New 2003-04 Minnesota Map (long)

This was a report of observations on the then-new 2003-2004 Minnesota state highway map, which I picked up during my 2003 Vacation. I posted it on May 12, 2003.

New 2003-04 Minnesota Map (long)

While heading home to Minnesota on my recent trip, I made a brief stop at the Albert Lea Travel Information Center/Rest Area on NB I-35 just north of the IA/MN Line. Picked up a few copies of the new 2003-04 MN map, which the lady at the counter said had just been shipped the week before.

Some notes:

- The front cover still says "Explore Minnesota" (using their standard logo), then "Official State Highway Map". The image on the front is an aerial view showing a rock cut along MN 61 along the "North Shore" of Lake Superior.

- The back cover, as with last year, is an advertisement for the Best Westerns in the state.

- The inside cover lists numbers for the Minnesota Office of Tourism, the "511 Minnesota" logo, and an 800 number for MnDOT, as well as "Explore Minnesota Safety" (basically Minnesota's seat belt and child safety seat rules, headlight rules, and general speed limits).

- On the back side, underneath the Twin Cities metro map, is a general description of the state's 20 Scenic Byways, as well as some photos.

Noted route/map changes:

- MN 336 (a short connector near Moorhead) shown as 4-lane divided with an interchange at US 10/MN 336.

- New interchanges shown at:

- MN 371/BUS 371 (south end of Brainerd bypass, completed)
- US 169/Sherburne CSAH 9 (north of Zimmerman, completed)
- US 169/Sherburne CR 33 (near Elk River, currently under construction)
- I-94 at Stearns CSAH 75 (south of the St. Augusta interchange, although construction has not yet started)
- US 169/MN 19 (still under construction)
- US 52/Olmsted CSAH 14 (north of Rochester, construction has only just now begun)

- Curiously, the completed interchange on US 10 at Sherburne CSAH 14/15 (between Big Lake and Elk River) and the under construction interchange a US 10/Benton CSAH 33 (north of Sauk Rapids) are not show.

- US 71/MN 23 Willmar bypass shown as 4-lane divided with interchanges at US 12 and US 71 South. I do not recall if it was shown as 4-lane divided on the 01-02 map (and all my 01-02 maps are at home).

- MN 23 shown as 4-lane divided from I-94 west to Cold Spring, also showing the Rockville bypass (construction has been completed to about a mile east of Cold Spring).

- The completed part of the MN 22 Hutchinson bypass (south of MN 7) is shown. I traveled on this a couple weeks ago.

- 4-laning shown as completed along MN 60 between Worthington and Windom. IRL, it's still under construction between Heron Lake and MN 86.

- While the map shows US 14 as 4-lane divided between MN 60 (east of Eagle Lake) and the Blue Earth/Waseca County Line, this section IRL has only just begun construction.

- The short section of US 14 between Steele CSAH 45 (south of Owatonna) and US 218 South shown as 4-lane divided (as it now is).

- Recent turnback mentions: MN 266, MN 268, and MN 273, are still shown on the map.

City Insets:

- A few more county route markers showing up on various city insets.

- MN 13 now shown as 4-lane divided between US 69 and US 65 on the Albert Lea inset. This project was largely completed last year, and involved two railroad bridge replacements.

- Hutchinson inset shows the new MN 22 bypass, with the old route into town shown as CSAH 25.

- Recent realignments to MN 197 (south of Lake Bemidji) are shown on the Bemidji inset.

- As with the main map, the Owatonna inset shows the 4-lane extension along US 14 east to US 218 South, as well as the folded-diamond interchange at US 218 South.

- Mankato inset shows the new interchange at US 14/Thompson Ravine Rd.

Twin Cities Map:

- Both the Twin Cities Metro map and the Downtown Minneapolis inset show the routing of the under-construction Hiawatha LRT line.

- I-35 "Exit 64" (in Lakeville), at 185th St/Dakota CSAH 60, shown as standard diamond. I guess this is close, since the future loop from EB CSAH 60 to NB I-35 isn't paved yet.

- New interchange configs in the "Wakota Bridge" area (I-494 at US 61) are shown, although the flyover from SB 494 to SB 61 is omitted, as is the whole Glen Rd interchange.

- New interchange at I-494/Tamarack Rd in Woodbury shown.

- MN 120 shown as turned back between I-94 and I-494, but still exists from I-94 north to MN 244.

- Conversely, MN 244 is shown as turned back in Ramsey County, but still existing in Washington County.

- The new bridge over I-94 at 93rd Ave N in Maple Grove is shown.

- The new (mostly under construction) interchanges along MN 100 at 36th Ave N, CSAH 9, and CSAH 81 are shown, although the future interchange at Indiana Ave isn't and the interchange at MN 100/MN 55 is still shown as a cloverleaf.

No other significant changes noted.

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