Minnesota State Highway 65

Trunk Highway 65
MN 65 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length	272.511 mi[2] (438.564 km)
Existed	1934[1]–present
Section 1
South end	I-35W south of downtown Minneapolis
North end	Tenth Street South in downtown Minneapolis
Section 2
South end	CR 152 north of downtown Minneapolis MN 47 at Minneapolis I-694 at Fridley US 10 at Blaine MN 95 at Cambridge MN 23 at Mora MN 210 at McGregor US 2 at Swan River US 169 near Pengilly, Nashwauk
North end	US 71 near Littlefork
Location
Counties	Hennepin, Anoka, Isanti, Kanabec, Aitkin, Itasca, Koochiching
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highway System Interstate US State Legislative routes
← US 65 → MN 66

Minnesota State Highway 65 (MN 65) is a highway in the east–central and northeast parts of the U.S. state of Minnesota, which starts at its split from I-35W, skipping past the downtown Minneapolis core, only to resume at the intersection with Washington Avenue (Hennepin County Road 152) at the north end of downtown Minneapolis to continue north to its northern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) in Littlefork near International Falls.

Highway 65 is a four lane expressway between Interstate 694 (I-694) in Fridley to just north of State Highway 95 at Cambridge.

The route continues as a two-lane roadway from Cambridge to its northern terminus at Littlefork in northern Minnesota.

At 272.511 miles (438.564 km) in length, State Highway 65 is the third longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 23 and MN 1.

Route description[]

State Highway 65 serves as a south–north route between Minneapolis, Fridley, Blaine, Cambridge, Mora, McGregor, Nashwauk, and Littlefork in east–central and northeast Minnesota.

The roadway is one of three Minnesota state-marked highways to carry the same number as an existing U.S. marked highway within the state, the others being Highways 61 and 169.

Highway 65 as it crosses Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis

State Highway 65 begins at a split from I-35W south of downtown Minneapolis. The ramps end at an intersection with Tenth Street South, and so does the State Highway 65 designation, due to MnDOT returning control of the section through downtown to the city in 2005. The State Highway 65 designation resumes at the intersection of Washington Avenue (County 152) and 3rd Avenue South at the north end of downtown Minneapolis. Highway 65 is signed locally as 3rd Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis. 3rd Avenue South leads to the Third Avenue (Mississippi River) Bridge and becomes Central Avenue upon crossing the river. After its intersection with Hennepin Avenue, the route becomes Central Avenue NE. Highway 65 is signed locally as Central Avenue NE for this section. Many Minnesota landmarks are located on Central Avenue NE including the Aveda Institute, the Heights Theater, and the National Sports Center. The route remains Central Avenue until separating in Ham Lake, except for a split in Fridley and Spring Lake Park between I-694 and US 10.^[3]

The route is a divided highway from Minneapolis to Cambridge, with a 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) speed limit, increasing to 65 miles per hour (105 km/h) speed limit beginning in Ham Lake, just outside Blaine.

For part of its route (23 miles), MN 65 runs concurrently with MN 27 in Kanabec and Aitkin counties between Woodland and Rice River Township.

Savanna Portage State Park in Aitkin County is located 11 miles (18 km) northeast of the junction of Highway 65 and County Road 14 in Shamrock Township near McGregor. The park entrance is located on County Road 14 in nearby Balsam Township.^[4]

History[]

State Highway 65 was authorized in 1934 and 1935. The route was numbered as an extension of old US 65.

By 1940, the route was paved from Minneapolis to just north of McGrath in Aitkin County. By 1949, the route was paved as far north as Libby. By 1953, the route was paved north to its intersection with US 2 at Swan River in Itasca County. Sections of Highway 65 north of US 2 were paved in the 1960s and 1970s. The last section of Highway 65 paved was through the Nett Lake Indian Reservation in 2000.

The expressway section of Highway 65 between I-694 in Fridley to Spring Lake Park was constructed on a new alignment in 1953.

The Highway 65 expressway bypass in Cambridge was completed c. 1993.

A portion of State Highway 65 used to be part of old US 65. US 65 still enters Minnesota from Iowa, but ends now in the city of Albert Lea, where it has a junction with Interstate 35. I-35 and I-35W roughly follow the same route old US 65 used to take from Albert Lea to downtown Minneapolis. Before the freeways were built, the original US 65 had followed Lyndale Avenue between Burnsville and Minneapolis.

In July 2005, the eight-block-long section of State Highway 65 in downtown Minneapolis, between Washington Avenue and the junction of Tenth Street South with the on/off ramps to I-35W, was turned back to city maintenance. This turn-back leaves State Highway 65 with a gap through downtown. The ramps leading to/going from Minneapolis surface streets south to their junction with Interstate 35W are still part of State Highway 65 according to State Highway Logs^[2] (on pg 613), as indicated by the MN 65 shields used on the updated mileposts along those ramps.

It was the last Minnesota State Highway (along with Minnesota State Highway 55) to directly run through Downtown Minneapolis, ending a 70-year era in which Minnesota State Trunk Highways would have a segment running directly through Downtown Minneapolis.

Highway 65 is designated as Legislative Route 105 between Washington Avenue and 37th Avenue Northeast, then as Constitutional Route 5 from Minneapolis to Swan River, then as Legislative Route 159 to Little Fork. The route is not marked with those numbers.

Cultural district[]

In 2020, Minneapolis officials designated a portion Central Avenue as one of seven cultural districts in the city.^[5] The district's boundaries were centered around the intersection of Central and Lowry avenues in the Holland and Windom neighborhoods, from 26th to 18th avenues northeast. The purpose of the cultural district was to promote racial equity, preserve cultural identity, and promote economic growth:^[6][7]

Major intersections[]

County	Location	mi[2]	km	Destinations	Notes
Hennepin	Minneapolis	0.000	0.000	I-35W south – Albert Lea, Des Moines
		0.981	1.579	11th Street / Grant Street	Northbound exit only
		1.086	1.748	10th Street
		Gap in route
		1.861	2.995	Washington Avenue (CR 152)
Mississippi River		2.004	3.225	Third Avenue Bridge
Hennepin	Minneapolis	2.544	4.094	MN 47 north / CSAH 36 east (University Avenue)
		2.622	4.220	4th Street SE	Former US 52
		2.732	4.397	E. Hennepin Avenue (CSAH 52)
		2.856	4.596	7th Street SE (CSAH 52)
		3.463	5.573	CSAH 66 (NE Broadway Street)
		4.460	7.178	Lowry Avenue NE (CSAH 153)	Former US 8
		5.326	8.571	St. Anthony Parkway
Anoka	Fridley	6.222– 6.499	10.013– 10.459	I-694 – Madison, St. Cloud, Fargo
		9.945– 10.522	16.005– 16.934	CSAH 8 east (73rd Avenue)	Southern end of CSAH 8 overlap
	Spring Lake Park–Fridley line	11.025	17.743	CSAH 8 west / CSAH 108 east (Osborne)	Northern end of CSAH 8 overlap
	Spring Lake Park	9.945– 10.288	16.005– 16.557	CSAH 10	Interchange, former US 10
	Blaine	10.955– 11.154	17.630– 17.951	US 10 – St. Paul, Anoka, Elk River	Interchange
		15.285	24.599	CSAH 12 (109th Avenue)
		15.301– 15.646	24.625– 25.180	CSAH 14 (125th Avenue)	Single-point urban interchange, former MN 242 west
	Ham Lake	18.785	30.232	CSAH 116 (Bunker Lake Boulevard)
		20.039	32.250	CSAH 16 (Andover Boulevard)
		22.065	35.510	CSAH 60 (Constance Boulevard)
		23.571	37.934	CSAH 18 / CSAH 58 west (Crosstown Boulevard)
	East Bethel	24.254	39.033	CSAH 22 (Viking Boulevard)	Reduced Conflict Interchange
Isanti	Isanti	35.934	57.830	CR 5 / Inter-County H
	Cambridge	41.283– 41.931	66.439– 67.481	MN 95 – North Branch, Princeton
	Stanchfield Township	51.032– 51.153	82.128– 82.323	MN 107 north – Braham
Kanabec	Brunswick Township	58.851	94.712	MN 70 east – Rock Creek
	Mora	63.334	101.926	MN 23 west – Ogilvie, Milaca	Southern end of MN 23 overlap
		64.996	104.601	MN 23 east – Hinckley	Northern end of MN 23 overlap
	Ford Township	81.783	131.617	MN 27 west – Isle, Onamia	Southern end of MN 27 overlap
Aitkin	Williams Township	88.854	142.997	MN 18 – Finlayson, Malmo
	Rice River Township	105.180	169.271	MN 27 east – Moose Lake	Northern end of MN 27 overlap
	McGregor	116.649	187.728	MN 210 east – Cromwell, Carlton	Eastern end of MN 210 overlap
		117.850	189.661	MN 210 west – Aitkin	Western end of MN 210 overlap
	Shamrock Township	124.908	201.020	CR 3	Former MN 232[8][9]
	Jacobson	146.784	236.226	MN 200 west – Hill City	Southern end of MN 200 overlap
		147.178	236.860	MN 200 east – Floodwood	northern end of MN 200 overlap
Itasca	Swan River	153.704	247.363	US 2 – Duluth, Grand Rapids
	Greenway Township	172.574	277.731	US 169 south – Grand Rapids	Southern end of US 169 overlap
	Lone Pine Township	175.243	282.026	US 169 north – Hibbing	Northern end of US 169 overlap
	Carpenter Township	208.147	334.980	MN 1 west – Effie, Northome	Western end of MN 1 overlap
		212.168	341.451	MN 1 east – Cook	Eastern end of MN 1 overlap
Koochiching	Littlefork	270.020	434.555	MN 217 east – Ray
	East Koochiching	270.739	435.712	US 71 – International Falls, Bemidji
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

See also[]

•  U.S. Roads portal
•  United States portal

References[]

External links[]

Route map:

Media related to Minnesota State Highway 65 at Wikimedia Commons