U.S. Route 212 in Minnesota

U.S. Highway 212 marker
U.S. Highway 212
Minnesota Veterans Memorial Highway
Yellowstone Trail
Map
US 212 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length161.787 mi[1] (260.371 km)
Existed1926–present
Tourist
routes
Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway
Major junctions
West end US 212 at South Dakota state line
Major intersections
East end US 169 / MN 62 at Edina
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountiesLac qui Parle, Chippewa,
Yellow Medicine, Renville, McLeod, Carver, Hennepin
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highway System
MN 210 MN 217

U.S. Highway 212 (US 212) within the state of Minnesota travels from the South Dakota state line in the west, crosses the southwestern part of the state, to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the east and end at its interchange with US 169 and State Highway 62 (MN 62) in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina. US 212 in Minnesota has an official length of 161.8 miles (260.4 km). It is an urban freeway within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area and is mostly a two-lane rural road elsewhere in the state.

Prior to the establishment of the United States Numbered Highway System, most of the US 212 corridor in Minnesota was part the transcontinental auto trail known as the Yellowstone Trail, which was established in 1917. US 212 was established in 1926 but originally terminated at US 12 in the city of Willmar from 1926 to 1934. US 212 was shifted to its current alignment around 1934, continuing slightly east of its current terminus to end at then US 12 in Saint Paul until 1982, when US 212 was truncated to Edina. In 2008, the Twin Cities portion of US 212 was relocated to a new freeway (formerly designated as State Highway 312 from 2003 to 2008).

US 212 in Minnesota did not terminate at its eastern point at MN 62 in Edina. It continued easterly through St. Paul, through Lake Elmo and terminated in Stillwater near the Wisconsin state line.

  1. ^ "MnDOT Trunk Highway Log Point Files". Retrieved October 10, 2014.