Historic U.S. 61: Cady Street, Red Wing
Cady Street
Located In: City of Red Wing, Goodhue County.
Bypassed: 1939
Length: 0.35 miles
Also Marked As:
Until 1934
U.S. 61: Historic Alignments in Minnesota
North << Next Alignment >> South
Cady Street, on the hill west of Red Wing, is actually a remnant of one of the earliest paved sections of U.S. 61 in Minnesota.
Construction
Cady Street was originally paved with 18 feet of concrete in 1920 as part of the construction of a highway stretching westward from downtown Red Wing to what is now the junction with Highway 19 on the west end of town. This paving was the beginning of the construction of the first modern paved highway between La Crescent and St. Paul.
Bypass History
Cady Street was bypassed in 1939 by the reconstruction of the highway on the hill west of Red Wing. The 1939 project rebuilt the highway west from Spring Creek to the junction with Highway 19. This construction got rid of several very sharp curves on the old road, including several on the steep hill leaving the Mississippi River Valley (the construction standard for the old road had been far less stringent, the one used for the new road was adopted in 1929, only 9 years later). Cady Street was part of one of those curves.
Current Status
Cady Street was originally retained as an access road to a local cemetery. Roadside development plans from the early 50's show that it was also used as the driveway to a wayside rest and parking area (now gone).
Today, the area around Cady Street is home to several modern subdivisions. The parking area is gone, replaced by private homes and a church. The street itself has been extensively modernized and rebuilt, with the exception of the far eastern end, still in use as an access road for the cemetery. This section has only been repaved.
Photo Tour - Photos were taken in March, 2007.
Looking west on Cady Street at the cemetery towards the modern highway. This
end of the old alignment seems to still be at about the width of the original
road. Notice how the road is aligned with modern U.S. 61 on the horizon.
Looking east on Cady Street. Note the cemetery fence on the right.
Looking east on Cady St. at Juniper. The old highway has been redeveloped
into a standard suburban street at this point.
