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Governor Dayton’s Transportation Proposal Would Fund Key Safety, Mobility Improvements in Beltrami, Surrounding Counties

3/16/2015 10:14:43 AM

March 16, 2015

Governor's proposal would make needed improvements to Highway 2 and Highway 371, repair area bridges, and invest up to $184 million in transportation in the six-county area over the next ten years

ST. PAUL, MN - In January, Governor Mark Dayton /governor/assets/transportation_overview_fact_sheet.pdf_tcm1055-91874.pdfproposed an honest, straightforward plan to fix Minnesota's aging and under-funded transportation system. If passed by the Legislature, Governor Dayton's transportation proposal would provide up to $184 million over the next ten years for key state road and bridge improvements in Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Cass, Itasca and Koochiching counties. The Governor's plan would make needed improvements to Highway 2 and Highway 371, repair or replace 31 area bridges, and provide Bemidji and Beltrami County nearly $2.2 million in additional annual funding per year to use on their own priority local road and bridge improvement projects.

"Expanding and repairing Highway 2 and Highway 371 would support economic growth, improve safety conditions for motorists, and better-connect communities throughout the region," said Governor Dayton. "If we fail to act, these important projects may not be funded anytime soon, and the poor conditions endured by motorists every day on these roads would only get worse."

Under the Governor's transportation proposal, 249 miles of road would see improvements along Highway 2 from Polk to St. Louis County. An additional 47 miles of road would see improvements along Highway 371 in Cass and Crow Wing Counties.

Area State Road and Bridge Projects

The Governor's proposal would invest up to $184 million in these 51 state road and bridge improvement projects in Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Cass, Itasca and Koochiching counties over the next ten years:

County	Highway	Project Location
Beltrami	CSAH 15	CSAH 15 Bridge over US Highway 71 in Beltrami County
Beltrami	MN Highway 1	12 miles from MN 89 east to the Red Lake Reservation line
Beltrami	MN Highway 197	1 mile from US 71 west to US 2 in Bemidji - northbound
Beltrami	MN Highway 197	1 mile from US 71 west to US 2 in Bemidji - southbound
Beltrami	MN Highway 197	2 miles from US 2 to Paul Bunyon Drive in Bemidji - northbound
Beltrami	MN Highway 197	2 miles from US 2 to Paul Bunyon Drive in Bemidji - southbound
Beltrami	MN Highway 72	1 mile from US 71 north out of Blackduck
Beltrami	MN Highway 89	16 miles from Fourtown to Log Church Road
Beltrami	US Highway 2	12 miles from Shevlin to 1 mile east of MN 89
Beltrami	US Highway 71	0.5 miles from US 2 to MN 197 in Bemidji - northbound
Beltrami	US Highway 71	0.5 miles from US 2 to MN 197 in Bemidji - southbound
Beltrami	US Highway 71	14 miles from Turtle River to Blackduck
Beltrami/Hubbard	US Highway 2	17 miles from 1 mile east of MN 89 to 2.7 miles west of Hubbard-Cass county line - eastbound
Beltrami/Hubbard	US Highway 2	17 miles from 1 mile east of MN 89 to 2.7 miles west of Hubbard-Cass county line - westbound
Clearwater	MN Highway 200	7 miles from the Mahnomen-Clearwater County Line to Zerkel (MN 92 / MN 200)
Clearwater	MN Highway 92	5 miles from County Highway 35 to MN 200
Clearwater	US Highway 2	6 miles between Bagley and Shevlin
Clearwater / Beltrami	US Highway 2	18 miles from Bagley to Beltrami County Highway 14
Cass	US Highway 2	US Highway 2 over Mississippi River in Cass County
Cass	MN Highway 210	9 miles from Motley to Pillager
Cass	MN Highway 371	9 miles from south end of Hackensack to MN 200
Cass	MN Highway 64	19 miles between MN 210 to County Highway 23
Cass	MN Highway 64	15 miles from County Rd 23 to MN 87
Cass	US Highway 2	30 miles from Cass Lake to Cass-Itasca county line
Hubbard	MN Highway 200	6 miles from County Highway 2 to US 71
Hubbard	MN Highway 200	7 miles from County Highway 39 to Hubbard / Cass county line
Hubbard	MN Highway 34	4 miles from the Becker / Hubbard County line to the western limits of Park Rapids
Hubbard	MN Highway 34	16 miles from County Highway 4 to MN 64
Hubbard	MN Highway 34	4 miles from MN 225 to Park Rapids
Hubbard	MN Highway 87	15 miles from 4 miles east of US 71 to MN 64
Hubbard	US Highway 71	20 miles from Main Street (Park Rapids) to MN 200
Hubbard / Cass	US Highway 2	3 miles from 0.6 miles east of County Highway 46 to Hubbard-Cass County Line - westbound
Hubbard / Cass	US Highway 2	3 miles from 0.6 miles east of County Highway 46 to Hubbard-Cass County Line - eastbound
Itasca	MN Highway 6	MN Highway 6 over stream in Itasca County
Itasca	MN Highway 6	MN Highway 6 over Big Fork River in Itasca County
Itasca	MN Highway 65	MN Highway 65 over Swan River in Itasca County
Itasca	Municipal 30	Municipal 30 over US 169 in Itasca County
Itasca	US Highway 169	US Highway 169 over Mississippi River in Itasca County
Itasca	MN Highway 38	1 mile south of MN 286
Itasca	MN Highway 46	36 miles from County Highway 39 to MN 1 (Northome)
Itasca	MN Highway 6	10 miles from 1 mile north of MN 286 to Big Ford River Bridge
Itasca	US Highway 169	6 miles from Aitkin / Itasca county line to just south of County Highway 67
Itasca	US Highway 2	3 miles from County Highway 62 to 19th Ave NW
Itasca	US Highway 2	12 miles from just east of Prairie River to 3rd Ave in Warba
Itasca	US Highway 2	4 miles from Swan River in Warba to MN 65
Koochiching	MN Highway 217	MN Highway 217 over Beaver Brook in Koochiching County
Koochiching	MN Highway 6	MN Highway 6 over Big Fork River in Koochiching County
Koochiching	MN Highway 65	MN Highway 65 over Bramble Creek in Koochiching County
Koochiching	MN Highway 11	2 miles from W Jct MN 332 to International Falls
Koochiching	MN Highway 11	3 miles from the E Jct MN 332 to County Road 20
Koochiching	US Highway 71	5 miles from Itasca / Koochiching county line to 1 mile north of MN 1

More Funding for Area Cities, Counties, and Townships

Local road improvement projects, funded with help from the state, but chosen by local governments, would also receive funding from Governor Dayton's proposal. Over 40 percent of the new road and bridge revenues raised in the Governor's proposal ($2.356 billion) would be directed to cities, counties, and townships; giving local leaders the resources and flexibility to repair and replace roads and bridges statewide. These new investments would add hundreds of additional road and bridge improvements in communities across Minnesota. The Governor's proposal would invest a total of $11.3 million per year in these area cities and counties.

Local Government	New Funding (Annual, estimated in 2019)
Beltrami County	$2,074,687
Clearwater County	$1,098,257
Hubbard County	$1,230,062
Cass County	$1,779,261
Itasca County	$3,087,476
Koochiching County	$1,502,905
City of Bemidji	$197,082
City of Grand Rapids	$308,352
City of International Falls	$87,431

Building on Recent Investments in Highway 2, Highway 371 and Highway 169

The Governor's proposed investments outlined today would supplement recent Corridors of Commerce investments made in Highway 2, Highway 371 and Highway 169 over the last two years. During the 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions, Governor Dayton and the Minnesota Legislature invested $331 million in the state's Corridors of Commerce initiative, which funds projects that strengthen the state's transportation system by adding capacity, reducing congestion, and improving the movement of freight and commerce across Minnesota.

Overall, MnDOT has already awarded more than $64 million in Corridors of Commerce funding to targeted improvements along Highway 2, Highway 371 and Highway 169. Those projects, which are already getting underway, include the construction of passing lanes on Highway 2 from Cass Lake to Deer River, converting segment of Highway 169 in Itasca County to four lanes and construct a four-lane roadway from Nisswa to Jenkins on Highway 371.

Funding for Rail Safety Improvement Projects

In order to fund railway safety improvements statewide, Governor Dayton has proposed adding new assessments on the four major railroad companies that operate in Minnesota, based on the mileage of track they have in the state. He has also proposed modernizing Minnesota's railroad tax system to reflect improvements to property, such as the rolling stock, rail cars, trestles and rail bridges. This new funding could then be used to help improve safety and alleviate traffic disruptions in communities with significant train traffic. If passed, the proposal would provide additional revenues every year for these area cities, counties, and townships:

County	New Revenue
Beltrami County	$92,376
Clearwater County	$45,532
Hubbard County	$22,728
Itasca County	$398,917
Koochiching County	$171,902
Cass County	$104,392

About Governor Dayton's Transportation Proposal

Governor Dayton has proposed a straightforward, honest solution to fix Minnesota's aging transportation systems. The Governor's plan would invest $6 billion over the next ten years to address the state's highway funding deficit, invest $2.356 billion in local government transportation projects, and provide $2.92 billion for Metro and Greater Minnesota transit systems.

Without these new investments, road and bridge conditions across Minnesota will only continue to get worse. If the state does nothing, over the next ten years: the number of road miles in poor condition will increase by 75 percent; an estimated 640 bridges (1 in 5 bridges statewide) will deteriorate into poor condition; and nearly 40 percent of all state roadways will surpass their useful life.

To learn more about Governor Dayton's proposal, click on the links below:

/governor/assets/transportation_county_projects_fact_sheet.pdf_tcm1055-91875.pdfList of Projects - Statewide list of projects that would be completed over the next ten years if the transportation proposal is passed.

News Release - Read the news release from the Governor's transportation proposal announcement.

/governor/assets/transportation_plan_fact_sheet.pdf_tcm1055-91876.pdfHow it Works - Read about how the plan would be funded.

/governor/assets/transportation_overview_fact_sheet.pdf_tcm1055-91874.pdfFact Sheet - Get all the facts on the challenges facing our transportation system, and how the Governor's proposed investments would address those challenges.

/governor/assets/transportation_investments_snapshot.pdf_tcm1055-91877.pdfLocal Funding Increases - Learn how much funding each city and county would receive under the Governor's transportation proposal.

/governor/assets/transportation_maps.pdf_tcm1055-91878.pdfMaps - Take a look at the transportation projects that would be funded, by region.

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