Advocates dismayed that MnDOT ignores Highway 14 in latest round of Corridors of Commerce

Below is a statement from Karen Foreman, president of the U.S. Highway 14 Partnership and a member of the Mankato City Council:

“The Highway 14 Partnership has been one of the strongest supporters of the Corridors of Commerce program, and we are absolutely befuddled by MnDOT’s decision to completely exclude Highway 14 from its latest round of project funding. The fact that all of the projects that received funding are within 40 miles of downtown Minneapolis goes against the very mission of the program, which is to improve transportation statewide.

“MnDOT’s scoring system that gives extra points for corridors that connect with the metro area stacked the system against Greater Minnesota projects. If Corridors of Commerce doesn’t work for Highway 14, then Corridors of Commerce simply does not work for Greater Minnesota.

“We urge the Legislature to undertake a top-to-bottom review of Corridors of Commerce before any more money is allocated to MnDOT for this program.”

The U.S. Highway 14 Partnership is an advocacy organization supporting the four-lane expansion of Highway 14. Formed in 1998, the Partnership includes local governments, private businesses and other organizations across Southern Minnesota. Follow the Partnership on online at ushighway14.com and on Twitter at @Hwy14Pshp.

###

Comments are closed.