Minnesota State Highway 36
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Good article Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox road Minnesota State Highway 36 (MN 36) is a Template:Convert highway in the U.S. state of Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with Interstate 35W (I-35W) in Roseville and continues east to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line (near Stillwater), where it becomes Wisconsin Highway 64 (WIS 64) upon crossing the St. Croix River at the St. Croix Crossing bridge. MN 36 is a major freeway in suburban Minneapolis–Saint Paul from its western terminus to its intersection with MN 120, at which point it becomes an at-grade expressway.
Historically, MN 36 traveled on a north-south course through Minneapolis before heading east toward Stillwater. Since its terminus moved to I-35W in 1980, growth and development has seen the highway becoming more of a freeway, with controlled intersections being rebuilt as grade-separated interchanges.
Washington County is leading a project to replace the controlled intersection at MN 36 and County State-Aid Highway 17 (CSAH 17, Lake Elmo Avenue) in Grant and Lake Elmo. Final design has been completed and construction is set to start in 2026. The county has also requested $3 million in state funding for to design an interchange at the intersection of MN 36 and MN 120.
Route description
MN 36 serves as an east–west highway between the cities of Roseville, Little Canada, Maplewood, North St. Paul, Oakdale, Oak Park Heights, and Stillwater.<ref name="mndotmap23">Template:Cite MnDOT map</ref><ref name="googlemaps">Template:Google maps</ref> MN 36 is a controlled-access freeway from its interchange with I-35W in Roseville eastward to MN 120 in North St. Paul and Oakdale.<ref name="mndotmap23"/><ref name="googlemaps"/> Near Rosedale Center, MN 36 has a junction with MN 51 (Snelling Avenue). It then meets County Road 42 (CR 42, Rice Street) at an offset single-point urban interchange. The highway intersects I-35E in Little Canada. It straddles the border with and crosses into Maplewood, where it meets U.S. Highway 61 (US 61). The portion of MN 36 in North St. Paul is known as the Officer Richard Crittenden, Sr. Memorial Highway.<ref name="mndotmap23"/><ref name="googlemaps"/>
The freeway section ends at a signal-controlled intersection with MN 120. MN 36 then becomes an at-grade expressway. It proceeds through Oakdale before an interchange with I-694 in Pine Springs. For about Template:Convert outside of the I-494/I-694 loop, the expressway section of MN 36 has a speed limit of Template:Convert.<ref name="pioneer1">Template:Cite news</ref> It passes the cities of Grant and Lake Elmo before reaching Stillwater and Oak Park Heights.<ref name="mndotmap23"/><ref name="googlemaps"/> MN 36 crosses the St. Croix River via the St. Croix Crossing bridge and becomes WIS 64 upon crossing the state line into Wisconsin.<ref name="mndot_1">Template:Cite web</ref>
History
MN 36 was authorized in 1933. Legally, it is defined as Legislative Route 118. The route is not marked with this number.<ref name="laws1933"/> At this time, MN 36 was significantly longer, running between Richfield and a point west of Stillwater. The route was a paved road from its junction with MN 5 northward to the Minneapolis city limits. It was known as Cedar Avenue for most of its course in Minneapolis. It then turned to the east on a bituminous surface until it reached US 61, at which point it became a gravel road to its terminus with US 212 near Stillwater.<ref name="mndotmap34">Template:Cite MnDOT map</ref> By 1941, the entire highway was paved with at least bitumen.<ref name="mndotmap41">Template:Cite MnDOT map</ref> Excluding within Minneapolis and the portion between MN 49 and US 61, the entirety of the route was a four-lane divided highway.<ref name="mndotmap60">Template:Cite MnDOT map</ref>
MN 36 did not originally reach the Wisconsin state line at the St. Croix River. Part of old MN 212 in Oak Park Heights and Stillwater was renumbered as MN 36 in 1960.<ref name="mndotmap60"/> By 1962, MN 36 extended past MN 5 and continued through Bloomington, ending at a junction with MN 13 in Eagan.<ref name="mndotmap62">Template:Cite MnDOT map</ref> The portion of MN 36 south of MN 62 was redesignated as a part of MN 77 in 1980. The former highway between MN 62 and I-35W reverted to county control as CR 152 (Cedar Avenue).<ref name="mndotmap79">Template:Cite MnDOT map</ref>
The section of MN 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 MN 120 (Century Avenue) in North St. Paul. The changes included turning the intersection with CR 68 (McKnight Road) into a grade-separated interchange and building an overpass at Margaret Street, removing its access to MN 36. The full closure in 2007 allowed the project to be completed more quickly and at a lower cost than a staged reconstruction. It also increased safety for construction workers. The MN 36 reconstruction project in North St. Paul was completed in 2008. The budget of the project was $24 million.<ref name="mndot_2">Template:Cite press release</ref>
In 2010, the existing diamond interchange at CR 49 (Rice Street) in Roseville was replaced with an offset single-point urban interchange with an estimated cost of $27 million.<ref name = "roseville">Template:Cite web</ref> This was intended to reduce safety and capacity issues. The project also included the widening of Rice Street and the addition of bike lanes and sidewalks. Construction ended in late 2011.<ref name = "sehinc1">Template:Cite web</ref> Construction of a new tight diamond interchange at English Street started in 2013 to replace an existing controlled intersection. A trail bridge was also built for the Bruce Vento Regional Trail; the total cost of the project was $17.3 million.<ref name = "sehinc2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="strib1">Template:Cite news</ref> An interchange was constructed in 2014 at MN 36 and CSAH 29 (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.<ref name=hilton2>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Minnesota Legislature passed a bill in 2014 designating MN 36 in North St. Paul as the Officer Richard Crittenden Sr. Memorial Highway, honoring a North St. Paul officer killed in the line of duty in 2009.<ref name="strib2">Template:Cite news</ref> Prior to August 2017, upon reaching the St. Croix River, MN 36 merged with, and ran concurrently with MN 95 north into downtown Stillwater. At Chestnut St., MN 36 turned east and crossed the St. Croix River on the historic Stillwater Lift Bridge.<ref name="mndot_3" /> The Stillwater Bridge had to be closed frequently for repairs,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and at over 80 years old was deemed obsolete and vulnerable to failure.<ref name="Dunbar-2011">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On August 2, 2017, the new St. Croix Crossing bridge opened and MN 36 now uses this bridge to cross into Wisconsin, eliminating its concurrency with MN 95.<ref name="mndot_3">Template:Cite web</ref> The bridge was designed around concerns for the environment and scenery.<ref name="Bornhoft-2017">Template:Cite news</ref> For example, the interchange with MN 95 was routed around a bald eagle nest.<ref name="Bornhoft-2017"/> The St. Croix Crossing bridge uses an uncommon extradosed design with shorter towers than a suspension bridge that keeps the height lower than the river bluffs.<ref name="Mador-2012">Template:Cite news</ref> Upon completion, it was the longest extradosed bridge in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since its construction, the bridge has led to a significant uptick in the number of vehicles traveling on MN 36.<ref name = "pioneer4"/>
In 2019, construction began on a $22 million interchange at MN 36 and CSAH 13 (Hadley Avenue) in Oakdale, partially as a result of high crash rates. As a part of the project, one roundabout was constructed on each side of the overpass, with one more being built at 56th Street. Construction finished in 2020.<ref name="pioneer3">Template:Cite news</ref> A partial cloverleaf interchange was constructed in 2021 at the intersection of MN 36 and CSAH 15 north (Manning Avenue) just west of Stillwater. The project had a budget of $32 million.<ref name="pioneer4">Template:Cite news</ref>
Future
Washington County is leading a redesign of the MN 36/CSAH 17 (Lake Elmo Avenue) intersection in the cities of Grant and Lake Elmo in order to increase safety, reduce congestion, and improve accessibility for active transportation. Between 2014 and 2024, 170 crashes have occurred at the intersection. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $40 million, with $25 million coming from federal and state sources. The recommended final layout is an overpass with buttonhook ramps and also includes closing access at Keats Avenue.<ref name = "washco3">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Construction is slated to start in the spring of 2026, ending in fall of 2027.<ref name = "washco1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name = "pioneer2">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name = "pioneer5">Template:Cite news</ref>
As of April 2025, Washington County is requesting $3 million from state legislature to design a grade-separated interchange for the existing intersection at MN 36 and MN 120 (HF 1599 / SF 959). Other than the intersection with Lake Elmo Avenue, it is the only controlled intersection west of CSAH 5 north/CSAH 15 south (Stillwater Boulevard). It has also been identified by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) as having the fourth-highest crash cost of any Minnesota state highway, with an average of 25 reported crashes per year. The project would also include pedestrian and bicycle considerations, as well as connections to the Gateway State Trail.<ref name = "washco2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name = "washco4">Template:Cite web</ref>
Major intersections
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