U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) is a

U.S. Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

in west-central and east-central

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

, which travels from the

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

state line at Ortonville near

Big Stone Lake Big Stone Lake ( dak, Íŋyaŋ Tháŋka Bdé) is a long, narrow freshwater lake and reservoir on the border between western Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota in the United States. Description The lake covers , stretching from end to end ...

and continues east to the St. Croix River at the

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

state line. US 12 connects the cities of Ortonville, Benson, Willmar, Litchfield,

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

, and

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Route description

From the South Dakota state line at Ortonville, to

Orono Orono may refer to: Places *Oroño Boulevard, Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina *Orono, Ontario, Canada, a town in the Municipality of Clarington United States *Orono, Maine, a town in Penobscot County, home to the University of Maine **Orono ...

in the Twin Cities area, US 12 is mostly a rural two-lane highway with a 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 Wayzata ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Wayzata is situated along the northern shore of Lake Minnetonka about west of Minneapolis. Known for its small-town character and lakeside lo ...

, US 12 is a

two-lane freeway A two-lane expressway or two-lane freeway is an expressway or freeway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes ri ...

super-2 A super two, super two-lane highway or wide two-lane is a two-lane surface road built to highway standards with wide lanes and other safety features normally present on a freeway with more lanes, typically including partial control of access, ...

bypass around Long Lake. From western Wayzata to

Interstate 394 Interstate 394 (I-394) is a small east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in Hennepin County in the US state of Minnesota. It is also commonly referred to by its pre-1991 name, Wayzata Boulevard, and by its other designation, US Highway& ...

(I-394) in

Minnetonka Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 53,781. Minnetonka is the ...

, US 12 is a six-lane

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

, with a posted speed limit of . East of

I-494 Interstate 494 (I-494) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway making up part of a beltway of I-94, circling through the southern and western portions of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota. The road is coupled with I ...

in Minnetonka, US 12 is invisibly

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with I-394 and I-94 through

and

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. In 1929, the only sections paved were between Litchfield and Willmar; and between

through the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

. The entire route was paved by 1940. Beginning in the 1950s, older sections of US 12 that ran through city centers were replaced with bypasses. From 2006 to 2008, the US 12

bypass was constructed through

and Long Lake. The new bypass ties into the existing US 12 freeway at the western edge of

Route description

History

Major intersections

References