Minnesota State Highway 96

Trunk Highway 96
Route information
Defined by MS § 161.115(27)
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	10.179 mi[1] (16.382 km)
Existed:	1933[2] – present
Major junctions
West end:	U.S. 61 at White Bear Lake
	MN 244 at Dellwood
East end:	MN 95 at Stillwater
Location
Counties:	Ramsey, Washington
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← MN 95 MN 97 →

Minnesota State Highway 96 (MN 96) is a highway in Minnesota that runs from its intersection with U.S. Highway 61 in White Bear Lake and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with State Highway 95 on the northern edge of Stillwater.

It is also known as Dellwood Road in the communities of Dellwood, Grant, and Stillwater Township. The route is also known briefly as Lake Avenue North within the city of White Bear Lake.

Many people in the area still think of Highway 96 in two sections: 1) this eastern portion that remains a State Highway and 2) the western portion that is now known as Ramsey County Highway 96.^[2] The two portions were never aligned, but were always about a mile apart, with the western portion about a mile south of the eastern portion.

Route description

State Highway 96 serves as an east–west arterial route between the communities of White Bear Lake, Dellwood, Grant, Stillwater Township, and Stillwater.

The route is legally defined as Legislative Route 96 in the Minnesota Statutes.^[3]

History

Highway 96 was authorized in 1933. It was paved east of U.S. 61 at the time the highway was marked.^[4] The part of the highway between U.S. 8 and U.S. 61 was completely paved by 1935.^[5]

From 1934 to 1994, State Highway 96 included the western portion that is now known as Ramsey County Highway 96.,^[2] which extended farther west several miles through the communities of Vadnais Heights, Shoreview, and Arden Hills. The former western terminus for State Highway 96 during this time period was at its intersection with old U.S. Highway 8 (near I-35W) on the Arden Hills / New Brighton border. This section of Highway 96 was once part of the Highway 100 Beltway circling the entire Twin Cities during the 1940s and 1950s.

The western portion of Highway 96 between Highway 61 at White Bear Lake and Old Highway 8 at Arden Hills is now known as Ramsey County Highway 96.^[2]

A few people in the area still remember stories of how the western portion of Highway 96 was first built across the south arm of Birch Lake the 1930s in White Bear Township. Most now only see that part of the lake as a pond to the south and a marshland to the north, but that's the result of major landfill projects that began in the 1930s and continued in road-widening projects through the 1990s. Local farmer and machinist Con Heckel told of more than one 1930s construction company that went out of business in the process.^[6] The old roads had gone around the lakes, but the new ones like Highway 96 were built straight over them.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Ramsey	White Bear Lake	9.357	15.059	US 61
		10.189	16.398	CR 89 (Northwest Avenue)
	White Bear Township	10.259	16.510	CR 71 (Portland Avenue)
Washington	Dellwood	10.582	17.030	MN 244
	Grant	13.669	21.998	CSAH 9 (Jamaca Avenue)
		16.737	26.936	CSAH 15 (Manning Avenue)
	Stillwater Township	18.395	29.604	CR 55 (Norell Avenue)
		18.465	29.717	CSAH 5 (Stonebridge Trail)
	Stillwater	19.484	31.356	CSAH 11 (Boom Road)
		19.561	31.480	MN 95 (Main Street)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 5" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 20, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
2. Riner, Steve. "Details of Routes 76-100". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
3. "161.115, Additional Trunk Highways". Minnesota Statutes. Office of the Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota. 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
4. 1934 Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). Minnesota Highway Department. May 1, 1934. § U1. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
5. 1935 Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). Minnesota Highway Department. April 1, 1935. § T1. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
6. Slocum, Scott (1975). "Con Heckel: personal communication".