Minnesota State Highway 36

Minnesota State Highway 36 (MN 36) is a 21.718-mile-long (34.952 km) highway in Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with Interstate 35W in Roseville and continues east to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line (near Stillwater), where it becomes Wisconsin Highway 64 upon crossing the St. Croix River at the St. Croix Crossing bridge. A portion of Highway 36 is a major freeway in suburban Minneapolis – Saint Paul.

Trunk Highway 36
MN 36 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length	21.718 mi[1] (34.952 km)
Existed	1933[2]–present
Major junctions
West end	I-35W at Roseville
	MN 51 at Roseville I-35E / US 10 at Little Canada US 61 at Maplewood MN 120 at North St. Paul, Oakdale I-694 at Oakdale, Pine Springs MN 95 at Oak Park Heights
East end	WIS 64 at the St. Croix River, the Minnesota — Wisconsin state line, near Oak Park Heights, MN  — St. Joseph, WI
Location
Counties	Ramsey, Washington
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate U.S. State Legislative routes ← I-35W → MN 37

Route description

State Highway 36 serves as an east–west route between the cities of Roseville, Little Canada, Maplewood, North St. Paul, Oakdale, Oak Park Heights, and Stillwater.

Highway 36 is a limited-access freeway from its interchange with Interstate 35W in Roseville eastward to Interstate 35E in Little Canada, and about five miles beyond. The freeway section ends at its signal-controlled intersection with Minnesota State Highway 120 in North St. Paul. Highway 36 becomes an at-grade expressway at this point. For about four miles outside of the I-494 / 694 loop, the expressway section of Highway 36 has a speed limit of 65 MPH (105 km/h).

The intersection of Highway 36 and Margaret Street at North St. Paul in February 2003.

Highway 36 crosses the St. Croix River via the St. Croix Crossing bridge and becomes Wisconsin Highway 64 upon crossing the state line into Wisconsin.[3]

History

State Highway 36 was authorized in 1933. The route was paved by 1940.

From 1934 to 1982, Highway 36 used to be significantly longer. The route had turned southward along I-35W, Washington Avenue, and Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis; and connected to what is now State Highway 77 (Cedar Avenue Freeway). In Eagan, old Highway 36 had intersected the Chicago and North Western Railway at-grade, at the Nicols Station Crossing.[4] The section of old Highway 36 that ran along Washington and Cedar Avenues in Minneapolis was returned to county maintenance in 1982, and is currently a section of Hennepin County Road 152.

Highway 36 did not originally reach the Wisconsin state line at the St. Croix River. Part of old State Highway 212 in Oak Park Heights and Stillwater was renumbered as Highway 36 in 1983. This section of present-day Highway 36 still carries the old Highway 212 mile markers.

The section of Highway 36 in North St. Paul was closed in 2007 from April to September. The highway was rebuilt to freeway standards during this time between White Bear Avenue in Maplewood and Highway 120 (Century Avenue) in North St. Paul. The changes included grade-separated intersections with no interchanges or access within North St. Paul. The full closure in 2007 allowed the project to be completed more quickly and at a lower cost compared with a staged reconstruction. It also increased safety for construction workers. The Highway 36 reconstruction project in North St. Paul was completed in 2008. The budget of the project was $24 million.[5]

An interchange was constructed in 2014 at Highway 36 and Hilton Trail in Pine Springs. The project also included two roundabouts on Hilton Trail on either side of the highway, one at 60th Street North and another at an extension of Viking Drive.[6]

Prior to August 2017, upon reaching the St. Croix River Highway 36 merged with, and ran concurrent with Minnesota 95 north into downtown Stillwater. At Chestnut St Highway 36 turned east and crossed the St. Croix River on the historic Stillwater Lift Bridge. On August 2, 2017 the new St. Croix Crossing bridge opened and 36 now uses this bridge to cross into Wisconsin, eliminating its concurrency with MN 95.[7]

Major intersections

All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Ramsey	Roseville	0.000	0.000	I-35W south	Western terminus; west end of freeway; I-35W exit 23B
		0.163– 0.427	0.262– 0.687	Cleveland Avenue south (CR 46)	Parclo interchange
		0.480	0.772	I-35W north	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; I-35W exit 23B
		0.785– 0.825	1.263– 1.328	Fairview Avenue (CR 48)
		1.295	2.084	MN 51 (Snelling Avenue)
		1.770	2.849	Hamline Avenue (CR 50)	Right-in/right-out interchange
		2.272	3.656	Lexington Avenue (CR 51)
		3.265	5.255	Dale Street (CR 53)
	Little Canada	4.275	6.880	CR 49 (Rice Street)	Former MN 49
		5.121	8.241	I-35E south / US 10 east – St. Paul I-35E north / US 10 west	Cloverleaf interchange; I-35 exits 111A-B
		5.769	9.284	Edgerton Street (CR 58)
	Maplewood	6.844	11.014	US 61 south US 61 north	Cloverleaf interchange; westbound entrance includes bus entryway from Keller Parkway
		7.321	11.782	English Street
		8.445– 8.479	13.591– 13.646	White Bear Avenue (CR 65)
	North St. Paul	9.296	14.960	McKnight Road (CR 68)
		9.979	16.060	Margaret Street	Westbound exit only
Ramsey–Washington county line	North St. Paul–Oakdale line	10.465	16.842	MN 120 (Century Avenue)	At-grade intersection; east end of freeway
Washington	Oakdale	11.271	18.139	CSAH 35 (Hadley Avenue)	Dumbbell interchange
	Oakdale–Pine Springs line	11.776– 11.793	18.952– 18.979	I-694 south I-694 west	Cloverleaf interchange; I-694 exits 52A-B
	Pine Springs	12.303	19.800	CSAH 29 (Hilton Trail)	Interchange
	Grant	16.775	26.997	CSAH 15 north (Manning Avenue)	West end of CSAH 15 overlap
	Oak Park Heights	17.577	28.287	CSAH 5 north / CSAH 15 south (Stillwater Boulevard)	Interchange; east end of CSAH 15 overlap
		20.490	32.975	MN 95 – Stillwater, Bayport	West end of freeway
St. Croix River				St. Croix Crossing; Minnesota–Wisconsin line
				WIS 64 east (Alt. I-94)	Freeway continues into Wisconsin
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

1. Minnesota Department of Transportation. "Statewide Trunk Logpoint Listing" (PDF). St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
2. Riner, Steve. "Details of Routes 26-50". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Retrieved February 24, 2007.
3. Minnesota Highway 36 / Wisconsin Highway 64 - New St. Croix River Crossing - Project Status. MnDOT. Accessed November 4, 2009.
4. "Chicago and North Western Railway Company, Appellant, v. Lillian R. Strand, as Trustee for the Heirs of Roy B. Strand, Decedent, Appellee". Bulk Resource. March 7, 1962. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
5. "Highway 36 closes in 2007 for reconstruction through North St. Paul". Minnesota Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on June 17, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2006.
6. "Highway 36 at Hilton Trail" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 19, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
7. "St. Croix Crossing" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2017.

*Adam Froehlig (January 6, 2004). State Highway 36 (photos). Minnesota State Highway Endings. Accessed August 28, 2004.