Minnesota State Highway 65

Trunk Highway 65
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	272.511 mi[2] (438.564 km)
Existed:	1934[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	CR 152 (Washington Ave.) in Minneapolis
	MN 47 (University Ave.) at Minneapolis I-694 at Fridley U.S. 10 at Blaine MN 95 at Cambridge MN 23 at Mora MN 210 at McGregor U.S. 2 at Swan River U.S. 169 near Pengilly, Nashwauk
North end:	U.S. 71 near Littlefork
Location
Counties:	Hennepin, Anoka, Isanti, Kanabec, Aitkin, Itasca, Koochiching
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate • U.S. • State Inter-County • County roads • Legislative routes ← US 65 MN 66 →

Minnesota State Highway 65 is a highway in east-central and northeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with Washington Avenue (Hennepin County Road 152) at the north end of downtown Minneapolis and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Highway 71 in Littlefork near International Falls.

Highway 65 is a four lane expressway between Interstate 694 in Fridley to just north of State Highway 95 at Cambridge.

The route continues as a two-lane road from Cambridge to its northern terminus at Littlefork in northern Minnesota.

State Highway 65 is 273 miles (439 km) in length.

Route description

State Highway 65 serves as a north–south route between Minneapolis, Fridley, Blaine, Cambridge, Mora, McGregor, Nashwauk, and Littlefork in east-central and northeast Minnesota.

The roadway is one of three Minnesota state marked highways to carry the same number as an existing U.S. marked highway within the state, the others being Highways 61 and 169.

Highway 65 as it crosses
Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis

State Highway 65 begins at the intersection of Washington Avenue (County 152) and 3rd Avenue South at the north end of downtown Minneapolis. Highway 65 is signed locally as 3rd Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis. 3rd Avenue South leads to the Third Avenue (Mississippi River) Bridge and becomes Central Avenue upon crossing the river. After its intersection with Hennepin Avenue, the route becomes Central Avenue NE. Highway 65 is signed locally as Central Avenue NE for this section. Many Minnesota landmarks are located on Central Avenue NE including the Aveda Institute, the Heights Theater, and the National Sports Center. The route remains Central Avenue until separating in Ham Lake, except for a split in Fridley and Spring Lake Park between I-694 and U.S. Highway 10.^[3]

The route is a divided highway from Minneapolis to Cambridge, with a 60 MPH speed limit, increasing to 65 MPH speed limit beginning in Ham Lake, just outside of Blaine.

Savanna Portage State Park in Aitkin County is located 11 miles northeast of the junction of Highway 65 and County Road 14 in Shamrock Township near McGregor. The park entrance is located on County Road 14 in nearby Balsam Township.
Minnesota DNR website for Savanna Portage State Park - Link

History

State Highway 65 was authorized in 1934 and 1935. The route was numbered as an extension of old U.S. Highway 65.

By 1940, the route was paved from Minneapolis to just north of McGrath in Aitkin County. By 1949, the route was paved as far north as Libby. By 1953, the route was paved north to its intersection with U.S. Highway 2 at Swan River in Itasca County. Sections of Highway 65 north of U.S. 2 were paved in the 1960s and 1970s. The last section of Highway 65 paved was through the Nett Lake Indian Reservation in 2000.

The expressway section of Highway 65 between I-694 in Fridley to Spring Lake Park was constructed on a new alignment in 1953.

The Highway 65 expressway bypass in Cambridge was completed circa 1993.

A portion of State Highway 65 used to be part of old U.S. Highway 65. U.S. 65 still enters Minnesota from Iowa, but ends now in the city of Albert Lea, where it has a junction with Interstate 35. I-35 and I-35W roughly follow the same route old U.S. 65 used to take from Albert Lea to downtown Minneapolis. Before the freeways were built, the original U.S. 65 had followed Lyndale Avenue between Burnsville and Minneapolis.

In July 2005, a small section of State Highway 65 in downtown Minneapolis, between Washington Avenue and I-35W, was turned back to city maintenance. The southern terminus of State Highway 65 is now at the intersection of Washington Avenue and 3rd Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis. However the feeder ramp from I-35W north to downtown may again be considered MN-65 like it was in 2005, since the updated mileposts now label the MN-65 shield along this segment.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[4][5][2]	Destinations	Notes
Hennepin	Minneapolis	1.394	CR 152 (Washington Avenue)
Mississippi River		1.537-1.895	Third Avenue Bridge
Hennepin	Minneapolis	-	MN 47 (University Avenue)
		3.058	CR 153 (Lowry Avenue)	Old U.S. 8
Anoka	Fridley	6.222-6.499	I-694	Interchange
	Spring Lake Park	9.945-10.288	CR 10	Interchange, old U.S. 10
	Blaine	10.955-11.154	US 10	Interchange
		15.301-15.646	CR 14	Interchange, old MN 242 west
Isanti	Isanti	35.936	CR 5 / Inter-County H
	Cambridge	41.283-41.931	MN 95
	Stanchfield Township	51.032-51.133	MN 107
Kanabec	Brunswick Township	58.851	MN 70
	Mora	63.334	MN 23	South end of MN 23 overlap
		64.996	MN 23	North end of MN 23 overlap
	Ford Township	81.783	MN 27	South end of MN 27 overlap
Aitkin	Williams Township	88.854	MN 18
	Rice River Township	105.180	MN 27	North end of MN 27 overlap
	McGregor	116.649	MN 210	East end of MN 210 overlap
		117.850	MN 210	West end of MN 210 overlap
	Shamrock Township	124.908	MN 232
	Jacobson	146.784	MN 200	South end of MN 200 overlap
		147.178	MN 200	north end of MN 200 overlap
Itasca	Swan River	153.704	US 2
	Greenway Township	172.574	US 169	South end of US 169 overlap
	Lone Pine Township	175.243	US 169	North end of US 169 overlap
	Carpenter Township	208.147	MN 1	West end of MN 1 overlap
		212.168	MN 1	East end of MN 1 overlap
Koochiching	Littlefork	270.020	MN 217
	East Koochiching	270.739	US 71
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

1. ^ Riner, Steve. "Details of Routes 51-75". Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. http://www.steve-riner.com/mnhighways/r51-75.htm. Retrieved 2004-06-24. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 1" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 20, 2010. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/d1.pdf. Retrieved October 24, 2010. 
3. ^ Froehlig, Adam. "Minnesota Highway 65". Minnesota State Highway Endings. http://www.ajfroggie.com/roadpics/mn-ends/mn065.htm. Retrieved 2004-04-03. 
4. ^ "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 5" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 20, 2010. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/metrolpt.pdf. Retrieved October 24, 2010. 
5. ^ "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 3" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 23, 2010. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/d3.pdf. Retrieved October 24, 2010.