Minnesota State Highway 5

Looking east on MN 5 into Victoria, MN

State Highway 5 serves as a northeast–southwest route between Gaylord, Norwood Young America, Chanhassen, Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Richfield, downtown Saint Paul, and Maplewood. The State Highway runs thought 5 counties. The highway is officially marked as an east–west route by its highway shields from beginning to end.

Part of Highway 5 is designed as a freeway near the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. Just to the west of that segment, Highway 5 runs concurrent with I-494 for 11 miles (18 km) between its junction with I-494 near the Airport and the Minnesota River to its junction with I-494 and U.S. 212 in Eden Prairie.

Highway 5 is considered a significant transit corridor, known as the Riverview Corridor, to downtown Saint Paul from the airport and points farther south and west. There has been discussion of creating a bus rapid transit or light rail line along the highway, much like the METRO Blue Line currently runs rails into downtown Minneapolis along State Highway 55.

Highway 5 is also known as Fort Road and West 7th Street in the city of St. Paul.

45 miles (72 km) of Highway 5 is officially designated the Augie Mueller Memorial Highway. This designation is signed from its intersection with State Highway 101 in Chanhassen southwesterly to its intersection with State Highway 19 in Gaylord.

Legally, State Highway 5 is defined as legislative routes 45, 52, 102, 109, 111, and 121 in the Minnesota Statutes. The route is not marked with those numbers.

State Highway 5 was authorized in 1934.

The route was completely paved by 1953.

When Highway 5 was slated for expansion in 1956, the construction threatened to demolish the remains of historic Fort Snelling, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. As a result of public outcry, the highway was built in a short tunnel underneath the Fort Snelling site, sparing the fort from destruction. This effort led to archaeological research into the remains of Fort Snelling and its eventual rebuilding as a state park.[2]

From 1934 to 1982, the eastern section of the highway between Saint Paul and Stillwater was originally marked as Minnesota 212, as it once reached old U.S. 212 in Saint Paul, but that segment was re-numbered as an extension of Highway 5 circa 1983.[3] This segment is still marked with the mileposts from 212,[1] which were a continuation of those from U.S. 212.

In the concurrency with I-494, the MN 5 shield is placed at most, but not all, interchanges. In 2007, new gore signs placed on France Avenue in Bloomington at its interchange with I-494 do not mention the Highway 5 concurrency, whereas the older signs they replaced did. The more recent interchange with Lyndale Ave (2009) displays the names of both highways.

In June 2015, it was announced that Highway 5 will be shortened by 8.3 miles by the state of Minnesota, giving the portion from Minnesota 120 to its eastern conterminous at Minnesota 36 to Washington County. The road is known as 34th St. between Jamaca Ave and Highway 120 and Stillwater Blvd. between Jamaca Ave. and Highway 36. The road is an extension of Washington County Roads 14 and 15. This road is designated from the county line to Manning Ave. as County Road 14 and from Manning Ave. to Highway 36 as County Road 15. This piece of the highway that will be returned to the county was originally marked as Minnesota 212. This portion of highway is now marked with county highway signs as well as Old Highway 5 signs.[4]

All exits are unnumbered except for the I-494 overlap.

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Sibley	Gaylord	0.141	0.227	MN 19 west (Main Street) / MN 22	Western terminus; west end of MN 19 concurrency; road continues as MN 19 west / MN 22 north (Main Street)
		1.350	2.173	MN 19 east	East end of MN 19 concurrency
	Green Isle	14.400	23.175	MN 25 south (McGrann Street) – Belle Plaine	South end of MN 25 concurrency
Carver	Young America Township	21.055	33.885	US 212 west – Glencoe	West end of US 212 concurrency
	Norwood Young America	23.610	37.997	US 212 east – Chaska	East end of US 212 concurrency
	Young America Township	26.242	42.232	MN 25 north – Watertown	North end of MN 25 concurrency
	Waconia	32.167	51.768	MN 284 south
	Chanhassen	42.422	68.272	MN 41 (Hazeltine Boulevard)
		46.132	74.242	MN 101
Hennepin	Eden Prairie	48.954	78.784	US 212 west	West end of US 212 concurrency; west end of freeway section
				CSAH 60 (Mitchell Road)
				Prairie Center Drive
		50.779	81.721	I-494 north / US 212 east	East end of US 212 concurrency; west end of I-494 concurrency; I-494 exits 11B-C
	See I-494
	Unorganized Territory of Fort Snelling	61.184– 61.930	98.466– 99.667	I-494 east / 34th Avenue – Terminal 2	East end of I-494 concurrency; 34th Avenue and Terminal 2 not signed eastbound; I-494 exit 1A
				Post Road
				Terminal 1
		64.053	103.083	MN 55 / MN 62 – Hastings, Minneapolis, Fort Snelling Historic Site	Exits to MN 55 north include direct exit ramps to Bloomington Road
Mississippi River		64.243– 64.469	103.389– 103.753	Fort Road Bridge
Ramsey	St. Paul	64.530	103.851	Edgecumbe Road / Shepard Road / Mississippi River Boulevard	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				Norfolk Avenue	Eastbound exit only; east end of freeway
		66.353	106.785	MN 51 north (Montreal Avenue)
		66.686	107.321	I-35E	I-35E exit 103B
		70.886	114.080	I-94 / US 12 / US 52 west	I-94 east exit 241B
		70.905	114.111	US 52 south (Lafayette Freeway)	Interchange
		71.349	114.825	US 61 south	West end of US 61 concurrency
		71.939	115.775	US 61 north (Arcade Street)	East end of US 61 concurrency
	Maplewood	76.347	122.869	MN 120 (Century Avenue) / CSAH 6 east (Stillwater Boulevard)	Eastern terminus; road continues into Washington County as CSAH 6 (Stillwater Blvd.)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

• Minnesota Highway 5 at MN Highway Endings