Minnesota State Highway 610 - History

History

MN 610 was first proposed in the middle of the 1960s as a "North Crosstown" freeway. Studies for the highway started in the 1970s. The highway was first authorized on June 2, 1975. The westbound span of the Mississippi River bridge was built in 1985, and, along with the existing freeway east of MN 252, was opened in October 1987. Officials in Minnesota proposed tolls as a means to fund the construction on the highway in 1989. Local officials supported the highway construction, but opposed the tolling plans.

West of MN 252, the freeway construction started in June 1997. The freeway was opened to traffic in 2000, with a traffic light at the intersection of MN 610 and US 169 initially. Construction on the second bridge over the Mississippi River for eastbound traffic started in 1999, to be completed in 2002.

Construction of the portion between US 169 and CR 81 was estimated to cost $48 million in 2010, of which $27 million is being funded by federal stimulus money. The project began in October 2009, and it was scheduled to be completed in July 2011. The remainder of the highway to I-94 is not on a Mn/DOT schedule to be built. The new western terminus will be located at Elm Creek Boulevard in Maple Grove. The freeway continues westward from this point in the median of CR 81, but this section will be an unused stub end past the ramps that connect to CR 81 During the 2011 Minnesota state government shutdown, construction on MN 610 was halted for 20 days. Until work stopped on July 1, 2011, a ribbon-cutting ceremony had been scheduled to open the new freeway section on July 12. The ribbon cutting ceremony was on August 17 and the road officially opened on August 19.