To help with future planning, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) tasked Mead & Hunt’s Cultural Resources team with completing a study of the state’s 213 historic-age Trunk Highway system, and developing a methodology for evaluating this distinctive resource type. We developed historic contexts for Minnesota’s Trunk Highways from 1921 to 1970, encompassing the period from the system’s inception through the development of the state’s Interstate Highway. We also developed evaluation criteria to specifically address significance and integrity for the state’s trunk highways.
The large quantity of routes to survey meant that the process could have been extremely time consuming and costly. To identify which routes had more likelihood to possess significance, our team developed and applied a GIS-based screening tool to identify potentially significant routes. The screening tool identified 39 Trunk Highways that would need further research to assess significance and eligibility. Our unique use of GIS helped to narrow down which properties to focus on and allowed us to efficiently move the project forward. We have since prepared Phase II highway-specific evaluations for 32 Trunk Highways.
