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U.S. Route 63 in Minnesota

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This article is about the section of U.S. Route 63 in Minnesota. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 63.
U.S. Highway 63 marker
U.S. Highway 63
Map
U.S. 63 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length96.483 mi[1] (155.274 km)
Existed1934–present
Major junctions
South end US 63 at the Iowa state line near Chester, IA
Major intersections
North end US 63 at the Mississippi River in Red Wing
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountiesFillmore, Mower, Olmsted, Wabasha, Goodhue
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highway System
← MN 62→ MN 64

U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a highway in southeastern Minnesota that runs from the Minnesota-Iowa border south of Spring Valley to the Mississippi River at Red Wing. It connects the cities of Spring Valley, Stewartville, Rochester, and Lake City.

The route in Minnesota is 96 miles (154 km) in length.

Route description

[edit]

U.S. 63 enters the state in Fillmore County, just north of Chester, Iowa. It travels north to Spring Valley where it becomes concurrent with State Highway 16, following it west for five miles entering Mower County. It continues north through Racine, then into Stewartville, after passing into Olmsted County, where it becomes a divided highway. Immediately after Stewartville, it intersects Interstate 90, near Rochester International Airport. The highway then enters Rochester 1 mile after the I-90 junction, where it is an expressway south of U.S. 52 (slowly becoming a freeway). It then follows U.S. 52 west of downtown Rochester to 75th Street NW, where it departs from U.S. 52. It follows 75th Street eastward to Olmsted County 33, where it continues north from a roundabout.

US-63 in southern Minnesota

It continues north through Olmsted and Wabasha counties. A short segment of the highway is built to four-lane expressway standards just north of Zumbro Falls. It meets U.S. Highway 61 at Lake City and overlaps it into the city of Red Wing. U.S. 63 turns off from U.S. 61 and then curves back northwest to cross over 61, and then reaches the Red Wing Bridge where it crosses the Mississippi River and enters the state of Wisconsin.

Nearly all of the route is legally defined as Constitutional Route 59 in the Minnesota Statutes,[2] except for the part between Red Wing and the Mississippi River, which is Legislative Route 161.[3]

History

[edit]

U.S. 63 was extended into Minnesota in 1934.[4][5] The route had previously been marked the year before as U.S. 59, except for the segment running from U.S. 61 to the river crossing, which had been State Highway 58.[4] U.S. 63 was an original 1926 U.S. Route and terminated in Des Moines, Iowa until it was extended north. The U.S. 59 designation was simultaneously reassigned to a new highway running from Laredo, Texas to Pembina, North Dakota. The 32-mile (51 km) leg north of Rochester was originally blazed as the Lake City and Rochester Stage Road in 1858.[6]

The route was paved when it was marked.[5]

In the spring of 2014, it was rerouted to follow U.S. Highway 52 west of downtown Rochester. This makes the route longer, but reduces transit time due to higher speed limits and fewer traffic lights. The segment of the old route 63 between 37th Street NE and 75th Street NE was turned over to Olmsted County, and renamed County route 33. Plans for the change were announced in April, 2012.[7]

Major intersections

[edit]
CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
FillmoreBeaver Township0.0000.000
 US 63 south – New Hampton, Waterloo		Continuation into Iowa
0.5030.810
 MN 56 north (Shooting Star Scenic Byway) – Le Roy
2.9654.772 CSAH 26 / CSAH 44 – HarmonyFormerly MN 44
Spring Valley13.56921.837
 MN 16 east (Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway / Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway) / CSAH 1 – Preston		Eastern end of MN 16 overlap; CSAH 1 formerly MN 74
MowerFrankford Township18.64930.013
 MN 16 west (Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway) – Grand Meadow, Dexter		Western end of MN 16 overlap
OlmstedStewartville28.75646.278
 MN 30 east – Chatfield		Southern end of MN 30 overlap
High Forest Township30.79449.558 I-90 – Albert Lea, La CrosseI-90 exits 209A-B; interchange.
Rochester33.07653.231
 MN 30 west / CSAH 16		Northern end of MN 30 overlap; interchange; access to Rochester International Airport
35.72757.49748th Street SouthInterchange
36.51258.76040th Street SouthInterchange
37.40560.198
 US 52 south to I-90 east – Preston		Interchange; southern end of US 52 overlap
39.57163.683 CR 25 (16th Street SW)
39.98164.343
 US 14 east (12th Street SW) – Winona		No access northbound, southern end of US 14 overlap
40.75565.5896th Street SWNo southbound access
41.06566.088 2nd Street SWAccess to Mayo Clinic, Saint Marys Hospital
41.69267.097
 US 14 west (Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway) / Civic Center Drive NW – Owatonna		Partial cloverleaf, northern end of US 14 overlap
42.57068.51019th Street NW, Elton Hills Drive NWSingle point urban interchange
43.92470.689
 CR 22 east (37th Street NW/41st Street NW)
45.27372.86055th Street NW
46.28274.48465th Street NW
47.28576.098
 US 52 north / 75th Street NW – St. Paul		Northern end of US 52 overlap
Farmington Township55.70989.655
 MN 247 east – Plainview
WabashaZumbro Falls64.343103.550 MN 60 – Zumbrota, Wabasha
Lake City79.180127.428
 US 61 south (Lake Shore Drive / Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway) – Wabasha, Winona		Southern end of US 61 overlap
GoodhueRed Wing95.987154.476

 US 61 north (Main Street) / MN 58 ends (Plum Street) – Hastings		Northern end of US 61 overlap; northern end of MN 58
96.059154.592
 MN 58 south (Plum Street) – Zumbrota		Southern end of MN 58 overlap
Mississippi River96.483155.274Red Wing Bridge (Minnesota–Wisconsin state line)
PierceHager City
 US 63 north – Ellsworth		Continuation into Wisconsin
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Future

[edit]

The Minnesota Department of Transportation also has plans to turn Highway 63 into a controlled-access freeway between U.S. 52 and Interstate 90.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Minnesota Department of Transportation (August 14, 2014). "Statewide Trunk Logpoint Listing" (PDF). St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Transportation. pp. 114, 121–122, 164–168. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  2. ^ Minnesota State Legislature (2010). "§ 161.114, Constitutional Trunk Highways". Minnesota Statutes. Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  3. ^ "161.115, Additional Trunk Highways". Minnesota Statutes. Office of the Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota. 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  4. ^ a b 1934 Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). Minnesota Highway Department. May 1, 1934. § O20-O23. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  5. ^ a b 1935 Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). Minnesota Highway Department. May 1, 1934. § O20-O23. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  6. ^ Hybben, Robert; Jeffrey A. Hess (July 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Lake City and Rochester Stage Road: Mount Pleasant Section". National Park Service. Retrieved 2018-01-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ City to take back Broadway in swap with state - Post-Bulletin http://postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1493905
[edit]
KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/U.S. Route 63 in Minnesota
KML is from Wikidata


U.S. Route 63
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Iowa 		Minnesota Next state:
Wisconsin
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