The Minnesota Department of Transportation is resurfacing a 20-mile segment of Interstate 90 in the south central part of the state this construction season and next. With it, the agency is bringing back a significant piece of history.
Where east meets west: MnDOT brings back history in Blue Earth for nation's longest road
The "Golden Stripe" where I-90 met in the middle of the country had been paved over decades ago, but new project is bringing it back.
October 8, 2023 at 2:00PM
Crews reinstalled the "Golden Stripe" across the westbound lanes near the Blue Earth Rest Area in July to mark the spot where the nation's longest road was completed in 1978. MnDOT will put in a similar 27-foot section of deep wheat-tinted concrete on the eastbound side in 2024.
"This is the coolest part of the entire $85 million project," said Victoria Nill, assistant engineer for construction in MnDOT's District 7, which covers southern and southwestern Minnesota.
Besides putting down new pavement, MnDOT is fixing bridges, repairing culverts, and improving lighting between Hwys. 169 and 22. The agency is also updating rest areas near Blue Earth with sidewalks that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Contractors started building I-90 on the East and West coasts and "met in the middle" near Blue Earth, Nill said. They placed a piece of gold-tinted concrete at the spot in a nod to the "Golden Spike," which symbolized the completion of the nation's first transcontinental railroad.
The completion of the 3,100-mile road linking Boston with Seattle led to a major celebration in Blue Earth. Two Minnesota National Guard trucks met nose to nose at the spot where the east met the west, similar to how two locomotives came together at Promontory Summit, Utah to mark the connection of the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento with the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha on May 10, 1869.
State and national dignitaries attended the Sept. 23, 1978 ribbon-cutting, which featured a Minnesota Air National Guard jet flyover, an appearance by Miss America and the debut of a 56-foot statue of the Jolly Green Giant held aloft by a crane. Festivities included a parade and a procession of vintage cars and trucks that were the first to drive over the golden concrete slabs.
The panels survived for nearly three decades under the wear and tear of millions of vehicles and Minnesota's harsh winters. With the freeway crumbling, MnDOT paved over the panels covering the driving lanes in 2006, but left the golden shoulders in place.
With the new construction project, Nill said it was a perfect opportunity to restore the panels and recognize the freeway's original purpose as a National Defense Highway system.
"Some locals didn't even know they were there," Nill said. "This brings back a bit of pride and we can reclaim this as the meeting place."
Julie Hendrickson of Fairmont is thrilled. She was a member of the Flatlanders car club and the Minnesota Street Rod Association and drove a 1939 Chevy during the grand opening.
"It was a historical moment," she recalled. "It was sad when [the stripe] went away. I'm happy that it is back."
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