Minnesota State Highway 55 (MN 55) is a state highway that runs 221 miles (356 km) across the central part of state taking a diagonal route from its western most at the North Dakota state line near Tenney to its easternmost point at the intersection with U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) in Hastings. In Minneapolis and Golden Valley, portions of the route are also signed as Olson Memorial Highway.

Quick Facts Trunk Highway 55, Route information ...

Trunk Highway 55
MN 55 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length	220.572 mi[1] (354.976 km)
Existed	1933–present
Tourist routes	Great River Road
Major junctions
West end	ND 11 at the Bois de Sioux River near Fairmount, ND
Major intersections	US 75 near Tenney US 59 / MN 79 in Elbow Lake US 71 in Belgrade MN 4 / MN 23 in Paynesville I-494 in Plymouth US 169 in Golden Valley MN 100 in Golden Valley I-94 / US 52 in Minneapolis MN 5 / MN 62 in Fort Snelling US 52 in Rosemount
East end	US 61 in Hastings
Location
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Counties	Wilkin, Grant, Douglas, Pope, Stearns, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Wright, Hennepin, Dakota
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highway System Interstate US State Legislative Scenic
← MN 54 → MN 56

Close

MN 55 serves as a northwest–southeast route between Elbow Lake, Glenwood, Paynesville, Annandale, Buffalo, Plymouth, Minneapolis, Mendota Heights, and Hastings.

MN 55 begins at the Bois de Sioux River, at the Minnesota—North Dakota state line near Tenney. North Dakota Highway 11 (ND 11) is its counterpoint upon crossing the state line. MN 55 continues east to Tenney, Nashua, and Wendell. The route has a junction with U.S. Highway 59 (US 59) before entering the city of Elbow Lake. US 59/MN 55 runss concurrently for 11 miles (18 km) until reaching Barrett.

MN 55 then continues independently again to Hoffman, Kensington, Farwell, and Lowry before reaching the city of Glenwood. At Glenwood, MN 55 has an intersection with MN 29 and an interchange with MN 28.

The route continues southeast to Sedan and Brooten before reaching its junction with US 71 in Belgrade. MN 55 passes through Regal before reaching its junction with MN 4 and MN 23 at the city of Paynesville.

MN 55 continues east to Eden Valley and Watkins before reaching its junction with MN 15 at Kimball.

The route has a junction with MN 24 in Annandale. MN 55 continues to Maple Lake and then Buffalo, where it has a junction with MN 25.

MN 55 enters the Twin Cities area at Rockford and Greenfield, continuing east to Medina and Plymouth. MN 55 has a junction with Interstate 494 (I-494) in Plymouth. MN 55 continues east and has a junction with US 169 at the Plymouth–Golden Valley boundary line. MN 55 continues through Golden Valley to its junction with MN 100. The route then continues east and enters the city of Minneapolis.

The highway has been designated Olson Memorial Highway,^[2] named for Floyd B. Olson, a popular Minnesota governor of Norwegian ancestry. Olson grew up in North Minneapolis, near where the highway runs. While the entire route is designated as the Olson Memorial Highway, it is only consistently signed as such between Interstate 494 and N 7th Street in Minneapolis. The part of MN 55 southeast of downtown is known as Hiawatha Avenue. Light rail trains on the Blue Line, and Little Earth Trail and Hiawatha LRT Trail for bicyclists/pedestrians, run parallel to the highway for much of the Hiawatha Avenue stretch.

MN 55 runs concurrently along I-94/US 52. MN 55 exits just before downtown at the westbound I-94/northbound US 52 exit, and leaves the concurrency at the exit for the Olson Highway, marked with the MN 55 shield. Eastbound, MN 55 leaves the Olson Highway at the interchange for I-94 eastbound/US 52 southbound, and leaves the freeway at the exit for Hiawatha Avenue, which is also marked with the MN 55 shield.

There has been some controversy with expansion of the highway.^{[citation needed]} An area known as Camp Coldwater, considered by some as the "birthplace of Minnesota", was dug up during some construction. MN 55 joins with MN 62 at this point.

Fort Snelling State Park is located near the junction of MN 55 and MN 5. The park entrance is located on MN 5 at Post Road.

MN 55 crosses the Minnesota River via the Mendota Bridge, which was the longest continuous bridge made of poured concrete when it was completed in 1926. It is 4,119 feet (1,255 m) in length.

The route enters Mendota Heights, diverges from MN 62, and then has a junction with MN 13.

MN 55 continues southeast through Eagan, joining briefly with MN 149. The route then has a junction with MN 3 in Inver Grove Heights. MN 55 then runs concurrently with US 52 through Inver Grove Heights and into Rosemount. At Rosemount, MN 55 leaves US 52. MN 55 continues independently again to its eastern terminus at its intersection with US 61 in the city of Hastings.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2011)

MN 55 was authorized in 1933.^[3]

The original alignment for MN 55 in Minneapolis was along old US 52 (now County State-Aid Highway 81, CSAH 81) to Rockford Road, then Rockford Road to MN 55's present-day alignment (now CSAH 9). The present-day alignment was constructed in the early 1950s.^[3]

In July 2005, the section of MN 55 that runs through downtown Minneapolis was turned back to local maintenance. To fill the gap, MN 55 was rerouted along I-94/US 52.