U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) is a major divided highway for almost all of its length in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. The route runs through the central portion of the state, following generally the alignment of the former

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

(now

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

) and connects the cities of Moorhead, Detroit Lakes, Wadena, Little Falls, St. Cloud, Anoka,

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 Cottage Grove. US 10 within Minnesota is in length.

Route description

US 10 enters the state from

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

and heads through Moorhead parallel to Interstate 94 (I-94) and US 52 until it exits the city. US 10 then takes a more northerly route than I-94/US 52 to St. Cloud by heading through Detroit Lakes, Wadena, and Little Falls. From St. Cloud to Mounds View, US 10 is a busy route through the suburbs of St. Cloud and

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. East of Mounds View, US 10 is marked mostly along Interstate Highways until

, where the route runs concurrently with US 61 to Cottage Grove. US 10 then heads east to the

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

state line and exits the state. US 10 is a divided highway along most of its length through the state, with posted speed limits along much of the way, except for two-lane or undivided four-lane stretches through Wadena and

Motley Motley is the traditional costume of the court jester, the motley fool, or the arlecchino character in ''commedia dell'arte''. The harlequin wears a patchwork of red, green and blue diamonds that is still a fashion motif. The word ''motley'' is ...

. There are some posted speed limits in the four-lane section between Elk River and Anoka and the two-lane section between Bluffton and Wadena. Legally, the Minnesota section of US 10 is defined as unmarked Constitutional / Legislative Routes 2, 37, 27, 3, 62, and 94 in the Minnesota Statutes §§ 161.114(2) and 161.115(25). US 10 is not marked with these legislative numbers along the actual highway.

Transit

Intercity bus service An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public t ...

is provided by

Jefferson Lines Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in 14 states in the Midwest and the West of the United States. History The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jefferson P ...

along the northwestern portion of the US 10 corridor from the North Dakota state line to Staples.

History

US 10 was established on November 11, 1926. Originally, the route split between Moorhead and St. Cloud into US 10N and US 10S. In 1934, US 10S was replaced by US 52 (now I-94) and US 10N became simply US 10. US 10 in Minnesota was paved between St. Cloud and

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...

as early as 1929. The remainder of the route was paved by 1950. The four-lane divided highway section between the cities of Elk River and Anoka was constructed by 1942. The

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 ...

section of US 10 between the city of Anoka and University Avenue (at the Coon Rapids– Blaine boundary line) was completed in the early 1970s. The new freeway section of US 10 between University Avenue and I-35W in Mounds View was completed in 1999. From 1934 to 1999, US 10 was located on a different alignment between Coon Rapids, Spring Lake Park, and Mounds View. This is now known as County Road 10. When

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 ...

and

I-35E Interstate 35E may refer to: *Interstate 35E (Texas), a long branch route serving Dallas, Texas *Interstate 35E (Minnesota), a long branch route serving St. Paul, Minnesota See also * Interstate 35W (disambiguation) Interstate 35W may refer to: ...

were completed in the late 1960s, US 10 was then signed concurrently with these highways east of Mounds View to the city of Saint Paul. As of 2017, US 10 in Minneapolis–Saint Paul has been built to a freeway standard from Anoka to

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

(save for three signalized intersections at Burns Avenue, Warner Road, and Lower Afton Road).

Major intersections

References

External links