Minnesota State Highway 5 (MN 5) is a 76.347-mile-long (122.869km)highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with MN19 and MN22 in Gaylord and continues east and northeast to its eastern terminus at its intersection with MN120 in Maplewood. The route passes through downtown Saint Paul.
Route description
Looking east on MN5 into Victoria
MN5 serves as a northeast–southwest route between Gaylord, Norwood Young America, Chanhassen, Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Richfield, downtown Saint Paul, and Maplewood. The state highway runs though five counties. The highway is officially marked as an east–west route by its highway markers from beginning to end.
MN5 is considered a significant transit corridor, known as the Riverview Corridor, to downtown Saint Paul from the airport and points farther south and west. There has been discussion of creating a bus rapid transit or light rail line along the highway, much like the METRO Blue Line currently runs rails into downtown Minneapolis along MN55.
MN5 is also known as Fort Road and West 7th Street in the city of St. Paul.
About 45 miles (72km) of MN5 is officially designated the Augie Mueller Memorial Highway, named for August B. Mueller. This designation is signed from its intersection with MN101 in Chanhassen southwesterly to its intersection with MN19 in Gaylord.
Legally, MN5 is defined as legislative routes 45, 52, 102, 109, 111, and 121 in the Minnesota Statutes. The route is not marked with those numbers.
History
MN5 was authorized in 1934. The route was completely paved by 1953.
When MN5 was slated for expansion in 1956, the construction threatened to demolish the remains of historic Fort Snelling, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. As a result of public outcry, the highway was built in a short tunnel underneath the Fort Snelling site, sparing the fort from destruction. This effort led to archaeological research into the remains of Fort Snelling and its eventual rebuilding as a state park.
From 1934 to 1982, the eastern section of the highway between Saint Paul and Stillwater was originally marked as MN212, as it once reached old US212 in Saint Paul, but that segment was re-numbered as an extension of MN5 c.1983. This segment is still marked with the mileposts from MN212, which were a continuation of those from US212.
Along the concurrency with I-494, the MN5 marker is placed at most, but not all, interchanges. In 2007, new gore signs placed on France Avenue in Bloomington at its interchange with I-494 do not mention the MN5 concurrency, whereas the older signs they replaced did. The more recent interchange with Lyndale Avenue (2009) displays the names of both highways.
In June 2015, it was announced that MN5 will be shortened by 8.3 miles (13.4km) by the state of Minnesota, giving the portion from MN120 to its eastern conterminous at MN36 to Washington County. The road is known as 34th Street between Jamaca Avenue and MN120 and Stillwater Boulevard between Jamaca Avenue and MN36. The road is an extension of County Road 14 (CR14) and CR15. This road is designated from the county line to Manning Avenue as CR14 and from Manning Avenue to MN36 as CR15. This piece of the highway that will be returned to the county was originally marked as MN212. This portion of highway is now marked with county highway signs as well as Old Highway5 signs.
In May 2023, a seven-mile (11km) section of MN5 in the vicinity of Chanhassen was designated the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway in honor of musician Prince, whose Paisley Park Studios are located along the route.
Major intersections
All exits are unnumbered except for the I-494 concurrency.
MN 19 / MN 22 at Gaylord
MN 120 / CSAH 6 at Maplewood–Oakdale
