Transportation in Minnesota

Transportation in the U.S. State of Minnesota consists of a complex network of roadways, railways, waterways and airports.

[1] Almost all north–south through railroads and long-distance four-lane freeways in Minnesota have a connection to Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area.

[2] Interregional corridors represent two percent of the state's highways but account for one-third of all vehicle miles traveled.

Greyhound was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, but cutbacks have led that city to be cut out of the normal intercity bus route network.

Completed in 2004, the Blue Line runs from the Mall of America, through the MSP airport via a tunnel, and along Hiawatha Avenue into downtown Minneapolis.

[7] In 2006, a constitutional amendment was passed that required sales and use taxes on motor vehicles to fund transportation, with at least 40% dedicated to public transit.

Cloud along the BNSF Railway, started service on the first 40 miles (64 km) to Big Lake in November 2009.

[9] The state is served by one intercity passenger rail line, Amtrak's Empire Builder, which stops daily in each direction at Winona, Red Wing, St. Paul, St.

Principal ladings include coal from the Powder River Basin to ports and eastern power plants, grain and other agricultural products from farm to processors and ports, taconite (a form of iron ore) from the Iron Range in northeastern Minnesota to Lake Superior ports or on all-rail routes to steel mills, timber and forest products, and intermodal traffic.

The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Minneapolis-St. Paul on a weekday is 66 minutes.

Early European explorers and settlers followed the routes used by the voyageurs and coureurs des bois in the fur trading days, and later on steamboat services operated on the principal rivers.

Paul International Airport (MSP), a major passenger and freight hub for Delta Air Lines.

Hector International Airport at Fargo, North Dakota provides scheduled service to the Fargo-Moorhead area.