Minnesota State Highway 197 (MN 197) 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 ...

in northwest

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 first

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

with U.S. Highways 2 and 71 on the southeast edge of

Bemidji Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2022 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,946, makin ...

and continues north and then west to its second interchange with U.S. Highways 2 and 71 on the northwest edge of Bemidji. The route passes through the heart of the city of

. Highway 197 is also known as ''Washington Avenue'', ''Bemidji Avenue'', and ''Paul Bunyan Drive'' at various points throughout its route.

Route description

Highway 197 serves as a north–south and an east–west business route through the city of Bemidji. The roadway functions essentially as a business route for U.S. Highways 2 and 71. Highway 197 passes in between Lake Irving and

Lake Bemidji Lake Bemidji is a small glacier, glacially-formed lake, approximately in area, in northern Minnesota in the United States. Located less than downstream from the source of the Mississippi River, it both receives and is drained by the Mississippi, ...

on the south side of the city.

History

Highway 197 was originally numbered ''2'' and ''71'' as part of old U.S. Highways 2 and 71 through the city of Bemidji. In the mid 1980s, the new Highway 2 / 71 four-lane bypass of Bemidji was constructed. The original route through the city was renumbered ''197'' at this time. The original route through Bemidji (now 197) had been paved by the 1930s. 197 had been marked as "Highway 197 Thru City" on both ends. In 2004, the new signs no longer read "Thru City".

Major intersections

References

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