Minnesota State Highway 4 Explained

State:MN
Type:MN
Route:4
Map Custom:yes
Map Notes:MN 4 highlighted in red
Established:1920
Length Mi:167.136
Length Ref:[1]
Direction A:South
Direction B:North
Terminus A: at the Iowa state line near Dunnell
Terminus B: near Sauk Centre and Melrose
Junction:
Previous Type:MN
Previous Route:3
Next Type:MN
Next Route:5

Minnesota State Highway 4 (MN 4) is a 167.136-longNaN-long highway in southwest and west-central Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 4 at the Iowa state line (near Dunnell, MN and Estherville, IA), and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with Interstate Highway 94 near Sauk Centre and Melrose.

Route description

State Highway 4 serves as a north - south route between Sherburn, Saint James, Sleepy Eye, Fairfax, Hector, Paynesville, and Meire Grove in southwest and west-central Minnesota.

Highway 4 parallels U.S. Highway 71 and State Highway 15 throughout its route.

Fort Ridgely State Park is located on Highway 4 in Nicollet County on the Minnesota River. The park is located south of Fairfax and northwest of New Ulm.[2]

History

The segment of Highway 4 between Paynesville and Interstate 94 is part of Minnesota Constitutional Route 4, established in 1920; the remainder of Highway 4 was authorized in 1933. Between Saint James and the Iowa border, Highway 4 followed very closely the former Minneapolis & St Louis Railway the remains of which are clearly visible on the west side of the highway between Minnesota Highway 60 and Sherburn, Minnesota. Grain elevators in Echols, Ormsby, Trimont, and Sherburn are aligned with the former M&StL route through each of these towns.

The route was completely paved by 1961.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Statewide Logpoint Listing . Minnesota Department of Transportation . 22 December 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120914220734/http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/statelpt.pdf . 14 September 2012 .
  2. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/fort_ridgely/index.html Minnesota DNR website for Fort Ridgely State Park - Link