In the ongoing saga of where in the world US 169 actually ends, I was looking at the Mn/DOT maps of Virginia. The MSAS / Non-MSAS maps were updated at different times. It seems the terminus moved from the junction of Old 169 and the bypass to the current junction of US 169 and the bypass.
(https://i.imgur.com/5ZZgTfI.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/fThjZhN.png)
GSV shows begin and end signs for MN 169 at "Ely Junction". At the time of the latest images
If you the conversion before (maybe on MTR) I had noticed that the US 169 signs continued to Ely Junction. I asked Mn/DOT where the terminus was, they reviewed their footage and told me it was an error and the signs would be corrected, but they removed them rather than replace them with Minnesota markers.
I plan to snoop around the area this summer to see the new bridge, possibly even this weekend if things work out.
The MnDOT log book indicates MN 169 and US 169 never/no longer meet and both ending at their junctions with US 53, which correlates with current signage. It's possible it happened when they converted the 53/MN 169 junction from a Y-split into a full interchange.
MnDOT's Logpoint dataset shows both US and MN 169 ending at their respective junctions with US 53 going back to at least 2002. Looks like signage has finally caught up.
I'm betting the first map is using the wrong intersection of the highway and the city limits of Virginia as the end point.
^ That particular intersection is notable for being a former US 169 endpoint (CSAH 102 is a former routing), plus also being the endpoint of MN 135 at one point.
I wonder what the signage on MN 135 looked like back then, since when it used to end in downtown Virginia it was a distinctly J-shaped route.
They missed one
(https://i.imgur.com/1C9yTqA.jpg)
Wow, that's amazing. Where is that?
^ Westbound 9th St, the aforementioned endpoint of MN 135. That sign probably dates back to MN 135. According to MnDOT project logs, it was turned back in 1996.