Skip to main content

Great Lakes Road Trip Day 8 Part 2; 103 miles on MN 1 through the Iron Ranges

Leaving Voyageurs I decided that I didn't want to back track on US 53 to Duluth so I took MN 1 east towards MN 61.  MN 1 is the longest state highway in Minnesota at approximately 346 miles.







There isn't much on MN 1 until the junction with MN 169 which is multiplex through Ely to the east.






When MN 169 was created in 1934 it terminated the junction of MN 1 and MN 135 in Tower until was extended past Ely in 1953.



Tower was apparently incorporated in 1889 and was plotted out due to the nearby Soudan Mine.  Tower is still a city despite only having about 500 residents today.











Directly east of Tower is Soudan which apparently was named after the mine above the town.  The Soudan Mine is now a state park and was in operation from 1882 to 1962 when it was shut down by US Steel.  Originally the Soudan Mine was an open pit but was moved underground in 1900.  The state park offers tours of the underground portion of the Soudan Mine but I only had time to check out the above ground portions.



















I'm fairly certain MN 1 used to run on Main Street in Soudan.  There eastern end of the street seems to be cut-off intentionally from the modern bypass route.


MN 1/169 is being straightened and widened between Soudan and Ely.  Apparently this is due to icy conditions in the winter which have been a hazard, it is called the "Eagle's Nest Project" and a link can be found here:




http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d1/projects/Hwy169eagles/





Apparently settlers first arrived in Ely in the 1860s when iron was discovered in what is now known as the Iron Ranges.  Ely had rail service by 1888 and is still by far the largest inhabited place in the with about 3,400 residents today.  The big mine in the area was the Pioneer Mine which closed in 1967.






In the eastern end of the city of Ely MN 169 continues east for a couple miles before terminating on Sheridan Street while MN 1 uses 17th Avenue to exit the city and begin the southeast trek towards MN 61.


Interestingly it does appear there was a plan at some point to build a road east out of Ely to the Gun Flint Trail which would have connected to US 61.  There is no direct evidence to suggest that may have been a far flung plan for US 169 but it isn't hard not envision that was the idea.  North Star Highways has a photo of the unbuilt road in question at the following link.







Map of unbuilt roadway in the Iron Range east of Ely

Exiting Ely on MN 1 it is a 60 mile trek through the wilderness to MN 61 and the shores of Lake Superior.  Interestingly the guide sign still indicates US 61 and not MN 61.  US 61 was truncated back to Wyoming, MN in 1991 following the completion of I-35 through Duluth.





There isn't much trace of civilization between Ely and Isabella.  MN 1 is in bad shape and there are some pretty decent hills.  The elevation crossed over 2,000 feet above sea within the vicinity of Isabella.





The real hills are between Isabella and Finland.  The drop to Lake Superior had an 10% grade east of Finland before MN 1 terminates at MN 61.








Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains

US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico passes through the Guadalupe Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise the highest peaks of Texas which are largely protected as part Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  The automotive highway through the Guadalupe Mountains was constructed in the late 1920s as part of Texas State Road 54.  US Route 62 was extended from Carlsbad through the Guadalupe Mountains to El Paso during 1932.  US Route 62 was joined in the Guadalupe Mountains by US Route 180 in 1943.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise a portion of the 130 mile "No Services" zone on US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso-Carlsbad. Part 1; the history of US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains The Guadalupe Mountains lie within the states of Texas and New Mexico.  The Guadalupe Mountains essentially is a southern extension of the larger Rocky Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains is the highest range in Texas with the peak elevati

Former California State Route 215

  California State Route 215 was a short-lived state highway which existed in the Los Angeles Metropolitain area after the 1964 State Highway Renumbering.  California State Route 215 was aligned from US Route 60 at 5th Street in Pomona north to US Route 66 near Claremont via Garey Avenue.  California State Route 215 came to be after California State Route 71 was bisected in Pomona due to relinquishment of a portion of Garey Avenue due to the opening of a portion of the Corona Freeway (now Chino Valley Freeway) during 1958.  California State Route 215 was deleted by the Legislature during 1965. The history of California State Route 215 The initial segment of what was to become California State Route 215 was added to the State Highway System as part of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act.  The First State Highway Bond Act defined what would become  Legislative Route Number 19  (LRN 19) as running from Claremont to Riverside.  The segment of LRN 19 between Claremont and Pomona would in

Paper Highways; unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz

This edition of Paper Highways examines the unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz. The History of Unbuilt California State Route 100 The route that became CA 100 was added to the State Inventory in 1959 as part of the Freeway & Expressway System as Legislative Route 287 .  According to CAhighways.org the initial definition of LRN 287 had it begin at LRN 5 (CA 17) and was defined over the below alignment to LRN 56 (CA 1) through downtown Santa Cruz. -  Ocean Street -  2nd Street -  Chestnut Street For context the above alignment would required tearing down a large part of the densely populated Santa Cruz.  A modern Google imagine immediately reveals how crazy an alignment following Ocean Street, 2nd Street, and Chestnut Street would have been. LRN 287 first appears on the 1960 Division of Highways State Map . In 1961 the definition of LRN 287 was generalized to; from LRN 5 via the beach area in Santa Cruz to LRN 56 west of the San Lorenzo River.