Transportation in Minnesota

Transportation in the U.S. State of Minnesota is primarily centered on the Twin Cities metropolitan area, where 60% of state residents live; it is overseen by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, a cabinet-level agency of the state government. Additionally, the state government grants the Metropolitan Council authority over regional planning in the seven-county metro area.

Almost all north–south through railroads and long-distance four-lane freeways in Minnesota go to or through the Twin Cities. Most east–west through routes do also, except for a northern corridor from the North Dakota border to the port of Duluth/Superior comprising two BNSF rail routes and U.S. Route 2, and a corridor across southern Minnesota from South Dakota to the Mississippi River and Wisconsin including I-90, Minnesota State Highway 60, U.S. Route 14, and the DM&E Railroad.

Minnesota's major Interstate Highways are I-35, I-90, and I-94. I-535 is a spur route from Duluth to Superior, Wisconsin. In the Twin Cities I-35 splits into I-35W through Minneapolis and I-35E through St. Paul. I-94 has one spur, Interstate 394 from Minneapolis to the western suburbs, and two loop routes, Interstate 494 and Interstate 694, which form a beltway around the Twin Cities.