Dayton announces 13 road projects
DFL Gov. Mark Dayton announced 13 highway improvement projects today that will get earlier attention through a special funding initiative.
The projects represent $70 million from the Corridors of Commerce program, which is aimed at adding capacity for freight movement in key locations. Seven of projects are in rural Minnesota and six are in the Twin Cities.
During a news conference, Dayton stressed that more investments are needed in the coming years to address an estimated $6 billion in transportation needs.
“To do what’s really needed will require everyone to pitch together and put politics aside and really come down to a shared view of what we want our state to look like, especially for our children and our grandchildren,” Dayton said.
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Dayton, who’s running for re-election, said he had nothing to do with selecting the projects or the timing of the announcement. He said MnDOT officials made those decisions.
State transportation Commissioner Charlie Zelle highlighted the $45 million included for improvements to Highway 371 between Nisswa and Jenkins. He said the money for that project came through efficiencies and other costs savings within MnDOT.
“Efficiency gets us to a certain point, and we’re committed to doing that,” Zelle said. “But to get to the next step over the next 10 years requires some really I think, non-partisan thought about how we move forward.”
Here are the rural projects:
Highway 14 & 15 intersection New Ulm, preliminary design work, $700,000
I-94 St. Michael to Albertville, design options for mobility, $1.4 million
Highway 11 Greenbush to Warroad, design passing lanes, $500,000
Highway 14 Owatonna to Dodge Center, purchase right of way for expansion, $7.3 million
Highway 23 New London to Paynesville, purchase right of way for expansion, $800,000
Highway 34 Detroit lakes to Becker CR 29, mill and overlay, $1.8 million
Highway 371 Nisswa to Jenkins, expand to four lanes, $45 million
Here are the metro projects:
Highway 169 Nine Mile Creek, design work for bridge replacement, $1.5 million
I-35W Minnesota River crossing, design work, $5.5 million
I-35W northern suburbs, design work for MnPASS system, $1.1 million
Highway 65 Central Avenue, design work for bridge deck replacement, $1 million
I-94 between Minneapils and St. Paul, design work for new pavement, bridges and managed lanes, $2 million
Snelling Avenue St. Paul, provide added funding for reconstruction project, $1.4 million