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 marker
Trunk Highway 4
Map
MN 4 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length167.136 mi[1] (268.979 km)
Existed1920–present
Major junctions
South end Iowa 4 at the Iowa state line near Dunnell
Major intersections
North end I-94 / US 52 near Sauk Centre and Melrose
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountiesMartin, Watonwan, Brown, Nicollet, Renville, Meeker, Kandiyohi, Stearns
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highway System
MN 3 MN 5

Route description

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State 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

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The 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

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CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
MartinLake Fremont Township0.0000.000 
 
Iowa 4 south – Estherville
Continuation into Iowa
Jay Township10.14716.330 
 
CSAH 26 west
Southern end of CSAH 26 concurrency; formerly US 16
Sherburn12.51220.136 
 
CSAH 26 east
Northern end of CSAH 26 concurrency; formerly US 16
13.367–
13.535
21.512–
21.782
  I-90 – Fairmont, JacksonI-90 Exit 87
WatonwanSt. James Township34.37855.326 
 
  
 
MN 60 west / CSAH 57 / Bus. MN 60 east – Windom
Interchange; southern end of MN 60 concurrency
35.51057.148 
 
  
 
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. James36.80759.235 
 
  Bus. MN 60 west / CSAH 56
Northern end of MN 60 Bus. concurrency
Nelson Township42.09267.741 
 
  MN 30 west / CSAH 3 – Darfur, La Salle
Northern end of MN 30 concurrency
BrownSleepy Eye62.998101.385   US 14 / MN 68Southern end of MN 68 concurrency
Home Township66.020106.249 
 
MN 68 west – Morgan
Northern end of MN 68 concurrency
NicolletRidgely Township73.519118.317  CSAH 21 (Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway) – Harkin's General Store, Fort Ridgely State Park
RenvilleCairo Township79.399127.780  MN 19 – Winthrop, Redwood Falls
Hector94.212151.620  US 212 – Glencoe, Olivia
MeekerCosmos108.147174.046  MN 7 – Hutchinson, Montevideo
Grove City123.011197.967 
 
US 12 west – Willmar
Western end of US 12 concurrency
Swede Grove Township123.620198.947 
 
US 12 east – Litchfield
Eastern end of US 12 concurrency
Union Grove Township135.633218.280 
 
MN 55 east – Eden Valley
Eastern end of MN 55 concurrency
StearnsPaynesville   CSAH 66 (Lake Avenue)Former MN 124
  MN 23 – St. Cloud, WillmarInterchange
KandiyohiRoseville Township143.193230.447 
 
MN 55 west – Belgrade
Western end of MN 55 concurrency
StearnsMelrose Township165.719–
165.804
266.699–
266.836
   I-94 (US 52) / CSAH 65 – St. Cloud, AlexandriaI-94 Exit 131
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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KML is from Wikidata
  1. ^ a b "Statewide Logpoint Listing" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  2. ^ Minnesota DNR website for Fort Ridgely State Park - Link
  3. ^ a b Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 1–25". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Retrieved September 18, 2010.[self-published source]