Minnesota State Highway 135

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Minnesota State Highway 135 (MN 135) is a 36.16-mile highway in northeast Minnesota. It runs from U.S. Highway 53 in Virginia northeast to State Highway 1 in Tower, passing through Gilbert, Biwabik, Aurora, and Embarrass Township. It’s also known as the Vermilion Trail from Biwabik to Tower and as Main Street in Biwabik. The road mostly runs east–west but turns north–south near Aurora and is signed as a north–south route from end to end. The route crosses the Laurentian Divide twice between Virginia and Gilbert and lies entirely in St. Louis County.

History: The highway began as State Highway 35 in 1920 and was renumbered to 135 in 1958 to avoid confusion with Interstate 35. It has undergone several realignments, especially around Embarrass and Aurora, with a 1964 realignment that lengthened the route and opened a scenic byway. In 1964, Virginia was given a business route to US 53 along part of the corridor, which remained until 1996. A 1972 realignment near Gilbert and Biwabik moved part of the route onto the railroad’s south side. The northern end was moved again in 2010 to meet Highway 1 at Pine Street, and a bypass around Tower was built later. The entire highway is in St. Louis County.