Minnesota State Highway 169

Trunk Highway 169
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	48.853 mi[2] (78.621 km)
Existed:	April 22, 1933[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	U.S. 53 at Wuori Township, north of Virginia
	CR 21 at Pike Township MN 1 at Vermilion Lake Township MN 135 at Tower MN 1 at Ely
North end:	CR 18 at Fall Lake Township
Location
Counties:	St. Louis, Lake
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate • U.S. • State Inter-County • County roads • Legislative routes ← US 169 MN 171 →

Minnesota State Highway 169 is a highway in northeast Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with U.S. Highway 53 in Wuori Township (immediately north of the city of Virginia) and continues northeast to its northern terminus at the intersection of Lake County Road 18 and Power Dam Road in Fall Lake Township (6-miles east of Ely). State Highway 169 becomes Lake County Road 18 at this point.

State Highway 169 is numbered as an extension of U.S. Highway 169, using the same mileage that began at the Iowa state line.

The route runs concurrent with State Highway 1 for 26 miles (42 km) from Vermilion Lake Township (west of Tower) to Ely.

Minnesota State Highway 169 is 49 miles (79 km) in length.

Route description

Intersection of Highways 1 and 169 in Ely

State Highway 169 serves as a north–south route in northeast Minnesota between the cities of Virginia, Tower, Ely, and Winton.

The route passes through the Superior National Forest at two different points.

Soudan Underground Mine State Park is located near State Highway 169, two miles east of Tower.^[3]

Bear Head Lake State Park is located 7 miles south of the junction of State Highway 169 and County Road 128 (in Breitung Township, 9 miles east of Tower). The park entrance is located on County Road 128.^[4]

State Highway 169 is one of three Minnesota state marked highways to carry the same number as an existing U.S. marked highway within the state, the others being Highways 61 and 65.

History

State Highway 169 was numbered as an extension of U.S. 169.

The route was authorized on April 22, 1933 from the city of Virginia to the junction with Highway 135 (formerly 35) in Tower, where the highway terminated until 1953.^[5]

The six-mile (10 km) segment running from Ely to Fall Lake Township was authorized in 1949 and originally designated State Highway 221 until 1953, when State Highway 169 was extended over State Highway 1 to Ely.^[5]

Highway 169 was paved by 1940. The segment east of Ely was paved by 1950.^[5]

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[2]	Destinations	Notes
St. Louis	Wuori Township	368.026-368.246	US 53	Interchange
	Pike Township	374.388	CR 21
	Vermilion Lake Township	381.269	CR 26
	Peyla	385.366	MN 1	West end of MN 1 overlap
		MN 1: 258.943	CR 77 (Angus Road)
	Tower	MN 1: 263.159	MN 135
	Eagles Nest Township	MN 1: 272.483	CR 128 (Bearhead Lake Road)
	Burntside	MN 1: 281.866	CR 88
	Ely	MN 1: 285.040	CR 21
		412.690	MN 1	East end of MN 1 overlap
	Morse Township	413.653	CR 88
Lake	Fall Lake Township	415.987	CR 17
		416.889	CR 18 (Power Dam Road)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

1. ^ "Chapter 440-H.F. No. 2000", Session Laws of Minnesota for 1933 (Mike Holm, Secretary of State): pp. 881-897 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 1" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 20, 2010. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/d1.pdf. Retrieved November 21, 2010. 
3. ^ Minnesota DNR website for Soudan Underground Mine State Park
4. ^ Minnesota DNR website for Bear Head Lake State Park
5. ^ ^{a b c} Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 152-218". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. http://www.steve-riner.com/mnhighways/r152-218.htm#169. Retrieved November 21, 2010. ^{[unreliable source]}