Minnesota State Highway 36

Trunk Highway 36
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length	21.718 mi[1] (34.952 km)
Existed	1933[2] – present
Major junctions
West end	I-35W at Roseville
	MN 51 at Roseville I-35E / US 10 at Little Canada US 61 at Maplewood MN 120 at North St. Paul , Oakdale I-694 at Oakdale , Pine Springs MN 95 at Oak Park Heights
East end	WIS 64 at the St. Croix River, the Minnesota — Wisconsin state line, near Oak Park Heights, MN  — St. Joseph, WI
Location
Counties	Ramsey, Washington
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← I-35W MN 37 →

Minnesota State Highway 36 (MN 36) is a highway in Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with Interstate 35W in Roseville and continues east to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line (near Stillwater), where it becomes Wisconsin Highway 64 upon crossing the St. Croix River at the St. Croix Crossing bridge. A portion of Highway 36 is a major freeway in suburban Minneapolis – Saint Paul.

Highway 36 is 22 miles (35 km) in length.

Route description

State Highway 36 serves as an east–west route between the cities of Roseville, Little Canada, Maplewood, North St. Paul, Oakdale, Oak Park Heights, and Stillwater.

Highway 36 is a limited-access freeway from its interchange with Interstate 35W in Roseville eastward to Interstate 35E in Little Canada, and about five miles beyond. The freeway section ends at its signal-controlled intersection with Minnesota State Highway 120 in North St. Paul. Highway 36 becomes an at-grade expressway at this point. For about four miles outside of the I-494 / 694 loop, the expressway section of Highway 36 has a speed limit of 65 MPH (105 km/h).

The intersection of Highway 36 and Margaret Street at North St. Paul in February 2003.

Highway 36 crosses the St. Croix River via the St. Croix Crossing bridge and becomes Wisconsin Highway 64 upon crossing the state line into Wisconsin. ^[3]

History

State Highway 36 was authorized in 1933. The route was paved by 1940.

From 1934 to 1982, Highway 36 used to be significantly longer. The route had turned southward along I-35W, Washington Avenue, and Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis; and connected to what is now State Highway 77 (Cedar Avenue Freeway). In Eagan, old Highway 36 had intersected the Chicago and North Western Railway at-grade, at the Nicols Station Crossing.^[4] The section of old Highway 36 that ran along Washington and Cedar Avenues in Minneapolis was returned to county maintenance in 1982, and is currently a section of Hennepin County Road 152.

Highway 36 did not originally reach the Wisconsin state line at the St. Croix River. Part of old State Highway 212 in Oak Park Heights and Stillwater was renumbered as Highway 36 in 1983. This section of present-day Highway 36 still carries the old Highway 212 mile markers.

The section of Highway 36 in North St. Paul was closed in 2007 from April to September. The highway was rebuilt to freeway standards during this time between White Bear Avenue in Maplewood and Highway 120 (Century Avenue) in North St. Paul. The changes included grade-separated intersections with no interchanges or access within North St. Paul. The full closure in 2007 allowed the project to be completed more quickly and at a lower cost compared with a staged reconstruction. It also increased safety for construction workers. The Highway 36 reconstruction project in North St. Paul was completed in 2008. The budget of the project was $24 million.^[5]

An interchange was constructed in 2014 at Highway 36 and Hilton Trail in Pine Springs. The project also included two roundabouts on Hilton Trail on either side of the highway, one at 60th Street North and another at an extension of Viking Drive.^[6]

Prior to August 2017, upon reaching the St. Croix River Highway 36 merged with, and ran concurrent with Minnesota 95 north into downtown Stillwater. At Chestnut St Highway 36 turned east and crossed the St. Croix River on the historic Stillwater Lift Bridge. On August 2, 2017 the new St. Croix Crossing bridge opened and 36 now uses this bridge to cross into Wisconsin, eliminating its concurrency with MN 95.^[7]

Major intersections

All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Ramsey	Roseville	0.000– 0.480	0.000– 0.772	I-35W to MN 280 – Minneapolis CR 46 south (Cleveland Avenue)
		0.785– 0.825	1.263– 1.328	CR 48 (Fairview Avenue)
		1.295	2.084	MN 51 (Snelling Avenue)
		1.770	2.849	CR 50 (Hamline Avenue) / Albert Street	Eastbound access to Hamline Avenue via Albert and Commerce Streets
		2.272	3.656	CR 51 (Lexington Avenue)
		3.265	5.255	CR 53 (Dale Street)
	Little Canada	4.275	6.880	CR 49 (Rice Street)	Former MN 49
		5.121	8.241	I-35E / US 10 – St. Paul	I-35 exits 111 A-B
		5.769	9.284	CR 58 (Edgerton Street)
	Maplewood	6.844	11.014	US 61
		7.321	11.782	English Street
		8.445– 8.479	13.591– 13.646	CR 65 (White Bear Avenue)
	North St. Paul	9.296	14.960	CR 68 (McKnight Road)
		9.979	16.060	Margaret Street	Westbound exit only
Ramsey–Washington county line	North St. Paul–Oakdale line	10.465	16.842	MN 120 (Century Avenue)	End of limited access freeway
Washington	Oakdale	11.271	18.139	CSAH 35 (Hadley Avenue)
	Pine Springs	11.776– 11.793	18.952– 18.979	I-694	I-694 exits 52A-B
		12.303	19.800	CSAH 29 (Hilton Trail)	Interchange
	Lake Elmo	15.72	25.30	CSAH 17 (Lake Elmo Avenue)
	Grant	16.775	26.997	CSAH 15 north (Manning Avenue)
	Oak Park Heights	17.577	28.287	CSAH 5 / CSAH 15 south (Stillwater Boulevard)
		18.215	29.314	Washington Avenue, Norell Avenue
		18.769	30.206	CR 66 (Greeley Street)
		19.494	31.373	CSAH 24 (Osgood Avenue)
		20.490	32.975	MN 95 (St. Croix Trail)
St. Croix River				St. Croix Crossing; Minnesota-Wisconsin state line
				WIS 64 east	Continuation into Wisconsin
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

Route map:

*Adam Froehlig (January 6, 2004). State Highway 36 (photos). Minnesota State Highway Endings. Accessed August 28, 2004.