Skip to main content

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

By
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.








Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more