interstate 494, which connects the Minneapolis-St. Paul poses. Immediately after, one more traffic light follows, after which the Crosstown Expressway begins, a freeway through the southern suburbs of Minneapolis. Shortly after each other, the US 169 and US 212 cross via interchanges, after which a cloverleaf cloverleaf with State Route 100 follows in the suburb of Edina. The highway has 2×2 lanes and leads through densely built-up areas. In the suburb Richfield follows a short confluence with Interstate 35W, this concurrency has a maximum of 12 lanes. Immediately afterwards, however, State Route 62 has 2×2 lanes again. Then follows a cloverleaf with State Route 77.
The highway then runs along the north side of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and Fort Snelling. The connection to the airport is via State Route 5. Via the Mendota Bridge one crosses the Minnesota River, after which one enters the suburb Mendota. Here the freeway ends and a 2×2 urban arterial with traffic lights continues through Mendota Heights. Here is a connection to Interstate 35E, after which the road leads past the suburb Sunfish Lake. The easternmost part of State Route 62 is briefly a freeway again in South St. Paul, after which State Route 62 again ends at Interstate 494.
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History
State Route 62 was originally 12 miles between I-494 in Minnetonka and State Route 55 at Fort Snelling, near the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. In July 2018, State Route 55 and State Route 110 between Fort Snelling and I-494 at South St. Paul were renumbered State Route 62, creating a single road number for the 31-kilometer through route.
The original Mendota Bridge over the Minnesota River was built between 1924 and 1926. At the time, this was the largest concrete arch bridge in the world. Between 1992 and 1994 the bridge was demolished to the arches and rebuilt with a wider bridge deck, so that the road here became a freeway.
The highway section between Minnetonka and Fort Snelling was originally constructed by Hennepin County. Construction on the highway began in 1960 west of I-35W, the first section around Penn Avenue and Xerxes Avenue opened to traffic in 1964. Several grade-separated intersections appeared from 1967, and by 1970 nearly the entire route between Eden Prairie and Fort Snelling was grade-separated. The westernmost section of the highway in Eden Prairie opened to traffic in 1987. However, there was still a traffic light at the intersection with State Route 55 (Hiawatha Avenue) at Fort Snelling. This piece was made grade-separated in 2004.
Traffic intensities
Every day, 30,000 vehicles drive at the junction with I-494 in Minnetonka, rising to 85,000 to 95,000 vehicles per day on the 2×2 lanes between US 169 and I-35W. The intersection of State Route 62 and I-35W has 175,000 vehicles per day, then 109,000 vehicles drive on the 2×2 lanes between I-35W and MN-77. This drops to 63,000 vehicles along the north side of the airport and 74,000 vehicles near Fort Snelling. 54,000 vehicles cross the Minnesota River near Mendota every day. The non-freeway portion through Mendota Heights and South St. Paul has 24,000 to 30,000 vehicles per day, which remains stable until I-494.
State Route 77 in Minnesota
| SR-77 | |||
| Get started | Apple Valley | ||
| End | Minneapolis | ||
| Length | 11 mi | ||
| Length | 18 km | ||
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State Route 77 or SR-77 is a state route in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The highway is one of the southern exit routes from Minneapolis and is 18 kilometers long.
Travel directions
State Route 77.
State Route 77 near the airport.
The highway begins in Apple Valley, a suburb of 45,000 people south of Minneapolis. The highway then runs north and intersects Interstate 35E and then has 2×3 lanes. One then crosses the Minnesota River and enters the suburb of Bloomington. One crosses the Interstaet 494 ring road here and then passes by the Minneapolis airport. One of the largest shopping malls in the country is also located along the highway. Along the airport, 2×2 lanes are again available and the road ends at the SR-62 highway.
History
The first highway section built was a link between SR-62 and I-494 along the west side of the airport. This part was already level in the early 1960s. The southward extension of the highway to I-35E occurred in the late 1970s or around 1980s. The route was previously numbered State Route 36, but was renumbered State Route 77 in 1980.
Traffic intensities
62,000 to 93,000 vehicles use the highway daily.
