MINNESOTA, USA — $18 million is going towards transportation projects in eight different cities and counties across the State of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.
The funding comes from the state’s Transportation Economic Development program, which selects projects that benefit its surrounding communities through economic development and job growth, specifically.
“This round of Transportation Economic Development funding will help communities throughout the state capitalize on strategic economic opportunities,” said MnDOT Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher. “The projects create new connections to current and future jobs, improve safety and support efficient routes for commercial haulers to move goods."
Four of the projects are in the Metro, including Carver County, City of Blaine, City of Burnsville and the City of Maple Grove.
These include improvements to the Highway 41 intersection in Chaska off Chestnut and Engler, improvements to Highway 65 going through Blaine, a ramp for I-35W south to Buck Hill and County Road 42 in Burnsville, and completing the westbound Highway 610 and eastbound 94 connection in Maple Grove.
The Metro area projects collectively cost $189 million, and would take around five years each to complete. The projects, according to MnDOT, would create 1,015 jobs and support more than 10,000 new and existing jobs.
Statewide, the MnDOT money will go towards projects in Carlton County, Douglass County, City of Monticello and Wadena County.
This includes the construction of a reduced conflict intersection at Highway 210 and County Road 61, between Carlton and Cloquet, with a transit garage built on the Fond du lac Indian Reservation. The project would also aide the construction of a roundabout that connects I-94/Highway 27/County Road 46/County Road 45 intersection in Alexandria, improve the Highway 25 and Broadway street intersection in downtown Monticello and realign the Highway 10/County Road 92 intersection in Wadena.
These projects would cost more than $2.4 million and create more than 400 jobs.
After helping fund the eight projects mentioned, TED has around $2 million left over that will be made available to greater Minnesota in mid-2022.
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