Minnesota State Highway 51 (MN 51) is a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, which runs from its

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their ...

with State Highway 5 (W. 7th Street) in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with

Interstate 694 Interstate 694 (I-694) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the US state of Minnesota. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with I-94, I-494, and US ...

/ U.S. Highway 10 in Arden Hills. Highway 51 is also known as Snelling Avenue for most of its route. A small section of the route is known as Montreal Avenue in the "West Seventh" and Highland neighborhoods of Saint Paul, and the northern section in Arden Hills is known as Hamline Avenue. It provides a route for vehicle traffic, as well as the Metro A Line, a Bus rapid transit link operated by Metro. Snelling Avenue is also served by Snelling Avenue station on the Metro Green Line.

Route description

State Highway 51 serves as a north–south route between Saint Paul, Falcon Heights, Roseville, and Arden Hills in Ramsey County. It is not to be confused with nearby Ramsey County Road 51 (Lexington Avenue / Parkway), which runs parallel to State Highway 51 for much of its route. Highway 51 begins at its intersection with State Highway 5 (W. 7th Street) in the "West Seventh" neighborhood of

. 51 follows Montreal Avenue for 10 blocks. 51 then leaves Montreal Avenue and turns north on Snelling Avenue. Highway 51 remains on Snelling Avenue for the remainder of its route. It continues through the Highland Park / MacGroveland / Merriam Park areas to its junction with

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

/ US Highway 52. The route then passes

Allianz Field Allianz Field is a soccer-specific stadium in Saint Paul, Minnesota, home to Minnesota United FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Opening in 2019, the 19,400-seat stadium was designed by Populous (company), Populous, during the club's third MLS s ...

and continues through the Midway neighborhood. After crossing over two railroad lines and entering Falcon Heights, the route passes along the east side of the

Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Also known by its slogan, "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", it is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance and the second-largest state f ...

grounds, making it a busy thoroughfare during the State Fair season. The route continues north into Roseville and Arden Hills. Most of Highway 51's length through Roseville and Arden Hills is an expressway ( divided highway) with signalized intersections. Highway 51 does have an interchange with State Highway 36 in Roseville. The northern terminus of Highway 51 at

I-694 Interstate 694 (I-694) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the US state of Minnesota. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with Interstate 94 in Minneso ...

in Arden Hills is also shared with the westbound interchange for U.S. Highway 10. From south to north, the route adjoins the campuses of

Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...

Hamline University Hamline University ( ) is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1854, Hamline is the oldest university in Minnesota, the first coeducational university in the state, and is one of five Associated Colleges of th ...

, University of Northwestern - Saint Paul, and Bethel University. Como Park, Zoo, and Conservatory in Saint Paul is located 7 blocks east of the junction of Highway 51 (Snelling Avenue) and Como Avenue. Eastbound Como Avenue becomes Horton Avenue. The park entrance is on Horton Avenue near Lexington Parkway. Rosedale Center and Har Mar Mall shopping centers are located on the route in Roseville. Highway 51 parallels State Highway 280 through Falcon Heights and the Midway neighborhood of Saint Paul.

History

State Highway 51 was authorized in 1933. The route was paved by 1935. The original alignment on the south end of Highway 51 was from West 7th Street up Edgecumbe Road to Snelling Avenue. This section of Highway 51 was later rerouted to Montreal Avenue. From 1934 to 1935, the north end of Highway 51 previously followed Snelling Avenue northbound to County Road B in Roseville, then 51 turned westbound to Fairview Avenue and ran northbound along Fairview Avenue and New Brighton Road to old U.S. Highway 8 in New Brighton. By 1935, Snelling Avenue was extended north to the point where Highway 51 now bends to follow Hamline Avenue after crossing the Roseville / Arden Hills boundary line. The northern terminus of the route was at old U.S. Highway 10, which is the present day junction of Snelling Avenue and County Road E in Arden Hills. There was a plan until the 1970s to extend Highway 51 beyond its current northern terminus at

in Arden Hills to proceed north to I-35W near Lexington Avenue in Blaine. The section of Highway 51 in Roseville and Arden Hills was built as a divided highway by 1970.

Major intersections

References

{{Falcon Heights, Minnesota 051 Streets in Saint Paul, Minnesota Transportation in Ramsey County, Minnesota