Lost U.S. 61: Point Douglas Road, St. Paul

Part 4: Service Drives, at and South of Carver Avenue

A very short piece of the original concrete road was left behind as part of the late 30's/early 40's reconstruction at Carver Avenue. It remained intact until the mid 80's, when the intersection was heavily revised as part of the reconstruction of U.S. 61/U.S. 10. Although the old pavement is now gone, the intersection of the service drive (Point Douglas Road) with Carver Avenue is the site of the original intersection. A short stretch of the service drive south of Carver Avenue is constructed approximately along the alignment of the old road.

The southern-most surviving segment of the old Point Douglas Road in St. Paul is hidden as part of the northbound service drive between Carver Avenue and the city limits of Newport, just north of the interchange with Interstate 494. Bypassed by the southern extension of the divided highway in 1949, this segment was once much longer, continuing south to what is now Hastings Avenue in old downtown Newport. Construction of the first 494 interchange in 1959 destroyed this connection. The old road was later incorporated into a longer service drive stretching north to Carver Avenue, and south to Bailey Road. The old road was also widened and modernized to make it blend in with the rest of the service drive.

The stretch of the service drive actually on the original alignment is marked by some older trees to each side, somehow untouched by the extensive modernization and expansion that has taken place nearby.