- Shepard Road/Warner Road
Shepard Road and Warner Road are the names given to a four-lane,
limited access road running along the banks of theMississippi River inSaint Paul, Minnesota . [http://www.steve-riner.com/mnhighways/other_rtes.htm Other Minnesota Routes] ] Shepherd Road (County Highway 37) runs from the southwestern boundary of the county to downtown Saint Paul. From downtown east the road is known as Warner Road (County Highway 36; it runs to a junction with US Highways 61 and 10. [http://www.dot.state.mn.us/maps/cadd/county/ramsey.pdf Ramsey County Highway Map]The road is a four-lane highway which closely follows the
Mississippi River and connects some of the most historic parts of the Twin Cities which grew up along that stream. As its southern boundary over almost its entire length is the Mississippi River, [http://www.dot.state.mn.us/statemap/pdf/cities/Metro_area.pdf Metro Area map] there is cross traffic at only a handful of intersections, and few signal lights. It is a principal arterial route into downtown Saint Paul.Much of the road is atop or alongside wooded riverside bluffs, and it adjoins several parks and nature areas. In downtown Saint Paul it is on the riverbottoms.
Name
Shepard Road was named for George M. Shepard, chief engineer of St.Paul Department of Public Works from the 1920s to 1950s. [http://fieldguide.fmr.org/site_detail.php?site_id=216 Field Guide description for Shepard Road] Warner Road is named after Richmond Warner, a former chairman of the St. Paul Port Authority. [http://fieldguide.fmr.org/site_detail.php?site_id=278 Field Guide description of Warner Road]
Routing
From the west, Shepard Road starts at
Minnesota State Highway 5 on the east bank of the Mississippi River at the east end of theFort Road Bridge , directly across the river fromFort Snelling . This fort, now inFort Snelling State Park , was the first permanent Euro-American settlement in Minnesota at the Mississippi'sconfluence with theMinnesota River . The road curves from east-southeast to east by northeast on the river bluffs abovePike Island in the Mississippi, where LieutenantZebulon Pike purchased from theMdewakanton tribe land on which Fort Snelling later was built. The island was the site of a prison camp for Indians captured in theDakota War of 1862 and now part of Fort Snelling State Park. Adjacent to the park to the east and adjoining the road is Crosby Regional Park, a Saint Paul city park on the river bottom maintained as a nature area.Continuing northeast, the road passes under the Lexington Bridge which carries Interstate 35E over the Mississippi. From that intersection to Warner Road's eastern terminus it is part of the
National Highway System and is also a segment of theGreat River Road . [ [http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2153/travel.html Great River Road driving directions] ]The road passes over the approach track to the
Omaha Road Bridge Number 15 , railroadswing bridge across the Mississippi. The road curves inland as it descends from the bluffs to the riverbank near downtown Saint Paul; it was relocated inland to make way for riverfront development. [ [http://www.riverfrontcorporation.com/Files/developersBIZ.pdf Developers Take to the Riverfront] ] Along the way it passes under the High Bridge.As the road reaches downtown it rejoins the river bank and is located atop the
levee wheresteamboat s once stopped and where the city began. Here it passes under a succession of bridges, theWabasha Street Bridge ,St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge , theRobert Street Bridge , and east of the city center, theLafayette Bridge .In downtown, next to the
Saint Paul Union Depot , the road's name changes from Shepard Road to Warner Road. As Warner Road heads east, it is located between former station tracks of the depot and the Mississippi. The road southeast between the Mississippi and Indian Mounds Park, a burial ground for Native Americans in Pre-contact times. The road turns to the east to its end at US Highways 61 and 10.History
It was flooded by the Mississippi in the , of 1993, and 1997. [ [http://www.stpaul.gov/leisure/history/flood/97floodsheprd2.html 1997 flood photos] ] [ [http://www.stpaul.gov/leisure/history/flood/ 1997 flood information] ] Shepard and Warner roads were built in the riverbed to help businesses grow in the floodplain. The roads also helped in the development of the riverfront. [ [http://www.nps.gov/miss/historyculture/upload/River_Endnotes.pdf 557016_Book_r ] ]
Importance
When constructed in the 1960s, the road was the only four-lane, restricted-access connection between the I-494 beltline and downtown Saint Paul, as I-35E had not yet been completed. The road remains an important
route for trucks to bypass weight restrictions on Interstate 35E and slower traffic and signal lights on Highway 5. The road closely parallels Minnesota State Highway 5 for most of its length in St. Paul and takes traffic off of Highway 5 to bypass the middle of downtown St. Paul. The road is heavily used in St. Paul for traffic coming to and from theMinneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport served by Highway 5. Because of its importance, it has been looked at by the Commissioner of Transportation to be marked as a state route, but the road is not likely to become a marked route in the near future. Because of the location's proximity torailroad s, The Webb Company was at one time on Shepard Road. Founded in 1882, Webb Publishing was among the largest printing companies in theUnited States , and printed magazines including "The Farmer", books andtelephone directories on Shepard Road. Webb was acquired by other companies, most famously by the British Printing & Communications Corp. (BPCC) ofRobert Maxwell . [cite web|author=Hennessy, Frank and Friedman-Shedlov, Lara (processing and catalog 1995-2001)|url=http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00525.html|title=Webb Company Records|publisher=Accession numbers: 15,010; 15,623; 15,782, Minnesota Historical Society|date=1900-1992|accessdate=2007-10-27]The first assembly of the Territorial Legislature of the
Minnesota Territory was held on onJune 1 ,1849 in a hotel that was on Shepard Road. [cite web|title=About Ramsey County - History, Demographics, Services and Cities|url=http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/home/history.htm|publisher=County of Ramsey (co.ramsey.mn.us)|accessdate=2007-10-27]References
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