U.S. Route 12 in Minnesota

U.S. Highway 12
US 12 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length	192.798 mi[1] (310.278 km)
Existed	November 11, 1926[2]–present
Major junctions
West end	US 12 at the South Dakota state line
Major intersections	US 75 in Ortonville US 59 in Moyer Township US 71 / MN 23 in Willmar MN 22 in Litchfield MN 24 in Litchfield MN 15 in Dassel MN 25 in Montrose I-394 / I-494 in Minnetonka I-94 / I-394 / US 52 in Minneapolis I-494 / I-694 in Woodbury
East end	I-94 / US 12 at the Wisconsin state line
Location
Counties	Big Stone, Swift, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Wright, Hennepin, Ramsey, Washington
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Minnesota Trunk Highway System Interstate US State Legislative routes
← MN 11 → MN 13

U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) is a 192.798-mile-long (310.278 km) U.S. Highway in west-central and east-central Minnesota, which travels from the South Dakota state line at Ortonville near Big Stone Lake and continues east to the St. Croix River at the Wisconsin state line. US 12 connects the cities of Ortonville, Benson, Willmar, Litchfield, Minneapolis, and Saint Paul.

Route description[]

From the South Dakota state line at Ortonville, to Orono in the Twin Cities area, US 12 is mostly a rural two-lane highway with a 60-mile-per-hour (97 km/h) posted speed limit, with slower speed limits through towns and a four-lane surface arterial segment through the city of Willmar. From Orono to Wayzata, US 12 is a two-lane freeway/super-2 bypass around Long Lake. From western Wayzata to Interstate 394 (I-394) in Minnetonka, US 12 is a six-lane freeway, with a posted speed limit of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h). East of I-494 in Minnetonka, US 12 is invisibly concurrent with I-394 and I-94 through Minneapolis and Saint Paul to the Wisconsin state line at Hudson.

Legally, the Minnesota section of US 12 is defined as unmarked Constitutional / Legislative Routes 149, 26, and 10 in Minnesota Statutes §§ 161.115(80) and 161.114(2). US 12 is not marked with these legislative numbers along the actual highway.

History[]

US 12 was established on November 11, 1926.^[2] In 1929, the only sections paved were between Litchfield and Willmar; and between Wayzata through the Twin Cities to Wisconsin.^[3] The entire route was paved by 1940.^[3] Beginning in the 1950s, older sections of US 12 that ran through city centers were replaced with bypasses.^[4]

From 2006 to 2008, the US 12 two-lane freeway bypass was constructed through Orono and Long Lake. The new bypass ties into the existing US 12 freeway at the western edge of Wayzata.

Major intersections[]

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Big Stone–Grant county line	Ortonville–Big Stone City line	0.000	0.000		US 12 west (Main Street) – Big Stone City, Milbank	Continuation into South Dakota
Big Stone	Ortonville	0.821	1.321		MN 7 west (2nd Street SE) / Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway – Browns Valley	Western end of MN 7 concurrency
		0.950	1.529		MN 7 east (SE 2nd Street) – Appleton	Eastern end of MN 7 concurrency
		1.350	2.173		US 75 / Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway – Wheaton, Madison
Swift	Shible Township	21.097	33.952		MN 119 south – Appleton
	Moyer Township	27.088	43.594		US 59 – Morris, Appleton
	Benson	42.633	68.611		MN 29 south (Church Street) – Montevideo	Western end of MN 29 concurrency
		42.860	68.976		MN 9 west (Atlantic Avenue) / MN 29 north (14th Street) – Morris, Starbuck	Eastern end of MN 29 concurrency; western end of MN 9 concurrency
		42.930	69.089		MN 9 east (13th Street) – New London	Eastern end of MN 9 concurrency
Kandiyohi	Mamre Township	64.292	103.468		CSAH 7 – Sunburg	Former MN 104
	Willmar	71.721	115.424		CSAH 5 (30th Street) to MN 40
		73.683	118.581		To US 71 Bus. / MN 23 Bus. / Glacial Ridge Trail
	Kandiyohi Township	75.696– 75.793	121.821– 121.977		US 71 / MN 23 – Sauk Centre, St. Cloud, Olivia, Granite Falls	Interchange
Meeker	Grove City	91.650	147.496		MN 4 south – Cosmos	Western end of MN 4 concurrency
	Swede Grove Township	92.261	148.480		MN 4 north – Paynesville	Eastern end of MN 4 concurrency
	Litchfield Township	98.757	158.934		MN 22 north – Eden Valley	Western end of MN 22 concurrency
		99.945	160.846		MN 24 north – Kimball
	Litchfield	100.777	162.185		MN 22 south – Hutchinson	Eastern end of MN 22 concurrency
	Dassel Township	111.360	179.217		MN 15 – Kimball, Hutchinson
Wright	Montrose	132.095	212.586		MN 25 south (Buffalo Avenue) – Watertown	Western end of MN 25 concurrency
	Franklin Township	134.152	215.897		MN 25 north – Buffalo	Eastern end of MN 25 concurrency
Hennepin	Orono	148.655	239.237	—	CSAH 6 / CSAH 112 (Wayzata Boulevard)	Interchange; western end of freeway; former US 12 east / south; also access to Long Lake, Orono
	Wayzata			152	CSAH 112 – Long Lake, Orono	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; former US 12; western end of eastbound HOV/toll lane
				153	CSAH 15 west	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		150.158	241.656	154	CSAH 101 (Central Avenue)	Former MN 101
				155A-B	CSAH 101 south / CSAH 15 east – Wayzata	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; former US 12 west / MN 101 south
	Minnetonka			1A	Carlson Parkway / Linner Road
		157.014	252.690	1A-B	I-494	Western end of I-394 concurrency; signed as exits 1A (south) and 1B (north); I-494 exits 19A-B; western end of westbound HOV/toll lane
	See I-394
	Minneapolis	165.654	266.594		I-394 east – Downtown Minneapolis	Eastern end of I-394 concurrency; eastern end of HOV/toll lanes; eastbound exit and westbound entrance; I-394 exit 8B
					I-94 west / US 52 north	Western end of I-94 concurrency; I-94 exit 231A
Unmarked overlap with I-94 to Wisconsin state line
St. Croix River		192.997	310.599	Interstate Bridge
					I-94 / US 12 east – Madison	Continuation into Wisconsin
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References[]

Route map:

U.S. Route 12
Previous state: South Dakota	Minnesota	Next state: Wisconsin