COUNCIL ACTION PAVES WAY FOR MAJOR HIGHWAY PROJECTS
Release from the Metropolitan Council
5/1/14
The Metropolitan Council has added two major highway projects to the region’s long-range transportation investment plan, the Transportation Policy Plan (TPP). The action gives the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) a green light to proceed with the projects.
The two projects are:
Completing Trunk Highway (TH) 610 by adding a new freeway connection between County Road 81 and Interstate 94 (I-94)
Adding new east- and west-bound lanes on I-94 between TH241 in St. Michael and TH101 in Rogers.
Transportation drives regional and state commerce
Free-flowing highways help move freight through the region, which is critical to regional and state commerce.
The two projects are among 10 highway construction projects Governor Dayton and MnDOT identified last fall to receive funding through the state’s new $300 million Corridors of Commerce program. The program was enacted in the 2013 legislative session to boost highway connectivity and improve freight movement.
Because TH610 and I-94 are in, or partially in, the metro area, federal law requires that they be included among investments identified in the region’s transportation plan.
“For the region to be competitive, we need transportation investment—and that means transit and roads,” said Metropolitan Council Chair Sue Haigh. “These two projects will help to improve capacity where the region is experiencing significant bottlenecks and improve the ability to move freight by truck, which is so critical to commerce.”
Funds from the Corridors of Commerce program will contribute $131 million in state highway bonds for the TH610 project and up to $46 million for the I-94 project.