Minnesota State Highway 56

Minnesota State Highway 56 (MN 56) is a 99.121-mile-long (159.520 km) highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. Highway 63 near the Iowa state line and Chester, Iowa, and continues north to its northern terminus at its junction with U.S. Highway 52 and State Highway 50 in Hampton.

Trunk Highway 56
MN 56 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length99.121 mi[1] (159.520 km)
ExistedNovember 2, 1920[2]–present
Major junctions
South end US 63 at Beaver Twp.
  I-90 near Austin
MN 30 at Hayfield
US 14 near Dodge Center
MN 60 at Kenyon
MN 19 near Stanton
US 52 near Hampton
North end MN 50 near Hampton
Location
CountiesFillmore, Mower, Dodge, Goodhue, Dakota
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highways
MN 55 MN 57

Route description

Highway 56 serves as a northsouth route in southeast Minnesota between Le Roy, Adams, Brownsdale, Hayfield, Dodge Center, West Concord, Kenyon, and Hampton.

Highway 56 begins near the Minnesota - Iowa state line and heads west through the towns of Le Roy, Adams, Taopi and Rose Creek. Near Le Roy, Highway 56 passes near Lake Louise State Park. The route then heads due north west of Rose Creek and has an interchange with Interstate Highway 90 five miles (8 km) east of Austin.

Highway 56 heads through northern Mower County and enters Dodge County north of Waltham. State Highway 30 intersects this route just west of Hayfield. Ten miles north of Hayfield, Highway 56 is concurrent with the U.S. Highway 14 bypass around Dodge Center. After passing through West Concord, the route crosses into Goodhue County.

In Kenyon, Highway 56 intersects State Highway 60 and State Highway 246 north of the city. The intersection of Highway 56 and State Highway 19 at Stanton is located between Northfield and Cannon Falls. Highway 56 enters Dakota County near Randolph, and continues for ten more miles until it reaches its northern terminus at U.S. 52 and State Highway 50 at Hampton.

At its southern end, Highway 56 is officially designated as the Shooting Star Scenic Byway from U.S. 63 north to its interchange with Interstate 90. This byway is so named because of the endangered wildflowers that bloom in June and July.

History

Highway 56 was authorized on November 2, 1920 between U.S. Route 16 and Kenyon.[2] The route was extended south to U.S. Highway 63 and north through the Twin Cities to U.S. Highway 169 in Aitkin in 1933.[3]

The route was then terminated to various locations in Saint Paul from 1963 to 1974. The portion of Highway 56 through and north of Minneapolis was renumbered State Highway 47 in 1963.

Highway 56 had its northern terminus at what was then State Highway 3 in downtown St. Paul (now U.S. 52) from 1974 to 1994, and has ended at its current northern terminus at Hampton since 1994.

Part of the former route (Concord Street) from Interstate Highway 494 in South St. Paul to U.S. Highway 52 in Saint Paul is now marked as State Highway 156. In addition, the portion of the former route beyond that (Concord Blvd.) running from Interstate 494 south to U.S. Highway 52 in Inver Grove Heights, MN is now designated as Dakota County Road 56.

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[4][1]kmDestinationsNotes
FillmoreBeaver Township0.0000.000 US 63 Waterloo, Spring Valley
MowerWindom Township3150 I-90 LaCrosse, AustinInterchange
DodgeHayfield46.38374.646 MN 30 Hayfield, Blooming Prairie
Ashland Township55.08088.643 US 14 RochesterEast end of US 14 overlap
Wasioja Township57.72692.901
US 14 / US 14 Bus. Owatonna
West end of US 14 overlap, west end of US 14 Bus. overlap

CSAH 34 / US 14 Bus.
East end of US 14 Bus. overlap
GoodhueKenyon74.922120.575 MN 60South end of MN 60 overlap
75.476121.467 MN 60 ZumbrotaNorth end of MN 60 overlap
Holden Township77.859125.302 MN 246 Nerstrand
Stanton Township89.535144.093 MN 19 NorthfieldSouth end of MN 19 overlap
90.555145.734 MN 19 Cannon FallsNorth end of MN 19 overlap
DakotaHampton Township98.638158.742 US 52 (Rochester Boulevard) Rochester, St. PaulMN 56 intersects the southbound entrance ramp of US 52
98.789158.985 MN 50 St. Paul, Red Wing, Farmington
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

KML is from Wikidata
  1. "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 5" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 20, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 27, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  2. Minnesota State Legislature (2010). "§ 161.114, Constitutional Trunk Highways". Minnesota Statutes. Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  3. Riner, Steve. "Details of Routes 51-75". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  4. "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 6" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 23, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
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