Minnesota State Highway 4 (MN 4) is a 167.136-mile-long (268.979 km) highway in southwest and west-central Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 4 at the Iowa state line (near Dunnell, MN and Estherville, IA), and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with Interstate Highway 94 near Sauk Centre and Melrose.
 Trunk Highway 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 MN 4 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by MnDOT | ||||
| Length | 167.136 mi[1] (268.979 km) | |||
| Existed | 1920–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  Iowa 4 at the Iowa state line near Dunnell | |||
| North end |   I-94 / US 52 near Sauk Centre and Melrose | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Minnesota | |||
| Counties | Martin, Watonwan, Brown, Nicollet, Renville, Meeker, Kandiyohi, Stearns | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
editState Highway 4 serves as a north–south route between Sherburn, Saint James, Sleepy Eye, Fairfax, Hector, Paynesville, and Meire Grove in southwest and west-central Minnesota.
Highway 4 parallels U.S. Highway 71 and State Highway 15 throughout its route.
Fort Ridgely State Park is located on Highway 4 in Nicollet County on the Minnesota River. The park is located south of Fairfax and northwest of New Ulm.[2]
History
editThe segment of Highway 4 between Paynesville and Interstate 94 is part of Minnesota Constitutional Route 4, established in 1920; the remainder of Highway 4 was authorized in 1933. Between Saint James and the Iowa border, Highway 4 followed very closely the former Minneapolis & St Louis Railway the remains of which are clearly visible on the west side of the highway between Minnesota Highway 60 and Sherburn, Minnesota. Grain elevators in Echols, Ormsby, Trimont, and Sherburn are aligned with the former M&StL route through each of these towns.[3]
The route was completely paved by 1961.[3]
Major intersections
edit| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin | Lake Fremont Township | 0.000 | 0.000 |  Iowa 4 south – Estherville | Continuation into Iowa |
| Jay Township | 10.147 | 16.330 |   CSAH 26 west | Southern end of CSAH 26 concurrency; formerly US 16 | |
| Sherburn | 12.512 | 20.136 |  CSAH 26 east | Northern end of CSAH 26 concurrency; formerly US 16 | |
| 13.367– 13.535 | 21.512– 21.782 |  I-90 – Fairmont, Jackson | I-90 Exit 87 | ||
| Watonwan | St. James Township | 34.378 | 55.326 |     MN 60 west / CSAH 57 / Bus. MN 60 east – Windom | Interchange; southern end of MN 60 concurrency |
| 35.510 | 57.148 |   MN 60 east / MN 30 / Bus. MN 60 ends – Mankato | Northern end of MN 60 concurrency Southern end of MN 30 / MN 60 Bus. concurrency | ||
| St. James | 36.807 | 59.235 |   Bus. MN 60 west / CSAH 56 | Northern end of MN 60 Bus. concurrency | |
| Nelson Township | 42.092 | 67.741 |  MN 30 west / CSAH 3 – Darfur, La Salle | Northern end of MN 30 concurrency | |
| Brown | Sleepy Eye | 62.998 | 101.385 |   US 14 / MN 68 | Southern end of MN 68 concurrency |
| Home Township | 66.020 | 106.249 | MN 68 west – Morgan | Northern end of MN 68 concurrency | |
| Nicollet | Ridgely Township | 73.519 | 118.317 |  CSAH 21 (Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway) – Harkin's General Store, Fort Ridgely State Park | |
| Renville | Cairo Township | 79.399 | 127.780 |  MN 19 – Winthrop, Redwood Falls | |
| Hector | 94.212 | 151.620 |  US 212 – Glencoe, Olivia | ||
| Meeker | Cosmos | 108.147 | 174.046 |  MN 7 – Hutchinson, Montevideo | |
| Grove City | 123.011 | 197.967 |   US 12 west – Willmar | Western end of US 12 concurrency | |
| Swede Grove Township | 123.620 | 198.947 |  US 12 east – Litchfield | Eastern end of US 12 concurrency | |
| Union Grove Township | 135.633 | 218.280 |  MN 55 east – Eden Valley | Eastern end of MN 55 concurrency | |
| Stearns | Paynesville |   CSAH 66 (Lake Avenue) | Former MN 124 | ||
 MN 23 – St. Cloud, Willmar | Interchange | ||||
| Kandiyohi | Roseville Township | 143.193 | 230.447 | MN 55 west – Belgrade | Western end of MN 55 concurrency |
| Stearns | Melrose Township | 165.719– 165.804 | 266.699– 266.836 |  I-94 (US 52) / CSAH 65 – St. Cloud, Alexandria | I-94 Exit 131 |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
edit- ^ a b "Statewide Logpoint Listing" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ Minnesota DNR website for Fort Ridgely State Park - Link
- ^ a b Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 1–25". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Retrieved September 18, 2010.[self-published source]