MN 361 began at a diamond interchange with I-35 in Rush City and traveled east along 4th Street. The route ran through the business district of the city and crossed the St. Croix Valley Railroad[2] before turning north on Bremer Avenue. Once on Bremer Avenue, MN 361 curved slightly to the northeast and left Rush City. North of the city limits, the highway passed to the west of the Rush City Regional Airport. It then continued north, leaving Chisago County and entering Pine County, while closely paralleling the railroad. As the route entered Pine County, it also entered the city limits of Rock Creek, in which it was known as Forest Boulevard. In Rock Creek, MN 361 turned to the northwest and passed under the railroad before ending at an intersection with MN 70.[3]
History
Highway 361 was established in 1969[4][5] to maintain unmarked Minnesota Constitutional Route 1 through the cities of Rush City, Rock Creek, and Pine City after U.S. Highway 61 was moved to Interstate 35. The section of Highway 361 between Rock Creek and Pine City was turned back to Pine County maintenance in 2003, and was renumbered Pine County Highway 61. Its previous northern terminus from 1967 to 2003 was at its intersection with old State Highway 324 in Pine City, now marked as Pine County Highway 7. The rest of the roadway was turned over Chisago and Pine counties in 2011.[6]
^Minnesota Freight Railroad Map(PDF) (Map). Minnesota Department of Transportation Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations. July 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
