Historic U.S. 61: Market Street, Mahtowa
Market Street, Mahtowa
Located In: Mahtowa Township, Carlton County.
Bypassed: 1951
Length: 0.55 miles (surviving pavement), 0.35 miles (drivable).
Also Marked As:
Until 1934
Market Street in the unincorporated town of Mahtowa was once part of the original paved highway between the Twin Cities and Duluth.
Construction
The original highway at Mahtowa was graded in 1925 and paved with 18 feet of concrete in 1926.
Bypass History
The original concrete highway was not replaced until the 1951 modernization of U.S. 61 between Barnum and Carlton. The highway at Mahtowa was realigned to the northwest as a short bypass of town.
Current Status
The majority of the old highway is still open as a local road. The drivable section has been repaved with asphalt, but is otherwise intact.
The original concrete reappears just north of Mahtowa Avenue, dead-ending where a culvert has been removed. Another gap in the old highway exists to either side of County Road 4. One last tiny section of the highway exists at the north end of town, accessible directly from County Road 61.
Photos - taken in November, 2009
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Looking northeast at the south end of the old highway (click ahead to drive down the old road!)
Looking north on Market Street at the intersection with Mahtowa Avenue.
Surviving original concrete pavement, looking north just past Mahtowa Street where the old highway now dead-ends just short of County Road 4. The pavement here was laid in 1926.
Looking back to the south from County Road 4 at a now closed section of the old highway
.
Looking north at County Road 4. Another surviving section of the old highway is just ahead. Note the inverted stop sign.
