County Road 61 (Hennepin County, Minnesota)

County State-Aid Highway 61
Route information
Maintained by Hennepin County Transportation Department
Length:	24.4 mi (39.3 km)
Existed:	1960s – present
Major junctions
South end:	MN 101 in Eden Prairie
	I-494 in Eden Prairie US 212 in Eden Prairie MN 7 in Minnetonka I-394 in Minnetonka MN 55 in Plymouth I-94 / I-694 in Maple Grove
North end:	CR 130 / CR 202 in Maple Grove
Location
Counties:	Hennepin
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate • U.S. • State Inter-County • County roads(Hennepin) • Legislative routes

County State-Aid Highway 61 or County Road 61 (CSAH 61, CR 61) is a major route along the east side of Interstate 494 (I-494) in Hennepin County, Minnesota. The route travels through the west suburbs of the Twin Cities through Maple Grove, Plymouth, Minnetonka, Hopkins and Eden Prairie.

Route description

From its northern junction with CR 130 in Maple Grove, it is known as Hemlock Lane, with an interchange at I-94. Just north of its junction with CR 10 (Bass Lake Road) and the boundary with Plymouth it becomes Northwest Boulevard and continues under that name until its junction with State Highway 55 (MN 55), intersecting with CR 47 (Pineview Lane North) and CR 9 (Rockford Road). Between MN 55 and the boundary with Minnetonka it is known as Xenium Lane, intersecting with CR 6. Between the Minnetonka boundary and CR 5 (Minnetonka Boulevard), it is known as Plymouth Road, intersecting with I-394 and Cedar Lake Road. South of Minnetonka Boulevard, it changes names again to Shady Oak Road and continues into Eden Prairie, intersecting with MN 55, MN 62 and ends at US Highway 212 (US 212), but Shady Oak Road itself continues for a short distance into the "Golden Triangle" area of Eden Prairie and ends at Valley View Road. Once US 212 was shifted onto its new freeway alignment in 2008 through Eden Prairie and Chaska, the old alignment (Flying Cloud Drive) took on the designation of CR 61 continuing to the county line with Carver County.^[1]

History

CR 61 was authorized and paved during the 1960s, making an alternate route for nearby I-494, intersecting with many of the same routes route I-494 did, such as I-94, MN 7, MN 55, MN 62, CR 9, CR 10, CR 5 and several others, in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities.

In the 1980s, a new interchange was built at I-394, when the new freeway was being paved from Wayzata to downtown Minneapolis. In 2008, CR 61 was extended to the old alignment of U 212 (Flying Cloud Drive), to the Carver–Hennepin county line when US 212 was shifted onto the new MN 312 freeway and the 312 number, as a state highway, was retired.^[1]

Major Intersections

The entire route is in Hennepin County.

Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Eden Prairie	0.0	MN 101 / CR 61	Southern terminus of Hennepin CR 61; eastern terminus of Carver CR 61
	3.7	CR 1 (Pioneer Trail)
	4.9	Anderson Lakes Parkway
	5.7	Prairie Center Drive
	6.5	I-494	Interchange
	6.9	US 212	Interchange; west end of US 212 overlap
	8.1	US 212 (Shady Oak Road)	Interchange; east end of US 212 overlap
	8.9	MN 62	Interchange
Minnetonka	11.0	CR 3 (Excelsior Boulevard)
	11.7	MN 7
	12.8	CR 5 (Minnetonka Boulevard)	East end of CR 5 overlap
	13.0	CR 5 (Minnetonka Boulevard)	West end of CR 5 overlap
	15.2	I-394	Interchange
Plymouth	17.1	CR 6
	17.9	MN 55
	19.6	CR 9 (Rockford Road)
	22.1	CR 10 (Bass Lake Road)
Maple Grove	24.1	I-94 / I-694	Interchange
	24.4	CR 130 / CR 202 (Elm Creek Boulevard, Zachary Lane, Hemlock Lane)	Northern terminus of CR 61; southern terminus of CR 202
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Blake, Laurie (March 21, 2008). "New names for Hwy. 212 hope to end confusion". Star Tribune (Minneapolis). http://www.startribune.com/local/west/16880916.html.