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Minnesota State Highway 15

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State highway in Minnesota, United States

Trunk Highway 15 markerTrunk Highway 15
MN 15 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length154.322 mi (248.357 km)
Existed1920–present
Tourist
routes		Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway
Major junctions
South end Iowa 15 at Silver Lake Township
Major intersections
North end US 10 at Sauk Rapids Township
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountiesMartin, Watonwan, Brown, Nicollet, Sibley, McLeod, Meeker, Stearns, Benton
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highway System
← US 14→ MN 16

Minnesota State Highway 15 (MN 15) is a 154.322-mile-long (248.357 km) highway in south-central and central Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 15 at the Iowa state line and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with U.S. Highway 10 outside of Sartell and Sauk Rapids, north of St. Cloud.

Route description

MN 15 serves as a north–south highway between Fairmont, Madelia, New Ulm, Hutchinson, and St. Cloud in south-central and central Minnesota.

MN 15 parallels MN 4 throughout its route in south-central and central Minnesota.

Flandrau State Park is located near MN 15 in Brown County on the Cottonwood River. The park is located just south of New Ulm.

MN 15 is a four-lane highway on the west side of St. Cloud from Interstate 94 (I-94) to U.S. Highway 10 (US 10). MN 15 crosses the Bridge of Hope at the Mississippi River between Sartell and Sauk Rapids.

History

MN 15 was authorized in 1920, 1933, and 1950.

The section of MN 15 between New Ulm and the Iowa state line was originally Minnesota Constitutional Route 15, dating back to 1920.

The section of MN 15 between St. Cloud and Kimball was originally part of Constitutional Route 24.

The middle section of MN 15 was authorized in 1933, the northernmost section in 1950. This northerly section was originally part of old MN 152 and was routed through downtown St. Cloud. Now, it bypasses central St. Cloud to the west side of town.

By 1940, only two short gravel sections of MN 15 remained, both paved by 1953.

In the 1970s, MN 15 through the St. Cloud area was planned to be constructed as a freeway, providing a high-speed connection between I-94 and US 10]]. However, funding fell short of completing the freeway beyond MN 23 and County Road 75 (CR 75, 2nd Street South). As a result, it was eventually decided that right-of-way needed to build interchanges would be sold off so the remaining segment of MN 15 across the Mississippi River, connecting to US 10, could be built. Therefore, from 2nd Street South to US 10, the highway is currently built as an expressway with signalized intersections. As of now, MN 15 is able to serve traffic, with stretches posted at a 65 mph (105 km/h) speed limit. However, continuing increases in traffic in the St. Cloud area will require the highway to be eventually converted to a freeway in the long term (post 2030).

Major intersections

All exits are unnumbered.

CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
MartinSilver Lake Township0.0000.000
Iowa 15 south – Armstrong		Continuation into Iowa
Fairmont10.48616.876
I-90 BL west / CSAH 26 – Downtown		Southern end of I-90 Bus. overlap; formerly US 16
12.35119.877
I-90 BL ends / I-90 – Blue Earth, Jackson		Interchange; northern end of I-90 Bus. overlap; I-90 exit 102
WatonwanAntrim Township27.27643.896
MN 30 east – Amboy		Southern end of MN 30 overlap
Fieldon Township33.38053.720
MN 30 / MN 60 west – St. James		Parclo interchange; northern end of MN 30 overlap; northbound left exit and southbound entrance
33.44253.820
MN 60 / MN 30 west – St. James		Interchange; southern end of MN 60 overlap; southbound left exit and northbound left entrance
Madelia Township37.513–
37.559		60.371–
60.445		 CSAH 9 – MadeliaSouth end of freeway
38.77662.404 CSAH 3 – Madelia
39.20163.088
MN 60 east – Mankato		Northern end of MN 60 overlap; north end of freeway
BrownLinden Township45.35472.990
MN 257 west – Hanska
Cottonwood Township54.63587.927
MN 68 east / Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway – Mankato		Southern end of MN 68 overlap
New Ulm58.86294.729
US 14 / MN 68 west (Broadway north) – Sleepy Eye		Northern end of MN 68 overlap; southern end of US 14 overlap
59.30495.441Front StreetInterchange via connector road at roundabout; formerly a folded diamond interchange
Minnesota River59.67196.031Bridge No. 9200
NicolletCourtland Township60.25296.966
US 14 east / CSAH 21 / Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway – Mankato		Dumbbell interchange, opened December 2019; northern end of US 14 overlap; CSAH 21 west is Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway west
SibleyWinthrop76.546123.189 MN 19 – Winthrop, Gaylord, Fairfax
McLeodSumter Township89.155143.481 US 212 – Glencoe, Hector
Hutchinson101.288163.007 MN 7 / MN 22
MeekerDassel115.079185.202 US 12 – Dassel, Litchfield
Kingston Township126.028202.822
MN 24 west – Litchfield		Southern end of MN 24 overlap
StearnsKimball131.529211.675
MN 24 east / MN 55 – Annandale, Eden Valley		Northern end of MN 24 overlap
St. Cloud–Waite Park line145.059233.450 I-94 (US 52) – Minneapolis, St. Paul, MoorheadSouth end of freeway; cloverleaf interchange; I-94 exits 167A-B
CSAH 84 (33rd Street South) / Granite ParkwayDumbbell interchange
St. Cloud149.070239.905


MN 23 west / CSAH 75 east (2nd Street South) / I-94 Alt.		At-grade intersection; north end of freeway; southern end of MN 23 overlap
149.314240.298
MN 23 east (Division Street)		Northern end of MN 23 overlap
St. Cloud–Sartell line151.670244.089 CSAH 120 – SartellDiverging diamond interchange, converted from existing intersection on October 17, 2013
Mississippi River153.940–
154.263		247.742–
248.262		Bridge of Hope
BentonSauk Rapids152.929246.115 CSAH 33 (Benton Drive) – Sauk RapidsInterchange
Sartell153.956247.768



CSAH 29 / I-94 Alt. east to US 10 east
154.322248.357
US 10 west		Interchange; no access to US 10 east; northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

KML file (edit • help) Template:Attached KML/Minnesota State Highway 15KML is from Wikidata
  1. ^ "Statewide Trunk Logpoint Listing" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. November 6, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  2. "Flandrau State Park". Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  3. Minnesota Department of Transportation. "Project Study: Highway 15 - St. Cloud Metro". District 3 Local News & Project Studies. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved November 23, 2007.
  4. Busch, Fritz (December 19, 2019). "It's open!". The Journal. New Ulm, Minnesota. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  5. "Hwy 15/CR 120 diverging diamond interchange opens Oct. 17" (Press release). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
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