Minnesota State Highway 62 is a highway

Highway

A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

 in southwest Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, which runs from its intersection

Intersection (road)

An intersection is a road junction where two or more roads either meet or cross at grade . An intersection may be 3-way - a T junction or fork, 4-way - a crossroads, or 5-way or more...

 with U.S. Highway 59

U.S. Route 59

U.S. Route 59 is a north–south United States highway . A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, U.S. 59 is now a border-to-border route, Part of NAFTA Corridor Highway System. It parallels U.S. Route 75 for nearly its entire route, never much more than away, until it veers southwest...

 and Murray County Road 2 in Fulda

Fulda, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,283 people, 528 households, and 328 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,328.3 people per square mile . There were 568 housing units at an average density of 588.1 per square mile...

 and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with U.S. 71

U.S. Route 71

U.S. Route 71 is a north–south United States highway. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstate highways. Currently, the highway's northern terminus is in International Falls, Minnesota at the Canadian border, at the southern end of the Fort...

 and State Highway 60

Minnesota State Highway 60

Minnesota State Highway 60 is a highway in southern Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 60 at the Iowa state line and continues east-northeast to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line , where the route becomes Wisconsin Highway 25 upon crossing the Mississippi River.Highway 60 is...

 in Windom

Windom, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,490 people, 1,910 households, and 1,195 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,263.6 people per square mile . There were 2,089 housing units at an average density of 587.9 per square mile...

.

Highway 62 is 24 miles (38.6 km) in length.

Route description

Highway 62 serves as an east–west route in southwest Minnesota between the cities of Fulda

Fulda, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,283 people, 528 households, and 328 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,328.3 people per square mile . There were 568 housing units at an average density of 588.1 per square mile...

 and Windom

Windom, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,490 people, 1,910 households, and 1,195 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,263.6 people per square mile . There were 2,089 housing units at an average density of 587.9 per square mile...

.

Highway 62 crosses the Des Moines River

Des Moines River

The Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States...

 in Southbrook Township, Springfield Township, and in the city of Windom.

The route is also known as 11th Street in Belfast Township.

The route is legally defined as part of Constitutional Route

Constitutional route

In the U.S. state of Minnesota, a legislative route is a highway number defined by the Minnesota State Legislature. The routes from 1 to 70 are constitutional routes, defined as part of the Babcock Amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution, passed November 2, 1920. All of them were listed in...

 16 in the Minnesota Statutes. It is not marked with this number.

History

Highway 62 was authorized in 1933.

The route was paved by 1942.

A second State Highway 62

Minnesota State Highway 62 (east)

Minnesota State Highway 62 is a highway in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota. The route was part of Hennepin County Road 62 until 1988, when a portion of the route was inherited by the state. The western terminus of the route is at Interstate Highway 494 in Eden Prairie, where the roadway...

 exists within the state of Minnesota. In 1988, former Hennepin County Highway 62 in the Twin Cities area was renumbered State Highway 62. Mn/DOT

Minnesota Department of Transportation

The Minnesota Department of Transportation oversees transportation by land, water, and air in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state's trunk highway system The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT, pronounced "min-dot") oversees...

assigned the Twin Cities route its former Hennepin County numbering because of its local familiarity; and further determined that it was not necessary to renumber existing Highway 62 (between Fulda and Windom) because of what Mn/DOT perceived as low potential for confusion of the two routes. This is the only situation where two different state-numbered routes have duplicate numbering.

Major intersections