A one-mile stretch of Century Avenue, also known as Minnesota 120, along the border of Washington and Ramsey counties will cease to be owned by the state sometime next year.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is transferring ownership of part of Century Avenue, from Interstate 694 to Washington County Road 12, to Ramsey and Washington counties. (Courtesy of Washington County)

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is transferring ownership of part of the highway – from Interstate 694 to Washington County Road 12 – to Ramsey and Washington counties.

The section of the highway, located in the cities of White Bear Lake and Mahtomedi, “currently functions like a county highway, and past studies and plans indicate that the counties are the best agencies to own and maintain it,” said Erin Clarkowski, an engineer with Washington County Department of Public Works.

The state will pay $10.5 million to Washington County, which is acting as the fiscal agent for the counties, to take over the highway. The funds will be used for capital improvements and operating costs, Clarkowski said.

The Washington County Board approved the agreement on Tuesday. All parties are expected to sign off on the agreement in the next few months, and the transfer will be effective in spring 2025, she said.

Eventually, per a 1996 Memorandum of Understanding with MnDOT, the entire highway will be transferred to the counties, but that could take many more years.

Officials decided in 1996 to spread out the jurisdictional transfer over several decades knowing that transferring ownership of Minnesota 120 all at once “would not be feasible for the state due to the compensation that would be required for more than nine miles of roadway,” she said.

In 2002, the section from the Interstate 494 ramps to Woodbine Avenue, south of Interstate 94, was transferred to the counties; it is now called County Road 25. The new segment’s number is still to be determined, Clarkowski said, but the street names will remain Century Avenue and East County Line Road.

Related Articles

I-35 lane restrictions in Forest Lake begin Monday

Here are the local Olympians competing in the Paris Games

New food truck Greater Tater is a whirlwind dream for lifelong Stillwater friends, one of whom has Down syndrome

Saturday is ‘Inclusive Day of Play’ at 31 Minnesota playgrounds

Afton father charged after 10-year-old daughter took friend on ATV ride that killed them