End of US highway 53
View a map showing this route.
Photo credits: Neil
Bratney; Monte
Castleman
Additional research: Monte
Castleman; Jeff
Morrison
| Approx. time period | North terminus | South terminus |
|---|---|---|
| 1926-1934 | Superior, WI | La Crosse, WI |
| 1934-present | International Falls, MN | La Crosse, WI |
US 53 was an original 1926 route, but route logs indicate its north end was in Superior WI. Presumably it would've met US 2 about a dozen miles southeast of the city (as it does today). Maybe US 53 ended there, and "Superior" was used simply as a general reference point. However, it seems unlikely that a route would end at a rural junction like that, rather than being co-signed to a population center. But if that was the case, then it's difficult to understand why US 53 would have been multiplexed with US 2 up to Superior proper, only to end there (where there were no other intersecting US routes) instead of connecting to US 61 in Duluth MN, just across the bay (there were two bridges that could've been used, although they've both since been replaced by newer spans). At this point, my best guess is that Minnesota simply didn't have a use for the US 53 designation until 1934, so until then, the route quietly ended on a bridge at the stateline between the two cities. Which bridge? Again, it's uncertain, but it seems the old Interstate Bridge would be more likely, since US 53 was extended over that bridge into Minnesota in 1934. Here's what it looks like today:
Castleman,
2005
In 1934, the north end of US 53 was extended to International Falls MN (before then, the segment from Virginia MN to International Falls had been US 169). Now US 53's north terminus occurs while co-signed with US 71. You can view photos from I-Falls on this page.
The south end of US 53 is in La Crosse WI. The photo below was looking south on 3rd Street, before the Cameron Street bridge opened in 2004:
Bratney, June 2002
The actual end of US 53 was about a block ahead (where the cars are), at the Cass Street intersection. Now Cass is one-way westbound, so US 53 ends two blocks ahead, at Cameron. But Jeff visited in 2006 and reported that "End" assembly hadn't changed (and it really didn't need to). You can view several more photos from these junctions on Jeff's US 53 page. The old signage at Cass is shown below:
Bratney, June 2002
The US 53 designation used to end here; ahead is eastbound US 14/southbound US 61. To the right, US 14/61 crosses the Mississippi River to La Crescent MN. At the time, you could also go left on Cass, but now that's one-way to the right.
Since US 53 is routed along a one-way pair in downtown La Crosse, the northbound beginning is one block ahead and one block to the left. The shot below was looking east on Cass. US 14/61 traffic has just gone south (right) on 3rd (just behind the camera), so this was only eastbound WI hwy. 16 (historic US 16). Northbound US 53 began to the left on 4th Street:
Bratney, June 2002
That also serves as a segment of Wisconsin's Great River Road (green sign at far right), and I-90's interchange 3 is about 6 miles that direction.
Monte writes, "The southern terminus of US 53 was not always at Cass - that bridge wasn't built until 1939. The original bridge (which collapsed in 1935 when a car hit one of its abutments) lined up with Mt. Vernon Street. So the end of US 53 would've been at its junction with US 16 at 3rd and Main Street, or at its junction with US 61 at 3rd and Pearl Street." Photos from these intersections can also be viewed on Jeff's US 53 page.