Minnesota’s Most Frustrating Stretch Of Road Right Now Isn’t Where You Think It Is

If you were to ask a Minnesotan what the most frustrating road in the state was, I'm pretty sure everyone would have a different answer.

Polling people statewide, I am sure the most common answer would probably be one of the always-under-construction highways in the Twin Cities. While it is pretty easy to see why you could be frustrated by one of those roads, that isn't the one I am talking about. You could argue it is even worse!

The road I am talking about is more frustrating for some very good reasons. You might have even experienced it yourself.

The road I am talking about? Highway 61 along Minnesota's North Shore. This is a seasonally frustrating road, and fall is one of the peak frustration seasons on this highway. Here are three reasons why.

REASON 1: This road is not made for congestion. On what is (mostly) a two-lane highway with no alternative routes, any traffic snag can have very significant rippling effects. This last weekend, I made a trip up to Lutsen, and the beautiful little town of Two Harbors was the big bottleneck.

Heading north around lunchtime, the line of stopped cars was about two miles long, from just south of the Sonju car dealership heading into town. It took about 20 minutes to go those two miles to get into town. The way back in the evening was much worse.

Around 7 pm, the line of cars heading southbound into Two Harbors was almost 5 miles long just to get into town, backed up to nearly the first tunnel north of Two Harbors. It took over an hour to go that roughly 5 miles and get through town and onto the expressway to Duluth. Take a look at that line of cars.

REASON 2: The mix of drivers is the ultimate frustrating blend. This is something I have written about before.

As the only major route from Duluth to all of the towns along the North Shore and up to Grand Portage, it is a combination of slow-moving tourists drinking in the scenery and people just looking to get from Point A to Point B.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the tourists and their reasons for wanting to enjoy the drive. But when the speed limit on the highway is between 55 and 60 MPH (depending on what part of the road), going 45 MPH with few safe places to pass frustrates those who want to actually drive the speed limit.

This just further frustrates those stuck behind these slow drivers, with few precious opportunities to get past them. Speaking of passing...

REASON 3: There's no real escape from the slow drivers if you aren't one of them. I've witnessed this for years during busy tourist times (fall, spring, and plenty of summer weekends). Those slow-moving drivers arrive at one of the small handful of passing zones, and they speed up to 65+ MPH.

The speed limit doesn't change for these passing zones. The limited four-lane stretches have the same speed limit as most of the two-lane parts of Highway 61. Despite that, slow-moving drivers see the four lanes, and they hit the gas so nobody can get past them, then slow down again as soon as it is back down to two lanes.

All of this further compounds the long lines of crabby drivers, which tests the patience of everyone on the road.

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The irony is that it leaves drivers on one of the most beautiful stretches of road in Minnesota feeling crabby. Locals get annoyed with the tourists, and tourists get annoyed that they thought they escaped the city and the pains of traffic, only to find miles worth of stopped traffic in Northern Minnesota, with no alternative. That sounds worse than 494 or some other road in the Twin Cities to me.

So, what can be done?

The sad thing is, I'm really not sure. I am not a traffic expert, but I feel like some changes could be made to the Two Harbors stoplight system to help improve the flow of traffic during busy times. Beyond that, it really comes down to drivers collectively just being considerate and aware of other drivers around (and behind) them.

If you're a slower driver, admit it and let faster drivers get past you in places where it is safe to do so. In passing zones, don't speed up and don't camp out in the left lane. In times of congestion, be patient and know there aren't alternative routes. If there's a spot to pull over for a bit, let others get by you. Enjoy that view a moment longer while you extend a courtesy to the 20+ cars behind you.

Maybe MNDOT could look into a solution some other states have, with some designated slow-driver turnouts. I saw this on scenic routes in Washington, for example. I feel like this would be a prime spot for Minnesota to enact something like it. Then it just becomes a matter of getting people to use them.

In the meantime, if you're heading up north, pack your patience during those busy tourism times of year.