U.S. Route 12 in Minnesota

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 12 in Minnesota. For the entire length of the highway, see U.S. Route 12.

U.S. Highway 12
Highway 12 highlighted in red.
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length:	192.798 mi[2] (310.278 km)
Existed:	November 11, 1926[1] – present
Major junctions
West end:	U.S. 12 at the Minnesota — South Dakota state line
	U.S. 75 / MN 7 at Ortonville MN 9 / MN 29 at Benson U.S. 71 / MN 23 at Willmar MN 22 / MN 24 at Litchfield MN 15 at Dassel MN 25 at Montrose I-394 / I-494 at Minnetonka I-94 / I-35W at Minneapolis I-494 / I-694 at Woodbury MN 95 at Lakeland
East end:	I-94/U.S. 12 at the St. Croix River, the Minnesota — Wisconsin state line
Location
Counties:	Big Stone, Swift, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Wright, Hennepin, Ramsey, Washington
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate • U.S. • State Inter-County • County roads • Legislative routes ← MN 11 MN 13 →

U.S. Route 12 is a highway in west-central and east-central Minnesota, which runs from the South Dakota state line at Ortonville near Big Stone Lake and continues east to the St. Croix River at the Wisconsin state line. U.S. 12 in Minnesota is 192 miles (309 km) in length. The route connects the cities of Ortonville, Benson, Willmar, Litchfield, Minneapolis, and Saint Paul.

Route description

From the South Dakota / Minnesota state line at Ortonville, to Orono in the Twin Cities area, U.S. 12 is mostly a rural two-lane highway with a 55 MPH posted speed limit, with slower speed limits through towns and a four-lane surface arterial segment through the city of Willmar.

From Orono to Wayzata, U.S. 12 is a two-lane freeway/super-2 bypass around Long Lake.

From western Wayzata to Interstate 394 in Minnetonka, U.S. 12 is a six-lane freeway. East of Interstate 494, U.S. 12 is invisibly concurrent with Interstates 394 and 94 through Minneapolis and Saint Paul to the Minnesota / Wisconsin state line at Hudson.

U.S. 12 is invisibly concurrent with Interstate 94 in Ramsey and Washington counties.

Legally, the Minnesota section of U.S. 12 is defined as unmarked Constitutional / Legislative Routes 149, 26, and 10 in Minnesota Statutes §§ 161.115(80) and 161.114(2). U.S. 12 is not marked with these legislative numbers along the actual highway.

History

U.S. Highway 12 was established on November 11, 1926.^[1]

In 1929, the only sections paved were between Litchfield and Willmar; and between Wayzata through the Twin Cities to Wisconsin.^[3]

The entire route was paved by 1940.^[3]

From 2006 to 2008, the Highway 12 two-lane freeway bypass was constructed through Orono and Long Lake. The new bypass ties into the existing Highway 12 freeway at the western edge of Wayzata.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[2][4][5][6]	Destinations	Notes
South Dakota-Minnesota state line		0.000	US 12
Big Stone	Ortonville	0.821	MN 7	North end of MN 7 concurrency
		0.950	MN 7	South end of MN 7 concurrency
		1.350	US 75
Swift	Shible Township	21.097	MN 119
	Moyer Township	27.088	US 59
	Benson	42.633	MN 29	South end of MN 29 concurrency
		42.860	MN 29 MN 9	North end of MN 29 concurrency West end of MN 9 concurrency
		42.930	MN 9	East end of MN 9 concurrency
Kandiyohi	Willmar	72.618	MN 40
	Kandiyohi Township	75.696-75.793	US 71 / MN 23
Meeker	Grove City	91.650	MN 4	West end of MN 4 concurrency
	Swede Grove Township	92.261	MN 4	East end of MN 4 concurrency
	Litchfield Township	98.757	MN 22	North end of MN 22 concurrency
		99.945	MN 24
	Litchfield	100.777	MN 22	South end of MN 22 concurrency
	Dassel Township	111.360	MN 15
Wright	Montrose	132.095	MN 25	West end of MN 25 concurrency
	Rockford Township	134.152	MN 25	East end of MN 25 concurrency
Hennepin	Wayzata	180.158	CR 101 (old MN 101)
	Minnetonka	157.014	I-494, I-394	West end of I-394 concurrency, exit 1A
	Minneapolis	165.654	I-94	East end of I-394 concurrency, West end of I-94 concurrency
Unmarked concurrency with I-94 to Wisconsin state line
St. Croix River		192.997	Interstate Bridge, I-94 / US 12 at the Minnesota-Wisconsin state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Weingroff, Richard F. (January 9, 2009). "From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System". Federal Highway Administration. http://wwwcf.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/numbers.cfm. Retrieved September 25, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "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 September 27, 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 1-25". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. http://www.steve-riner.com/mnhighways/r1-25.htm#12. Retrieved September 27, 2010. ^{[unreliable source]}
4. ^ "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 4" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 23, 2010. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/d4.pdf. Retrieved September 27, 2010. 
5. ^ "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 8" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 23, 2010. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/d8.pdf. Retrieved September 27, 2010. 
6. ^ "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 September 27, 2010. 

U.S. Route 12
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