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25-606: Opened and dedicated in November 2007, the bridge crosses Hiawatha Avenue (Trunk Highway 55) north of 28th Street East and just south of 26th Street East, joining Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Minneapolis Midtown Greenway at Hiawatha Avenue, allowing a continuous biking connection across the city. The bridge also links Longfellow community ( Longfellow and Seward neighborhoods) to Phillips community ( East Phillips neighborhood), and connects users to

50-489: A stoplight at grade-level. Instead, the bridge rises one block north, over the highway, and back south, to a grade-level crossing of 28th Street East just west of Hiawatha. There is also an at-grade crossing at Hiawatha. The bridge has a total length of 2,200 feet. Its main span passes 220 feet over Hiawatha Avenue, with the cable-stay tower rising 100 feet above the bridge-deck level. The Martin Olav Sabo Bridge

75-428: A distinctive pattern in numbering, they are numbered to avoid conflicting with Interstate Highways and US Highways. Any instance of a state number that matches one is often a continuation of the particular route (e.g., U.S. Route 169 and Trunk Highway 169). The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) does not consider this a violation of the rule. Special routes There are also routes officially numbered in

100-510: A junction with MN 13 . MN 55 continues southeast through Eagan , joining briefly with MN 149 . The route then has a junction with MN 3 in Inver Grove Heights . MN 55 then runs concurrently with US 52 through Inver Grove Heights and into Rosemount . At Rosemount, MN 55 leaves US 52. MN 55 continues independently again to its eastern terminus at its intersection with US 61 in

125-797: A junction with MN 24 in Annandale. MN 55 continues to Maple Lake and then Buffalo, where it has a junction with MN 25 . MN 55 enters the Twin Cities area at Rockford and Greenfield , continuing east to Medina and Plymouth . MN 55 has a junction with Interstate 494 (I-494) in Plymouth. MN 55 continues east and has a junction with US 169 at the Plymouth– Golden Valley boundary line. MN 55 continues through Golden Valley to its junction with MN 100 . The route then continues east and enters

150-526: Is known as Hiawatha Avenue. Light rail trains on the Blue Line , and Little Earth Trail and Hiawatha LRT Trail for bicyclists/pedestrians, run parallel to the highway for much of the Hiawatha Avenue stretch. MN 55 runs concurrently along I-94 / US 52 . MN 55 exits just before downtown at the westbound I-94/northbound US 52 exit, and leaves the concurrency at the exit for

175-540: Is the first true cable-stayed suspension bridge in the State of Minnesota. Its design was the product of engineering consulting firm URS , with community input. During Congressman Martin Olav Sabo's tenure, he earmarked $ 2.9 million in federal funding to the project. He is also recognized for acquiring federal funding to complete many capital improvements throughout Minneapolis. City advisory boards and committees forwarded

200-663: The Bois de Sioux River , at the Minnesota—North Dakota state line near Tenney . North Dakota Highway 11 (ND 11) is its counterpoint upon crossing the state line. MN 55 continues east to Tenney, Nashua , and Wendell . The route has a junction with U.S. Highway 59 (US 59) before entering the city of Elbow Lake. US 59/MN 55 runs concurrently for 11 miles (18 km) until reaching Barrett . MN 55 then continues independently again to Hoffman , Kensington , Farwell , and Lowry before reaching

225-578: The 805 and 905, but they do not have signage. Examples include part of the Sibley Memorial Highway that was bypassed in Mendota in the mid 1995 (MN 913A, numbered for former designation MN 13), and Robert Street between I-494 and University Avenue in St. Paul and West St. Paul (MN 952, numbered for former designation US 52). Other roads under Minnesota jurisdiction include

250-606: The MN ;371 Business Route, which follows the former route of MN 371 through Brainerd . MN 23 also has a designated business route through the city of Willmar (as MN 23 is bypassed around the city), but unlike Business MN 371, Business MN 23 is under local jurisdiction. Legislative routes defined in the Minnesota Constitution were signed until 1934, when many were renumbered. Several routes, like US Highway 208 , were planned in

275-483: The Olson Highway, marked with the MN 55 shield. Eastbound, MN 55 leaves the Olson Highway at the interchange for I-94 eastbound/US 52 southbound, and leaves the freeway at the exit for Hiawatha Avenue, which is also marked with the MN 55 shield. There has been some controversy with expansion of the highway. An area known as Camp Coldwater , considered by some as the "birthplace of Minnesota",

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300-414: The bridge was also closed, and light rail service was suspended on the tracks that pass beneath the bridge. The light rail resumed service on February 24, 2012, after emergency supports were placed underneath the bridge and a second pair of cables were removed due to cracks in their anchor points. Hiawatha Avenue was reopened to traffic underneath the bridge on February 27, 2012. The original cable failure

325-474: The cable diaphragm plates." The effect of cable vibrations caused by wind was not included in the original design package for the bridge. The bridge reopened for bicycle and pedestrian traffic on June 1, 2012, with temporary support structures in place. New plates were designed, and the bridge was closed once more between September 23, 2012, and November 19, 2012, to allow them to be retrofitted as permanent repairs. An inspection in 2020 found voids and rusting in

350-639: The central part of state taking a diagonal route from its western most at the North Dakota state line near Tenney to its easternmost point at the intersection with U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) in Hastings . In Minneapolis and Golden Valley, portions of the route are also signed as Olson Memorial Highway . MN 55 serves as a northwest–southeast route between Elbow Lake, Glenwood, Paynesville , Annandale , Buffalo , Plymouth , Minneapolis , Mendota Heights , and Hastings . MN 55 begins at

375-500: The city of Hastings . MN 55 was authorized in 1933. The original alignment for MN 55 in Minneapolis was along old US 52 (now County State-Aid Highway 81 , CSAH 81) to Rockford Road, then Rockford Road to MN 55's present-day alignment (now CSAH 9 ). The present-day alignment was constructed in the early 1950s. In July 2005, the section of MN 55 that runs through downtown Minneapolis

400-641: The city of Minneapolis . The highway has been designated Olson Memorial Highway, named for Floyd B. Olson , a popular Minnesota governor of Norwegian ancestry. Olson grew up in North Minneapolis, near where the highway runs. While the entire route is designated as the Olson Memorial Highway, it is only consistently signed as such between Interstate 494 and N 7th Street in Minneapolis. The part of MN 55 southeast of downtown

425-558: The city of Glenwood. At Glenwood, MN 55 has an intersection with MN 29 and an interchange with MN 28 . The route continues southeast to Sedan and Brooten before reaching its junction with US 71 in Belgrade . MN 55 passes through Regal before reaching its junction with MN 4 and MN 23 at the city of Paynesville . MN 55 continues east to Eden Valley and Watkins before reaching its junction with MN 15 at Kimball . The route has

450-492: The concrete around two of the cable points on the side of the bridge. Starting on May 15, 2023 and completing in September, 2023, the cable points were reinforced by adding steel reinforcements to the anchors. During the repairs, traffic below the bridge on Hiawatha Ave S was reduced to one or two lanes. Hiawatha Avenue Minnesota State Highway 55 ( MN 55 ) is a state highway that runs 221 miles (356 km) across

475-560: The north-south Hiawatha LRT Trail and Little Earth Trail . The bridge was built by Hennepin County and transferred to the City of Minneapolis, which owns and maintains the bridge. The bridge was closed on February 20, 2012 when two of the cables that support the bridge fell due to cracks in their attachment points; additional significant cracks were subsequently found in two other support plates. The bridge, supported with temporary bracing,

500-786: The numbering of highways. Route commissioning beyond these routes was by legislative action, thus the term legislative route. This included additions and revisions that took place when US and Interstate Highway Systems were commissioned. Minnesota state highway markers use Type D FHWA font for all route numbers and type C for three-digit route markers only if type D font cannot be used. All routes except interstates use 24-by-24-inch (610 mm × 610 mm) or 36-by-36-inch (910 mm × 910 mm) markers. Interstate markers for three-digit routes are wider shields, 24 by 30 inches (610 mm × 760 mm) and 36 by 45 inches (910 mm × 1,140 mm) respectively. Although Minnesota state highways do not follow

525-505: The recommendation to rename the bridge after Sabo in 2005, which was done by the City Council. Hennepin County provided additional funding to total $ 5.1 million for the final project. Late on the night of February 19, 2012, the two longest support cables on the bridge were found detached and lying across the bridge deck below. The bridge was closed shortly thereafter to all traffic. The portion of Hiawatha Avenue that passes underneath

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550-517: Was due to cracks in diaphragm plates that anchor the ends of the cables to the steel tower, and significant cracks have subsequently been found in three of those anchorages. The engineering firm Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. was hired to investigate how the diaphragm plates became compromised. On June 8, 2012, a summary report of the investigation was released in which the failure was attributed to wind-induced "cable vibrations that induce damaging stress range cycles at fatigue sensitive details in

575-643: Was dug up during some construction. MN 55 joins with MN 62 at this point. Fort Snelling State Park is located near the junction of MN 55 and MN 5 . The park entrance is located on MN 5 at Post Road. MN 55 crosses the Minnesota River via the Mendota Bridge, which was the longest continuous bridge made of poured concrete when it was completed in 1926. It is 4,119 feet (1,255 m) in length. The route enters Mendota Heights , diverges from MN 62, and then has

600-434: Was reopened June 1, 2012. A summary report of the failure analysis released June 8, 2012 determined that unaccounted for wind-induced cable vibrations led to the failures of the attachment points. The bridge was again closed for repairs on September 23, 2012. Repairs were completed, and the bridge reopened, on November 19, 2012. The bridge eliminates the need for bicyclists and pedestrians to cross busy Hiawatha Avenue with

625-551: Was turned back to local maintenance. To fill the gap, MN 55 was rerouted along I-94 /US 52. List of state highways in Minnesota The organized system of Minnesota State Highways (typically abbreviated as MN or TH , and called Trunk Highways ), the state highway system for the US state of Minnesota , was created in 1920 under the "Babcock Amendment" to the state constitution . No real pattern exists for

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