Tom Warne Report, 11 December 2013
Minnesota – Gov. Mark Dayton has announced 10 state highway projects under a $300 million program designed to benefit Minnesota’s highway capacity and enhance freight movement across the state.
“These projects will reduce travel times and improve safety … and help our businesses transportation their products more efficiently,” Dayton said in a news release.
The “Corridors of Commerce program” will kick off next summer with five projects. Three more projects will break ground in 2015 and two more in 2016. Improvements to the routes include adding lanes, shoulders and bypasses to key travel corridors.
The Corridors of Commerce program was enacted by the Minnesota Legislature in this year’s Legislative session and authorizes highway bonding for projects that are not part of the state’s four-year transportation program. The largest project chosen by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to be financed is a new freeway link on state Highway 610 between county road 81 and I-94. The project’s cost is $100M.