I-29 was originally planned to go through Minnesota?

[GMoney0805]

Came across something very interesting the other day. In the original plan of the interstate system, I-31 was to run from Fargo northward, and I-29 was to run from Sioux Falls southward, with a 230+ mile gap between the two. What really surprised me is that after coming to the conclusion that there should be a freeway between Sioux Falls and Fargo, authorities had originally planned for I-29 to run through Minnesota instead, overlaying US 75. Eventually, I-29 was rerouted into South Dakota, but maintained a straight line route from Sioux Falls upward. Instead of going by cities such as Brookings, Watertown, and Sisseton, it was routed to go through smaller cities such as Clear Lake and Milbank. Nonetheless, according to the I-29 in SD Wikipedia article, "After [an] interchange, the highway turns northwest en route to Watertown. Early planning of this segment of I-29 had the route passing just east of Kranzburg, or about 9 miles east of Watertown. A past president of the Watertown Chamber of Commerce contacted C.L. Chase, a member of the Democratic National Committee, in an effort to get I-29 routed closer to Watertown. The effort was successful; the westward alignment became known locally as the Chase Bend."  I find it interesting that I-29 wasn't originally planned to serve a city such as Watertown. Any thoughts. Granted this all occurred in the 50s and 60s but still. If I come up with more info on it I will be sure to post it here. Thanks!


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[The Ghostbuster]

This sounds weird to me. How long was the "Minnesota" segment of Interstate 29 planned to be? The entire legnth of Minnesota's segment of US 75?

[In_Correct]

Map???

[rte66man]

It would have been nice for the quote to have a citation in the Wikipedia article.  I tend to discount much of what I read there for that exact reason.

[froggie]

A few notes:

- The recommended 1939 version of the system had what is now I-29 north of Fargo largely in Minnesota, but had nothing between Fargo and Kansas City.

- The 1944 version (disregard my 1943 date...it came from the 1944 report) shifted north of Fargo to the North Dakota side but still had nothing between Fargo and Kansas City.  This version also had what is now I-90 placed mostly across northern Iowa instead of southern Minnesota...it would have utilized US 75 between Luverne, MN and somewhere near or south of Rock Rapids, IA.

- By 1947, the I-29 corridor was more or less on its current corridor, except for the then-gap between Sioux Falls and Fargo.  This gap was filled in late 1957, but still was on the Dakota side of the border.  This is also when the mid-1957-planned numbering of I-31 north of Fargo was changed to I-29.

I have found zero references in my Minnesota research over the years of any segment of I-29 being actively studied in Minnesota, aside from what appeared in the WW2-era years.  And that was well north of what the OP posted.  I have not seen or found anything that suggested I-29 in Minnesota versus South Dakota.

[GMoney0805]

Thanks for the feedback I thought some of the facts seemed a bit sketchy, so I appreciate the clarification.


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[edwaleni]

1947 Map.



1957 Revised Map

[The Ghostbuster]

Would we have been better off if Interstate 29 had followed the US 75 corridor from Iowa to Canada, instead of the existing route along former US 77 and US 81?

[DandyDan]

Would we have been better off if Interstate 29 had followed the US 75 corridor from Iowa to Canada, instead of the existing route along former US 77 and US 81?

South Dakota would indisputably be worse off. I doubt Sioux Falls takes off like it did without I-29, and the same presumably goes for Brookings and Watertown.

If I-29 and I-90 meet in Minnesota, it's in Luverne and I wonder if my parents meet, get married and never leave.

[Henry]

This is the first time I've ever heard of an I-29 proposal that was not in the Dakotas! Those parts of MN should be glad they got access to it anyway.

[GMoney0805]

All very true. Even though it is across the border there are many western Minnesotans who frequent I-29 in South Dakota


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[texaskdog]

i think that I-90 routing straight through Madison would have been a better one.

[The Ghostbuster]

Fat Chance Interstate 90 (or any other freeway) would have been built through my city. There once was a proposal for a downtown freeway called the Isthmus Freeway in the 1960s. I'm not sure where it would have started or ended, nor do I know if it would have connected with the existing STH-30 freeway. There is information on this website from 2008: 1968: A wild time in Madison; https://isthmus.com/news/cover-story/1968-a-wild-time-in-madison/. At any rate, I highly doubt any new freeways will be built in the Madison area. Even the Southern Reliever and Mendota Parkway proposals have never gone anywhere.