Minnesota State Highway 34

Minnesota State Highway 34 (MN 34) is a 103.163-mile-long (166.025 km) highway in west-central and north-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 9 (near Interstate 94/US Highway 52) in Barnesville and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with State Highways 200 and 371 in Walker.

Trunk Highway 34 marker
Trunk Highway 34
Map
MN 34 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length103.163 mi[2] (166.025 km)
Existed1920[1]–present
Major junctions
West end MN 9 / CR 2 at Barnesville
Major intersections I-94 / US 52 at Barnesville
MN 32 near Barnesville
US 10 / US 59 at Detroit Lakes
US 71 at Park Rapids
MN 64 at Akeley
East end MN 200 / MN 371 at Walker
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountiesClay, Otter Tail, Becker, Hubbard, Cass
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highway System
MN 33 I-35

The route is concurrent with U.S. Highway 59 for 16.6 miles (26.7 km) in Otter Tail and Becker counties near Detroit Lakes.

Route description

edit

State Highway 34 serves as an east–west route between Barnesville, Detroit Lakes, Park Rapids, and Walker in west-central and north-central Minnesota.

Highway 34 passes through the Smoky Hills State Forest in Becker County between Detroit Lakes and Park Rapids.

The route passes through the Chippewa National Forest in Cass County between Akeley and Walker. The western terminus for Highway 34 is its intersection with State Highway 9 in Barnesville, one mile from Interstate 94/US Highway 52.

History

edit

State Highway 34 was established November 2, 1920.[1] At this time, it ran from State Highway 2 (present-day U.S. 10) in Detroit Lakes to State Highway 8 (present-day U.S. 2) in Cohasset, west of Grand Rapids.

By 1923, the road was graveled from Park Rapids to Walker and on a short section west of Cohasset; the remainder was unimproved.[3] The entirety of the highway was graveled by 1930.[4]

The roadway was paved through most of Hubbard County in 1932.[5][6]

In 1933, the route was extended west, from Detroit Lakes to U.S. Route 52 and Minnesota State Highway 82 in Barnesville; it was rerouted on its east end, continuing eastward from Remer to U.S. 2 between Swan River and Floodwood. State Highway 6 replaced it north of Remer. The only paved portion of the highway extensions was the concurrency with then-State Highway 73 (now U.S. 59) from Dunvilla to Detroit Lakes.[7]

It was paved from Osage to the Becker-Hubbard county line in 1938 and from Osage to Ponsford in 1940.[8] Paving was also done in 1938 west of Remer, and the remaining portion westward to Highway 87 in 1947.[9]

In 1941, the highway was realigned through Becker County. It now took a more direct route to Osage through Snellman, instead of traveling northward along the shore of Shell Lake, east through Ponsford, and southeast to Osage; the portion of this former routing from Ponsford eastward became State Highway 225 in 1949. The segment between the new alignment and Detroit Lakes was paved that year, and the realigned section was paved in 1946.[8] The remaining portion from Highway 371 to Remer was paved in 1947,[10][9] and the paving from Remer to Hill City was completed in 1950.[11][12] The section of roadway between Barnesville and Dunvilla was paved in stages in the early 1950s: several miles east of Barnesville in 1951, from the Clay-Otter Tail county line to U.S. 59 in 1952, and the remainder in 1954.[13][14]

From Hill City to the Mississippi River near Jacobson was paved in 1957[15] and the remaining segment from Jacobson to U.S. 2 the following year;[16] this completed the paving of the highway.[17]

In 1969, the portion of Highway 34 from U.S. 371 near Walker to U.S. 2 was renumbered as part of the newly-marked State Highway 200.[18][19]

In 2008, Highway 34 was expanded to a five-lane route through Park Rapids on its surface street alignment.

Major intersections

edit
CountyLocationmi[2][20]kmDestinationsNotes
ClayBarnesville0.0000.000  MN 9 – Moorhead, Breckenridge
Humboldt Township1.099–
1.285
1.769–
2.068
   I-94 / US 52 – Fergus Falls, MoorheadInterchange; I-94 Exit 24
Tansem Township8.77014.114 
 
MN 32 north – Rollag
Southern terminus of MN 32
Otter TailDunn Township18.86230.355 
 
US 59 south – Pelican Rapids, Fergus Falls
Southern end of US 59 concurrency
BeckerDetroit Lakes35.23056.697  US 10 – Wadena, Moorhead
35.51557.156 
 
US 59 north – Mahnomen
Northern end of US 59 concurrency
Osage Township65.011104.625 
 
CSAH 26 west – Ponsford
Former MN 225
HubbardPark Rapids74.963120.641  US 71 – Menahga, Wadena, Bemidji
Henrietta Township80.172129.024 
 
MN 226 north – Dorset
Southern terminus of MN 226
Akeley92.891149.494 
 
MN 64 south – Motley
Western end of MN 64 concurrency
93.494150.464 
 
MN 64 north – Bemidji
Eastern end of MN 64 concurrency
CassWalker103.170166.036   MN 200 / MN 371 – Remer, Brainerd, Cass Lake
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Minnesota State Legislature (2010). "§ 161.114, Constitutional Trunk Highways". Minnesota Statutes. Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 2" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 23, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  3. ^ Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). Cartography by McGill-Warner Co. Minnesota Highway Department. May 1, 1923. § D-11 through K-9. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  4. ^ 1930 Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). Cartography by McGill-Warner Co. Minnesota Highway Department. April 1, 1930. § D-11 through K-9. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  5. ^ 1932 Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). Cartography by McGill-Warner Co. Minnesota Highway Department. April 1, 1932. § F-10 through G-10. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  6. ^ 1933 Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). Cartography by McGill-Warner Co. Minnesota Highway Department. April 1, 1933. § F-10 through G-10. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  7. ^ 1934 Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). Cartography by McGill-Warner Co. Minnesota Highway Department. May 1, 1934. § B-11 through M-9. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Construction Project Log Record: Control Section 0303" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Construction Project Log Record: Control Section 1107" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  10. ^ "Construction Project Log Record: Control Section 1106" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  11. ^ "Construction Project Log Record: Control Section 1108" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  12. ^ "Construction Project Log Record: Control Section 0105" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  13. ^ "Construction Project Log Record: Control Section 1404" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  14. ^ "Construction Project Log Record: Control Section 5611" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  15. ^ "Construction Project Log Record: Control Section 0106" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  16. ^ "Construction Project Log Record: Control Section 0107" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  17. ^ 1959 Official Road Map, Minnesota (Map). Cartography by The H.M. Gousha Co. Minnesota Department of Highways. 1959. § C-10 through K-9. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  18. ^ 1969 Official Road Map - Minnesota (Map). Minnesota Department of Highways. 1969. § G-9 through K-9. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  19. ^ 1970 Official Highway Map - Minnesota (Map). Minnesota Department of Highways. 1970. § G-9 through K-9. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  20. ^ "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 4" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 23, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
edit
KML is from Wikidata