Minnesota State Highway 7

"MN 7" redirects here. MN 7 may also refer to Minnesota's 7th congressional district.

Trunk Highway 7
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	194.174 mi[1] (312.493 km)
Existed:	1933, 1958 – present
Major junctions
West end:	MN 28 near Beardsley
	U.S. 12 / U.S. 75 at Ortonville U.S. 59 / MN 119 at Appleton MN 40 at Milan U.S. 59 / MN 29 at Montevideo MN 23 at Clara City U.S. 71 near Blomkest MN 15 / MN 22 at Hutchinson MN 25 near Mayer MN 41 at Shorewood I-494 at Minnetonka U.S. 169 at Hopkins
East end:	MN 100 at St. Louis Park
Location
Counties:	Big Stone, Swift, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Meeker, McLeod, Carver, Hennepin
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate • U.S. • State Inter-County • County roads • Legislative routes ← MN 6 US 8 →

Minnesota State Highway 7 is a highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 28 and Big Stone County Road 1 near Beardsley and continues east to its eastern terminus at its interchange with State Highway 100 and Hennepin County Road 25 in St. Louis Park.

For part of its route (24 miles), it runs concurrent with U.S. Highway 59 between Montevideo and Appleton.

Highway 7 is 194 miles (312 km) in length.

Route description

State Highway 7 runs from State Highway 28 near Beardsley and Browns Valley in west-central Minnesota to State Highway 100 in suburban St. Louis Park.

The highway is a key east–west artery through several cities in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities area including Hopkins, Minnetonka, and smaller Excelsior. The highway is a 45 to 50 mph (80 km/h) divided highway with two lanes in both direction throughout the metro area. Upon leaving Excelsior it becomes undivided with one lane running in either direction, periodic passing lanes, several roundabouts, and a 55 mph (89 km/h) speed limit. Further west, the speed limit is a higher 60 mph (97 km/h).

History

State Highway 7 was authorized between the Twin Cities and Ortonville in 1933. The section of Highway 7 between Ortonville and Beardsley, previously Highway 103, was designated and signed in 1958.^[2]

The route was completely paved by 1961.^[2]

The divided highway section between St. Louis Park and Excelsior was constructed by 1942.

Highway 7 used to extend into downtown Minneapolis until 1965, where it terminated at its intersection with Washington Avenue (old U.S. Highway 52).

From 1965 to 1988, the eastern terminus of Highway 7 was at the intersection of Lake Street and France Avenue in Minneapolis.^[2] The part, about one mile long, between the interchange with Highway 100 (now the eastern terminus of Highway 7) and the intersection of Lake Street and France Avenue is now called County Highway 25.

The route used to be nicknamed "Suicide Seven" due to the number of traffic deaths each year.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[3][4][1]	Destinations	Notes
Big Stone	Browns Valley Township	0.000	MN 28
	Ortonville	26.230	US 12	North end of US 12 concurrency
		26.359	US 12	South end of US 12 concurrency
		27.119	US 75	West end of US 75 concurrency
	Odessa Township	34.437	US 75	East end of US 75 concurrency
Swift	Appleton	48.338	US 59 east, MN 119 north	North end of US 59 and MN 119 concurrencies
		49.155	MN 119	South end of MN 119 concurrency
Chippewa	Milan	57.615	MN 40
	Montevideo	72.615	US 59 / MN 29	South end of US 59 concurrency South end of MN 29 concurrency
		73.900	MN 29	North end of MN 29 concurrency
	Stoneham Township	85.921	MN 277
		90.777	MN 23
Kandiyohi	Roseland Township	107.332	US 71
Meeker	Cosmos	124.398	MN 4
McLeod	Melrose Township	134.174	MN 22	West end of MN 22 concurrency
	Hutchinson	141.970	MN 15
	Hutchinson Township	143.766	MN 22	East end of MN 22 concurrency
Carver	Watertown Township	166.957-167.012	MN 25	Roundabout
Hennepin	Shorewood	181.951	MN 41
	Minnetonka	186.196	CR 101 (old MN 101)
		188.873	I-494
	Hopkins	191.693	US 169
	St. Louis Park	194.248	MN 100
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 5" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 20, 2010. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/metrolpt.pdf. Retrieved September 20, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 1-25". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. http://www.steve-riner.com/mnhighways/r1-25.htm#7. Retrieved September 20, 2010. ^{[unreliable source]}
3. ^ "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 4" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 23, 2010. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/d4.pdf. Retrieved September 20, 2010. 
4. ^ "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 8" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 23, 2010. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/d8.pdf. Retrieved September 20, 2010. 

External links

• Adam Froehlig (December 12, 2002). Minnesota Highway 7. Minnesota State Highway Endings. Accessed September 6, 2004.