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Much of the information in this section is from an
Environmental Impact Study (EIS) prepared by Minn/DOT in
conjunction with the widening of Highway 100 south of St.
Louis Park. At the time the Park portion of the highway was
widened, an EIS was not required.
For pictures of the construction of Highway 100, go to
http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/ and put in
Highway 100 as the search terms.
THE BELTLINE
The idea of the belt line was said to belong to Orville E.
Johnson, secretary of the Hennepin County Good Roads
Association. Mr. Johnson felt that congestion on city
streets could be relieved if the highways entering from the
west could be tied together with a bypass road.
The New Deal brought Federal money for state highways, and
St. Louis Park was the beneficiary of two large projects,
Highways 100 and 7. Park's portion of present-day Highway
100 was built as the western link in the Beltline.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Highway 100 was planned and
constructed as the belt line highway around the Twin Cities.
Between 1934 and 1941, the western leg of 100 was completed
between Highway 5 in Edina and Highway 52 (currently Highway
81) in Robbinsdale, a distance of 12.5 miles. The Golden
Valley stretch roughly followed part of old Turners
Crossroad. In 1934, the existing Highway 5, which extended
from Excelsior Blvd. southwest to Mankato and beyond, was
incorporated into the new 100. By 1947, the west side of the
belt line had been extended four miles northeast of
Robbinsdale, through Brooklyn Center, to the Mississippi
River (including the northern-most segment of Highway 100
project north of Highway 81). At this time, roadwork had
also begun on the east-west section north of the Twin
Cities. By 1950, the northern link of 100 had been extended
six miles east of the Mississippi River to US 10, where it
incorporated Highway 96 to complete the belt line. In 1950,
Highway 100 combined new highway and existing roads to form
a 66-mile radial route around Minneapolis and St. Paul. The
road was especially rough in South St. Paul, where it was
comprised mostly of industrial roads.
GRAESER AND HIS ROUTE
The individual primarily responsible for the building of TH
100 was Chief Engineer Carl Frederick Graeser (1875-1944).
Acknowledged as the "Father of the Belt Line" in his
newspaper obituary, he promoted the idea for such a road
patterned after the German autobahns. Described as a
"one-legged German engineer," Graeser came to the U.S. to
avoid serving in WWI. He was quite a sight with his wooden
leg, German accent, and the black German Shepherd dog that
was his constant companion (first named Blitz, then Jet, who
accompanied his master to important meetings). A mysterious
relationship with a woman in Edina emerged when his will was
read. He reportedly died of a heart attack while driving in
Robbinsdale.
Central to Graeser's design were grade separations at major
intersections and railroad crossings, cloverleaf
connections, and the opportunity to provide numerous entries
into Minneapolis via various urban arteries. Graeser had
originally planned for a wider median but was ordered to cut
them down.
The road followed the existing, newly-named Vernon Avenue
(nee Aurora) from 50th Street in Edina up to Excelsior Blvd.
(known then as Trunk Highway 5). From Excelsior northward,
the road followed an unpaved, two-lane road that cut through
the Fletcher and Nate Shepard farms, effectively putting
them out of the truck farm business. At 36th Street the road
edged eastward, where it intersected with the
newly-constructed Highway 7 at one of the midwest's first
cloverleafs.
The route went through two gravel pits (Kline) in St. Louis
Park, north through the Held farm, follwing Turner
Crossroad.
The land was swampy, and during the Depression people were
known to cut peat to burn for fuel. The area was so deserted
that the first travelers worried about breaking down because
there was virtually nothing by the side of the road and very
few other cars. In the late 1930's and early 40's, traffic
was so light that it could be shut down entirely for annual
parades held in Golden Valley around Decoration Day. The
Golden Valley Historical Society has copies of home movies
of these parades, taken by local residents, including Mr.
Brown of Brown Photo.
There are a couple of stories about Graeser that may or may
not be true. One is that he got into an argument with
a representative from Edina, and as a result, Edina got no
roadside parks. Another is that he requested free
water from St. Louis Park during construction, but was
refused, resulting in the elimination of a Highway
100/Excelsior Blvd. separation. That had to wait 30
years.
LILAC WAY
The 12.5 miles of road between Edina and Robbinsdale was
popularly referred to as Lilac Way and epitomized the
roadside improvement campaign. The idea for the planting of
lilacs originated with the fledgling Golden Valley Garden
Club, which was founded in the Spring of 1939. The
project was first only intended to range from Glenwood
Avenue and Golden Valley Road. The Garden Club sold French lilac
bushes (15 cents) and peony roots to pay for those plantings. (Golden
Valley Garden Club hint: pound lilac stems with a hammer to
make them stay fresher longer in water.) The lilac was
adopted as the official flower of Golden Valley.
The highway
department did not, as a rule, plant flowers or shrubs along
highways, preferring to reserve or restore native trees or
shrubbery. The idea was taken up by the Minneapolis Journal,
which was credited for coining the term "Lilac Way," and
pushed hard for the plan, likening the rows of lilacs to the
cherry blossoms of Washington, DC. (and noting that lilacs
bloom for 30 days as opposed to 10 days for cherry and apple
trees). An exception was made because "we do not have a
rural highway," but open land.
Arthur R. Nichols was the Landscape Architect who designed
the roadway and supervised its execution. Lilac bushes were
laid out irregularly, separated by open space and set out
against a backdrop of evergreens, elms, other trees and
grassy slopes to fit the planting to the natural topography.
The completed work included more than 7,000 bushes of 12
varieties of lilacs and thousands of other shrubs, vines,
and trees. Along the entire route, trees as large as eight
inches in diameter were moved as far as two miles and
replanted by the roadside.
In 1938, state highway engineer N. W. Elsberg asserted that
the new section of highway was not only safer than earlier
roads in the state, but nothing less than "one of the most
beautiful in the world" (Minneapolis Journal, 1/30/38). The
roadway design, which included four traffic lanes, adjacent
parking lanes and service roads, and state-of-the-art
cloverleaf grade separations, epitomized the latest
standards for safe and efficient movement of vehicles around
metropolitan areas.
The segment of Highway 100 north of Highway 81 has
significantly different landscape features, representing the
post-World War II construction campaign that completed the
Belt Line. Although this northern section retains original
plantings, they are primarily evergreens and shade trees
instead of lilacs. Any lilacs originally planted in this
area were largely removed for highway improvements at
Brooklyn Boulevard and construction of Brookdale Shopping
Mall. In 2001, 200 lilac bushes were moved from the
Robbinsdale stretch of road, which was being widened, three
miles north to Brooklyn Center. Mn/DOT and the City of
Brooklyn Center share responsibility for moving and
maintaining the new site.
The project also included a series of roadside parks or
picnic areas. St. Louis Park had three of these parks, at
Excelsior Blvd., Minnetonka Blvd., and Highway 7. The
parks featured picnic tables, beehive cookers, rock gardens,
and reflecting pools made of limestone quarried near the
Mendota Bridge and built by unemployed masons. See
Highway 100’s Roadside Parks.
The Belt Line has undergone dramatic changes in recent
decades. Rapid post-war expansion led to traffic congestion.
As driving speeds increased, safety precautions prompted
officials to install guardrails and ban left turns in some
locations. Elsewhere around the Belt Line, numerous
construction projects were implemented that have continued
to the present. By the mid-1960's, the radial Highway 100
Belt Line had been substantially replaced in function by
Interstate Highways 94, 694, and 494, while several segments
became Trunk Highways 110 and 120. In the Lilac Way corridor
itself, new lanes, bridges, and center medians were added in
the 1960s and 1970s. Ironically, these changes were
facilitated by Graeser's original design.
HIGHWAY 100 TIMELINE
1886
A map indicates that Aurora Avenue/Blvd. is a dirt road
that ends at Excelsior Road.
1909
The plat of Browndale (east side of the road) was
approved by the Village Council with the proviso that Aurora
be 30 ft. wide instead of 20.
1914
In May the streets of Browndale were approved to be “turnpiked,”
on condition that Aurora Ave. be turnpiked a distance of
about 500 ft. or to the hill.
What was Highway 100 before the road was built?
1914 and 1926 atlases tell the tale. Coming up from
the southern border with Edina to the Excelsior
Blvd/Wooddale intersection, it was Aurora Ave. on both sides
of the street. From there, it appears that there were
only two stretches that had a road. One was between
approximately 34th Street and Minnetonka Blvd. - that street
was called Vera Cruz. Then, between 26th and 28th
Streets, the road was called Birchwood. There were
different subdivisions, sections, and even meridians on
either side of the would-be Highway 100 line, so the areas
on either side were developed independent of each other and
have very different histories.
The 1914 map shows a Virginia Lake where the 100/394
interchange is today.
1926
Trunk Highway 5/Aurora Avenue [Vernon/Highway 100] was
paved by the State from the Edina line up to Excelsior
Blvd./Wooddale (1.77 miles), where the road stopped. One
could continue north by a circuitous route as far as Cedar
Street [26th Street], but there was no need to go any
farther, since your objective was probably east to downtown
Minneapolis via Excelsior Blvd. or Minnetonka Blvd./Lake
Street. The initial cement road was three lanes and was also
known as the Mankato Highway, as it was connected to a road
that continued southwest to Mankato and beyond, apparently
along the present Vernon Ave. in Edina.
In 1926, the map shows some interesting obstacles to
building the new road. For one, there was a race track
between Minnetonka Blvd. and 31st Street. Further
north, between Cedar Lake Road and 16th Street at the
northeast corner of the city, was a 9.65-acre plot owned by
the E.J. DuPont de Nemowrs Powder Co. So far we have
seen no other reference to this company, so we are free to
speculate that it was a gunpowder factory..
1928
On April 5, Carl Graeser appeared before the St. Louis
Park Village Council to obtain consent to the plans and
specs for Highway 5 [100].
1930
On October 15, it was noted at the Village Council
meeting that in the last five days, there had been five
automobile accidents at Highways 5 [to be 100] and 12
[precursor to 7].
1931
One of the earliest articles published about the highway
appeared in the Minneapolis Journal on July 23, 1931.
It announced that state and county officials had agreed on
plans to construct the "so-called belt line road along its
western limits, which was authorized at the last session of
the legislature." Approved was an 11-mile stretch from
Robbinsdale to Highway 52. One of the most important
benefits cited was that livestock shipments from the west
and north could proceed directly to South St. Paul without
passing through either of the Twin Cities.
On August 3 the Hennepin County Board authorized county
highway engineer W.E. Duckett to survey the 100-ft. right of
way for the "new belt highway." The width of the road had
been extended from 90 to 100 ft., except in Crystal, Edina,
and Robbinsdale.
Joint construction of the Belt Line by the county and state
was authorized by the State Legislature. The County was to
build the sections south of 50th and north of Wayzata Blvd.,
with the State responsible for the middle, including the
stretch through St. Louis Park. The project was expected to
take three years. An official statement promised:
The belt line road would connect every county and
town road entering Minneapolis from the west. It will be
possible for anyone wishing to enter Minneapolis to
follow this road outside of the city until he reaches
that part of Minneapolis which he wishes to enter, or he
may avoid the city entirely if he wishes to do so. This
will relieve those entering Minneapolis from driving
long distances.
Even before the highway was built it was causing problems.
On September 16, 1931, the Village Council passed an
ordinance ordaining that anyone driving on a State Highway
approaching an intersection between 8 am and 4 pm may not
cross the intersection at more than 15 mph. The fine was 90
days or $100, pretty steep.
1932
On April 18, the Hennepin County board appointed
appraisers in connection with the proposed acquisition of
land for the highway. The appraisers named were S.W. Batson,
Max Hoppenrath, C.G. Wentworth, J.A. Bellmur, John Degnan,
and E.J. Goodal.
Carl Graeser presented the Highway Department's plans for
Highways 7 and 100 on July 20. At the time, Highway 7 was
being referred to as Highway 12, and Highway 100 was being
referred to as Highway 5. The right of way for the south
section, 1.8 miles between 50th and 63rd Streets in Edina,
was acquired, graded and graveled.
1933
In January, Lake Street businessmen went to court to
protest the highway project, fearing that instead of taking
Excelsior Blvd. to Minneapolis via Lake Street, they would
bypass the Boulevard and take Wayzata Blvd. They were right.
Aurora Avenue, south of Excelsior Blvd., was renamed Vernon
Avenue in conjunction with a general street renaming effort
within the Village. A map shows plans to reconfigure
the intersection of Vernon, Excelsior, and Wooddale, since
they did not exactly meet up. The map suggests that parts
of lots on the east side of Vernon just south of Excelsior
were taken even before the highway was built.
In the NW sector of the intersection, along Webster, there
was an open area that featured a gas station, brick store,
two houses and garages, a shed, barn, and horse corral.
The Public Works Administration (PWA) was formed in June and
operated until July 1939. Its goal was to provide work to
private construction firms, which would in turn hire skilled
workers. Unskilled workers were required to be local.
1934
On November 8, Minnesota received $900,000 in PWA funds
in accordance with the National Industrial Recovery Act of
June 16, 1933 (the precursor to the NRA). Funds were
available to finance up to 30 per cent of the cost of
construction equipment and materials.
Funds were provided by the Federal Emergency Relief
Administration (FERA), which had been created in 1933.
Projects funded by FERA were referred to as ERA projects, as
noted below. In January, the National Recovery Work Relief
Program encompassed projects funded under PWA, FERA, WPA,
and/or state money, as Highway 100 was.
On April 26 the Hennepin County Review reported that the
State lacked funds to finish the Belt Line between Highway
10 and 12 (Excelsior Blvd.). County Engineer W.E. Duckett
predicted a year’s delay due to lack of funds. Grading
between Highways 5 and 52 was underway, started by the
County before State took over.
[Construction began on Highway 100 in September 1934 and
continued through the winter.]
1935
ERA gave way to the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
in May 1935, taking over unfinished projects of the FERA,
which ended in June 1935. The WPA provided immediate
employment to thousands of construction and landscaping
laborers, and eventually took over the project by 1935.
4,500 Men's Bureau clients were given physical examinations,
and approximately 3,000 quaalified.
By 1937, approximately 1,500 men were working on the project
every day. As one of the principal federal work relief
projects in the state, the building of the belt line
provided an immediate boost to the economy. The WPA operated
until July 1939, when it was replaced by the Works Projects
Administration (also the WPA) until June 1943. Its biggest
year was 1938. In Minnesota, 600,000 people had been
employed by the WPA. Construction of the highway served as
the principal federal work relief project in the state.
Construction on Highway 100 began in January 1935 [September
1934].
Things apparently got off to a rocky start, as the March 2
meeting minutes of the Village Council included the
following:
A letter was received from the Workers Protective
Association, relative to the dissatisfaction and
friction among the WPA men, and their foreman Mr.
Kelley. It is the contention of the Association that
this condition was retarding the progress of work.
Trustee Jorvig made a motion which was seconded by Mr.
Perkins that the Recorder write to Mr. Kristgau for his
assistance in handling this matter, and that Mr. Perkins
as a committee of one work on this problem. Upon being
put to a vote the motion was carried.
An article in the Minneapolis Journal dated May 2
cited relief authorities, who felt that the project is a
"refutation of many of the current criticisms of ERA
(emergency relief administration)..." Crews averaging 700
men were at work. FERA had created a Transient Division in
July 1933, in an effort to help men who were often turned
away by municipalities that only helped their own.
Soon after the relief load became heavy, the Gateway
District [aka Skid Row, demolished in the 1950s] developed
into one of the sorest of the sore spots. Hundreds of
homeless men were housed and fed in the district, first in
hotels, and later, as the load grew, in converted warehouses
and factories. Hordes of men roamed streets of the section.
Agitators, always sure of audiences there, made the Gateway
the starting point of demonstrations. Outbursts of criticism
against the standard of relief provided grew louder and more
violent, until last fall the public welfare board and the
relief department hit on the plan of setting up an ERA
project especially for homeless men.
The Belt Line and three smaller projects furnished work for
3,500 homeless men, each working six hours a day for six
days [once or twice] per month. They earned 55 cents
an hour or $19.80 in cash in lieu of the $10.80 they had
received in meal and lodging tickets. Frank W. Hooton was the ERA liaison
officer. A picture dated July 9, 1935 shows the men boarding a
long line of buses after a day of work. Previously they had
been transported in open dump trucks.
In July 1955, plans were still in play for a cloverleaf at
Excelsior Blvd.; a drawing even showed the proposed motoring
marvel, with the intersection looking mighty rural. Another
source indicates that Excelsior Blvd. was supposed to get a
Roadside Park, but that never happened either. The Excelsior
Blvd. cloverleaf did not come to pass. An article mentioned
[Wayzata] Blvd. and Excelsior Blvd., but also stated that
the new Highway 7 was carrying the heaviest traffic load in
the state, so the switch was logical. At the time, no
bridges had been built yet, pending final word on the
Federal government's national grade separation program. The
existing road at this point is still referred to as Highway
5, but so was the Fort Snelling-Shakopee Road.
In August 1935, C.M. Stafford of the Saddle and Bridle Club urged
that the state add a dirt or tanbark road for the purpose of
driving horses: "hackneys with snappy carts," then a popular
occupation. He stated that there were more than 2,500 people
who rode or drove horses in Minneapolis. Nix. It is
interesting to see that horses (or some kind of work
animals) were used in the construction of the highway.
In October 1935 it was reported that the project was held up for
several weeks pending its transfer from ERA to WPA. 2,500
relief workers would be given jobs completing the road
grading. The highway was expected to be completed in 1936,
and the landscaping in 1937.
The first lilac plantings, over 3,500, were made along two
miles of highway between Glenwood Avenue and Medicine Lake
Road in December.
1936
Farmers along the route lodged a complaint that they were
not allowed to hire out their trucks and that Drivers Union
No. 574 was preventing them from getting truck hauling jobs
through intimidation. Union President William S. Brown
denied the charge, and stated that the Farmers' trucks only
had "T" licenses and therefore could not be used for hire.
One photo of construction notes that service roads were
built along the side of the highway so that farmers would
not have to "drive from their farmyards directly into the
traffic of the high speed road." That went for the rest of
us, too.
The Soo Line Overpass was constructed. Actually two bridges
spaced 10 ft. apart, they are described as "Vaguely Art
Moderne in appearance, each pier has a raised vertical panel
with streamlined vertical moldings at the center."
These bridges were designed to accommodate two lanes
underneath on each
side; in 2006, the road was reconfigured to fit three each
until the bridges could be replaced.
1937
On January 1, the State reported that 3.7 miles between
Wayzata Blvd. and Robbinsdale had been graded, representing
1.2 million cubic yards of excavation.
The opening of (one section of) the new Belt Line Highway
was celebrated with a picnic in July, sponsored by the
Golden Valley Commercial Club. Thousands gathered for sports
events, a kangaroo court, and fireworks. The event also
celebrated the renaming of Sixth Avenue North as Floyd B.
Olson Highway, in honor the Minnesota Governor who died in
office in 1936 at the age of 45. Golden Valley also saluted
its pioneers.
August 1937: The highway was not complete, however the Journal
reported that work was going to be accelerated so that it
could be open between Excelsior Blvd. and Robbinsdale before
winter. The State highway department said that the project
would definitely be completed by 1938. Two bridges had yet
to be built, although the underpass at Wayzata Blvd. was
underway. The underpass below the railroad tracks was
finished in early August. Now only 400 men were at work on
the project.
As promised, the cloverleaf at Wayzata Blvd. was ready for
business on November 26, 1937 – construction had started on June
20. Highway 12 was being built with WPA funds. By now the plans for the second
cloverleaf had changed from
Excelsior Blvd. to Highway 7.
In December, the Highway Department reported that the road
was 80 percent complete.
1938
As of January, the bridges at Highway 7 and Minnetonka
Blvd. were the only things to stand in the way of the
opening of the new highway. It is now being referred to as
Highway 100. An article claimed that an eight-foot sidewalk
for pedestrians would border the highway. Nix. Fourteen
bridges had already been built, including an ornamental
concrete bridge over Minnehaha Creek in Edina, and the
bridge over 44th Street and the streetcar tracks.
As for Excelsior Blvd. ("old" Excelsior Blvd., still), "a
center aisle grade separation has been constructed to
provide one-way channels in all directions without a stop. A
neutral zone is created by a 30-ft. center lane for left
hand turns." Thus was created the most dangerous
intersection in the state.
Completion of the highway depended on WPA funding, and such
funding was approved in May and again in November.
1939
A report of the Commissioner of Highways dated March 1
indicates that the Belt Line "is nearing completion." News
articles run dry, but presumably the highway was opened for
business in the spring.
The Highway 7 and Minnetonka Blvd. overpasses were
completed. The daughter of plumber Clifford J. Browne,
President of the St. Louis Park Businessmen’s Association,
remembers that her father cut the ribbon for the opening of
the Highway 7 cloverleaf. She also remembers riding her bike
around the four circles of the cloverleaf that day.
On September 1, 1939 3M's Scotchlite product was used on
traffic control signage and installed at the cloverleaf.
1941
Indications are that the original section of the Belt Line was not totally
completed until 1941.
1946-57
The 1.5 mile portion of 100 between 81 and Brooklyn
Boulevard was completed. It is not considered part of Lilac
Way because it was built later, it was not a part of federal
relief construction during the Depression, and it was not
adorned with lilacs.
1946
The Village Clerk was instructed to write to the State
asking them to put in lights along 100.
1947
The Dispatch reported that school buses were dropping
kids off across the highway from Brookside School and
leaving them to their own devices to cross the street. This
situation was fixed, but the Village continued to ask the
State for a lower speed limit and a stop sign.
1948
Park made a request to the County for funds to buy
traffic lights, but County Engineer L.P. Zimmerman reported
that there were no funds available. One irate Village
Councilman deemed it a "brush off" by the county. The
Council planned to install three lights: Brookside and
Excelsior; Ottawa and Minnetonka; and Louisiana and
Minnetonka.
1949
The Village Council asked the State to install traffic
signals at 100 and Excelsior Blvd.
1950
A traffic light (the second in the Village) was installed
at the intersection of 41st Street and Highway 100 at
Brookside School. (Plans dated November 19, 1948) This was
to be the last traffic light removed when that stretch of
Highway 100 became a freeway in the 60's.
In June, the Village Engineer was instructed to check
with the State Highway Department regarding relief from the
perennial traffic jam at Highway 100 and Excelsior Blvd.
In August, the Mayor was authorized to sign an agreement
with the State for installing a full activated traffic
signals at 100 and Excelsior Blvd. A Minn/Dot map
dated October 10, 1950 indicates a reconfiguration of the
intersection to accommodate the "Full Traffic Actuated
Traffic Signal System." At this point the road is
labeled T.H. 100, 169, and 212, at least south of Excelsior
Blvd.
In 1950, all 66 miles of the Beltline were considered
finished.
1951
On one day in July, 20,313 vehicles were counted
traveling down Highway 100 above Excelsior Blvd. At that
time the speed limit on 100 was 50 mph.
In November, Edina invited neighboring communities and
State Highway Department officials to a meeting about safety
issues on Highway 100. In response to requests from the
various Mayors, the Highway Department refused to lower
speed limits or provide more policemen. The State also
refused to provide center dividers, citing Federal steel
restrictions.
$515 in damage was done to a traffic signal at Highway
100 and Excelsior, also in November.
1952
Highway 12 was rebuilt as a four lane divided roadway.
A gravel pit located at 2200 Louisiana, owned by the State,
was used by the Alexander Construction Co. to pave Highway
100 between Excelsior and Highway 52.
In April the State signed some kind of agreement with the
Village for the construction, reconstruction and improvement
of Highway 100 with the proviso that the Village allow no
gas pumps or billboards along the road and that any parking
was parallel only.
1953
In the spring, the Highway Department began to notify
residents on the east side of Highway 100 that their houses
were in the path of the planned freeway. One man moved into
his new house in the fall of 1952, and was told by the State
that it was building a highway through it in the spring of
'53. It didn't get moved until 1967.
In response to the carnage that was being wreaked on the
highway, in August the County closed nine intersections to
left turns, including the one at Excelsior Blvd. Residents
feared that the highway was becoming a "slaughterhouse." The
State had wanted to shut down all streets crossing 100, but
the Village Council protested and the State backed down.
As another attempt to reduce accidents, the speed limit on
the Beltway was reduced from 50 mph to 40 in November. In a
letter to the Village Council Mr. C.R. Skanse of 4337 Mackey
decried the death traps on the belt line and urged no left
turns between 50th St. and Robbinsdale.
Cloverleafs were still puzzling to some drivers, and
accidents happened. The June 4, 1953 edition of the
Minneapolis Star provided explicit instructions on how to
negotiate the Highway 7 and Highway 12 cloverleafs.
(The Minnetonka Blvd. intersection was not a cloverleaf.)
1954
Citing congestion, in April Hennepin County Engineer L.P.
Zimmerman proposed a "second belt line," starting with
County Road 18 to the west.
A bridge over (new) Cedar Lake Road and the Great Northern
Railroad tracks was underway in August. About one mile of
Cedar Lake Road was rerouted to the south, under Highway
100, as an "accident prevention measure." The intersection
at "old" Cedar Lake Road was closed.
Click here for a picture from 1954.
1955
Plans for an 80-mile "Super Belt Line" were "revealed" by
Walter Schultz, the Highway Department, and Arthur Overby of
the Federal Bureau of Public Roads. The road that would
become 494/694 was part of President Eisenhower's proposed
interstate highway network. The first link was to be along
78th Street in Bloomington. Only six miles would coincide
with the present Belt Line (at the end of 100 going east).
Plans for I-35 and I-94 were announced at about the same
time.
A picture of the newly-constructed
Ethel Baston Elementary
School shows that the speed limit on at least that stretch
of 100 was 40 mph.
In December, complaints were made that drivers were cutting
across the berm on the east side of 100 in front of
Yngve
and Yngve. There were also complaints about dusty conditions
south of Excelsior Blvd.
1956
Five more intersections with Highway 100 were closed
down, including W. 26th Street and W. 28th Street. Traffic
was to be rerouted to the railroad underpass at Cedar Lake
Road.
A three-phase traffic signal – allowing for controlled left
turns – was installed at Highway 100 and Excelsior Blvd.
This in an effort to curb the carnage at that most busy and
dangerous intersection.
1958
Locally, hearings were held on the proposed "Super Belt
Line and Twin City Freeway system," i.e., 494.
In 1958, City Councilman Torval Jorvig requested that a
committee be formed to give Highways 7 and 100 name,
presumably like Wayzata Blvd. The committee came up with
Centennial Drive (1958 being the centennial of Statehood),
and Lilac Way, which had been called for some time. No
action was taken.
1959
E.J. McCubrey of the Highway Department appeared before
the City Council in January to obtain city approval of plans
to widen Highway 100 from Excelsior Blvd. to the Edina city
limits. City Councilmen expressed their preference to widen
and improve Excelsior Blvd. from France Ave. to Highway 100
instead. Although McCubrey reported this preference to the
state,
the state's plan to widen Highway 100 from Excelsior Blvd.
to 50th Street in Edina prevailed.
On May 7, the Highway Department conducted a public hearing
to present its plan to upgrade Highway 100 from I 494 to
Excelsior Blvd.
The State Highway Department proposed to reroute Highway
169, right through St. Louis Park. The plan called for the
highway to enter the Park form Edina at approx. midway
between Brook Lane and Yosemite, cross Brookside Ave. and
continue north and west. It would cross Highway 100 at its
junction with Wooddale Ave., then cross the Johnson [Wolfe]
and Bass Lake areas, and head northwest into Minneapolis.
1960
The Highway Department identified Highway 100 and
Excelsior Blvd. as the busiest at-grade intersection in the
State. Later statistics show the number of accidents at 40
in 1958 (no fatalities), rising to over 100 in 1964. Bigger
cars and crowded roads led to record numbers of traffic
accidents that didn't abate until the gas shortage of the
mid 70's resulted in smaller cars and lower speed limits.
Houses started to move as early at 1960 – a picture of a
house being moved down Excelsior Blvd. was printed in the
February 2 issue of the Dispatch.
The City Council authorized an agreement with the State to
put up traffic signals at Hwy 100 and 36th Street. The City
decided to install a temporary signal, to be hand operated
by a City employee.
1961
The intersection of 36th Street and Highway 100 was a busy
one, and the the City Council allotted $9,000 for a traffic
signal to be installed. A hand operated signal was to be
used until the permanent one could be installed. The light
was replaced by a bridge in 1985.
1962
The Highway Department proposed "Southwest Diagonal." The
road, later abandoned under a flood of protest led by the
Chamber of Commerce, was originally intended to go from
downtown Minneapolis to the new town of Jonathan.
"The proposed route... would take Highway 169 on a winding
course from a point just north of Excelsior Blvd. on Highway
100, northeast through a major industrial zone [through the
site of the Rec Center], across Highway 7 and Lake St. near
Chowen Ave., then east of Cedar Lake to a junction with
Highway 12 near Penn Ave. Plans call for the rerouting of
Highway 7...[which] would mean a probably large but
presently undetermined number of homes in Minneapolis would
be condemned to make room for the highways."
In January 1962, the Star reported that Park refused to agree with
the plan, and the Highway Department held up work on
upgrading the deadly Excelsior Blvd/Highway 100
intersection. Mayor Wolfe appealed directly to the Governor
for relief. In the meantime, only a stoplight regulated
traffic at this busy intersection. One businessman suggested
erecting a sign at the site: "This congestion due to the
courtesy of the Minnesota Highway Department."
In
October 1962, the Highway Department relented and approved plans
for an upgraded interchange at Highway 100 and Excelsior
Blvd. The State approved a modified diamond-cloverleaf
interchange, where 60,000 cars traveled each day. City
Fathers were reportedly "jubilant" at the news.
A Minn/Dot construction plan for grading and concrete
surfacing Highway 100 showed the average daily traffic as
28,725-34,900. The estimated daily traffic for the
year 1980 was 72,212-87,713. The road was designed for
50 mph (although the speed limit was 40).
1963
After more than five years of discussion and debate, in
February the City Council approved State Highway plans for
an improved interchange for Highway 100 and Excelsior Blvd.
The plans included a footbridge at 41st Street, to be built
in 1967 or 1968. Parents of children who attended
Brookside
School and Most Holy Trinity petitioned the Highway
Department to construct the bridge immediately. The petition
effort was organized by Robert J. McFarlin of the Brookside
PTA, who stated that the intersection had the highest volume
of traffic of any school crossing in Minnesota.
Approximately 350 children navigated the crossing every day.
School kids crossing Highway 100 in 1955
In February 1963, E.J. McCubrey, P.R. Staffeld, and Dean
Wenger of the State Highway Dept. presented plans to improve
the Hwy 100 and Excelsior Blvd. intersection. The City
Council approved the tentative plans.
1964
The Highway Department began buying houses on Vernon
Avenue to make way for Highway 100 widening project.
In
July, the Edina Village Council approved plans to widen
Highway 100 between its northern limits and 494. This work
included the bridge at 44th Street, and eliminated access to
the Highway between Excelsior Blvd. and 50th Street. It also
provided long-awaited frontage roads, although it required
the removal of four or five houses in Edina.
In
September, stop signs were erected at the cross streets
between Highway 100 and Wooddale in an attempt to control
traffic.
1965
Highway 100 was all that was left of the old Belt Line,
according to the 1965 State map. "Old 100" signs were put
up, and Hwy 100 markers five highways were removed.
Highways 494 and 694 took the belt line's place.
There was still some discussion of the SW Diagonal - see
1962.
Left hand turns on Highway 100 were scary and dangerous.
In 1965 the City Council closed the streets on the east side
of the highway between 41st and 44th Street. Some were
later reopened to right hand turns only.
1966
In April, the City Council was presented with the full plan
for the Southwest Diagonal, still alive after several years.
1967
After fighting delays by the State Highway Department and
cutbacks in Federal funds, the city finally got a commitment
to begin work on the Highway 100/Excelsior Blvd. overpass.
Work was to begin in the fall. City fathers were jubilant –
they claimed there had been more than 100 accidents at the
site
Plans and specs for the Highway 100 expansion was approved,
calling for grading, surfacing, bridges, widening the
median, and guardrails.
Between
1967 and 1968, the houses on the east side of the highway,
from 41st to 44th Street, were moved or razed. Many (mostly
1939-41) houses were bought for $1 by moving companies and
hauled off in the middle of the night, to the excitement of
spectators on the west side. Friends were lost and a
neighborhood was irrevocably split in half by a road that
had once had a stoplight at the corner but could be run
across with ease.
On December 10, the St. Paul Pioneer Press published
a story called “Our Highways are Real Groovy.”
Modifications were made of the ramp and loop terminals at
Highway 12.
Work was done on traffic signals and ramp reconstruction at
Minnetonka Blvd.
1968
In May, construction began on medians on Highway 100 and the
widening of two bridges at Cedar Lake Road and a railroad
bridge between Highway 55 and Glenwood Ave. Both steel and
Jersey barriers were planned in an attempt to reduce head on
collisions.
The SLP City Council approved the final plans for the
improvement of Highway 100 in August.
There was still some talk of the SW Diagonal at a City
Council meeting in 1968.
1969
After being held up 6-7 years because of the debate about
the Southwest Diagonal, the Highway 100 underpass at
Excelsior Blvd. was finished in June 1969 (see picture in
Dispatch July 10, 1969). The ribbon cutting, attended by
State Senator Ken Wolfe, Maid Marian Joy Sheekanoff, and
Mayor Len Thiel, was held on August 6, 1969. The interchange
cost $2.27 million and took two years to complete. At the
time it carried 70,000 cars per day, which was projected to
climb to 112,500 per day in 1985.
1972
Work was complete, and Highway 100 was widened between
44th Street and Highway 7 from four lanes to six. A service
road, which retained the name Vernon Ave., was built between
41st and 44th Street to serve homes on the west side of the
highway. On the east side, Vernon Avenue continued from part
of 41st Street to Excelsior Blvd.
The intersection of Highway 100 and 36th Street was
quickly becoming the most dangerous intersection in the
city, particularly when the Rec Center was open. City
officials were back to trying to get the State to act.
Finally a foot bridge was built, but not until about 1975.
Some remember a wooden vehicle bridge.
1976
The Minnesota Highway Department became the Minnesota
Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT).
1984
Wooddale Ave. between 39th Street and Excelsior Blvd. was
renamed Park Center Blvd. This street had also been known as
Highway 100 So. and Vernon Ave. The buildings on the street
at the time, which had included a law office, post office,
and driving range, were demolished at about the time Lilac
Way saw its demise.
Ground was broken for the Highway 100/36th Street
interchange on July 9. The project had been delayed several
times because of funding problems. C.S. McCrossan was the
contractor. The City provided about $3 million of the
project’s $9.5 million price tag. The project helped drive
the final nail in the coffin of Lilac Way Shopping Center,
as people stayed away from the construction zone. The bridge
eliminated one of the last stoplights on Highway 100.
The pedestrian bridge was to be dismantled, divided, and
erected at two other locations in St. Louis Park. One was
over 36th St. west of Beltline Blvd., near the Rec Center.
Another section was to be placed over railroad tracks to
connect Dakota Park and Edgewood Ave., near Methodist
Hospital.
2004
A $137 million Highway 100 project stretched from
Glenwood Ave. to Brooklyn Blvd. through Golden Valley,
Crystal, Robbinsdale, and Brooklyn Center. The project,
started in 2000, turned a two-lane road with stoplights into
a three-lane “free flowing highway” from 394 to 694. The
construction season-endingMnDOT news conference was held in
Graeser Park in Robbinsdale.
2006
The remaining two-lane section of 100 between 36th Street
and 394 was creating a huge bottleneck, but money to widen
the highway wasn't available until 2014. A stopgap
solution was started in June, whereby the State would reline
the road to make three lanes out of two. Extensive
work was also done to turn the historic Highway 7 cloverleaf
into a diamond.
Once the Pratts and the
Hankes crossed the
Aurora/Excelsior intersection on foot via Pleasant Avenue.
150 years later, from the western dead end of Wooddale, one
can look across 14 lanes of pavement to see where the east
side of Wooddale picks up. In typical fashion, you can't get
there from here. St. Louis Park was advertised as the place
to be, "Out Where the Highways Meet" - but first you'd
better have a car and know where the bridges are!
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