9-1-1 Addressing

The Planning & Zoning Department assigns 911 address numbers according to the location of the access driveway to the property. Waseca County's 911 rural address system was adopted in 1992. Each inhabited rural building is assigned a numerical address so its address can be determined quickly and without reference to a map by utilizing the following guidelines.

All roads running directly east to west are labeled "avenues," and all roads running north to south are labeled "streets." All streets and avenues are assigned a unique number. The number identifies the street or avenue's position, how far east a street is in relation to the west county line, and how far north an avenue is in relation to the south county line.

Beginning from the west county line, streets are numbered from 1st Street to 180th Street, west to east across the 18-mile width of Waseca County. Every ten street numbers correspond to one mile. For example, "50th Street" would be found running north to south five miles east of the west county line.

Beginning from the south county line, avenues are numbered from 200th Avenue to 440th Avenue, south to north across the 24-mile length of Waseca County. Again, every ten avenue numbers correspond to one mile. For example, "355th Avenue" would be found running east to west 15.5 miles north of the south county line. Avenue numbering begins with "200th" rather than "1st" to avoid duplication and confusion with street numbers - each street or avenue number is unique.

The only exceptions to the above numbering scheme are: a. Roads which curve so that labeling them as a street or avenue would be confusing. These roads are few in number and have instead been labeled with familiar place names. (Examples: Snake Trail, Reeds Lake Road, West Wilton River Road, Matawan Avenue) b. State highways, whose numbers remain. (Examples: Highways 13, 14, 83, 30, etc.) c. The road on the west county line is labeled "West County Line Road".

For each mile of addressed roadway, there are 1,000 possible location numbers. Each addressed structure is assigned a number that most closely measures its position on the roadway. Location numbering for avenues begins with "0" at the west county line and extends 18 miles east to "18000" at the east county line. Location numbering for streets begins with "20000" at the south county line and extends 24 miles north to "44000" at the north county line. For example, an address of "10250" on an avenue means the structure is located 10.25 miles each of the west county line.

Structures will be assigned even numbers if they are on the east side of a street or the south side of an avenue. They will be assigned odd numbers if they are on the west side of a street or the north side of an avenue.

For most residents, the address and street or avenue number can be used to approximate location in the county without the use of a map. For example, take the address "37549 - 135th Street". The street number (135) tells you that the residence is 13.5 miles east of the west county line in the eastern half of the county. The location address (37549) tells you that the residence is about 17.5 miles north of the south county line, on the west side of 135th Street, placing it in the northeast quarter of the county. This fictitious address would actually lie just north of the City of Waseca.

The system can also be used to estimate your distance from a destination. If you were going to the address in the above example (17549 - 135th Street) and were presently at the intersection of 210th Avenue and 60th Street, you would know that you still need to go 7.5 miles east to reach 135th Street and about 16.5 miles north to reach the location address. The distance may, of course, be shorter if there is a curved roadway, between two points.