Minneapolis Major Streets and Roadways
Minneapolis streets are planned in a grid fashion. However the presence of lakes and the river causes the streets to become haphazard. However, unlike other unplanned cities, it is easier to navigate in this city.
The journey of Minneapolis starts from St Anthony Falls which leads to Lower loop and the gateway district. As soon as the falls come, Mississippi takes a turn from northwest to southwest. It was John Stevens and Charles W. Christmas who opted for a plan similar to the French Longlot system and the streets were made in a way so that they ran parallel with the river around the falls. It was their idea to divide the blocks so that they could do business by selling those blocks.
A very interesting thing about the streets of Minneapolis is that three major roads that had existed since long before the current street system was adopted into the streetscape of Minneapolis.
The three major streets are Hennepin Avenue that goes through downtown and out to the lakes, Nicollet Avenue and Christmas Avenue – a trail that runs up the West Bank of Mississippi and turns to the West.
Major Freeways, Highways, and Streets
- I-35W - Traverses E side of town from N to S connecting to I-35
- I-35E - Branches from city center to S connecting to I-35
- I-94 - NW to city center to E
- I-494 - Circles city center from NW to SW to SE
- I-694 - Circles city center from NW to NE to SE
- 100 - Cuts through W side of city N to S
- 169 - Cuts through W side of city N to S