This article was published in the Rochester Post-Bulletin on Aug. 23, 2016. You can read the full original version here.
Plans to widen U.S. 14 fall prey to politics
by Heather J. Carlson, hcarlson@postbulletin.com
The loss of potentially millions of dollars to expand a deadly stretch of U.S. Highway 14 is fueling plenty of partisan finger-pointing ahead of this fall’s elections.
Republicans are accusing Democrats of prioritizing a proposed light-rail train in the Twin Cities’ southwest suburbs over critical safety improvements to U.S. 14.
“People are not dying because they don’t have Southwest Light Rail. People are dying because Highway 14 is not done. That, to me, is the bottom line,” said Rep. Duane Quam, R-Byron.
Democrats counter that Republicans were more interested in preventing the light rail project from moving ahead in the Twin Cities than getting funding for U.S. 14 improvements.
“I don’t know how you go back to your constituents and say, ‘I didn’t bring this really important project home to my district because I didn’t want the folks in the metro area to tax themselves to pay for the transportation they need. It’s really like cutting off your nose to spite your face,” said House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis.
The transportation fight centers around a proposed $1 billion public works bill. The proposal set aside $200 million for certain road construction projects, including the expansion of U.S.14 from Dodge Center to Owatonna. The measure failed in the final moments of the regular session in May after the DFL-controlled Senate added an amendment to help fund the Southwest Light Rail Transit project.
Since then, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and legislative leaders have worked in vain to reach agreement for a special session to pass the public works bill and a $260 million package of tax cuts. With negotiations stalled over light rail funding, Dayton announced last week he was giving up on efforts to reach a deal.
A dangerous roadway
The failure to get funding to expand the 12.5-mile stretch of highway from Dodge Center to Owatonna is the latest in a long line of frustrations for project supporters. Efforts to expand the road date back to the 1960s.
For residents who live along the highway, the major concern continues to be safety. Between 2012 to 2014, there was one fatal crash and four severe crashes along the two-way roadway, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. That makes it one of the most dangerous two-lane roadways in greater Minnesota.
Claremont resident Don Gray is well aware of the risks of driving on U.S. 14. The former Dodge County commissioner said he knows several people who have lost loved ones on the roadway or who have suffered serious injuries in crashes. After fighting for so many years to get funding for U.S. 14, Gray said he’s become cynical the project will ever get done. For now, the 83-year-old avoids driving on U.S. 14 as much as possible.
“I don’t go there unless I have to. I don’t even like to cross it. You take your life in your hands any time you cross 14,” Gray said.
Light rail vs. road construction
House Speaker Kurt Daudt said there was no need to fight over light-rail funding. He points to an email between the head of the Metropolitan Council to Dayton from January that states the federal government does not plan to pay its share of the Southwest Light Rail Transit costs until next year because of pending lawsuits against the project. The Republican leader said he is convinced Democrats killed the special session for political reasons.
“Democrats believe this will benefit them in the election and they can blame us for the fact that Highway 14 didn’t happen. But the problem is the facts just don’t represent that,” Daudt said.
But Dayton said Daudt is to blame for the gridlock. In an emailed statement to the Post-Bulletin, Dayton said Democrats put forward several options to fund the light rail project without using state dollars.
“For three months, Senate DFL leaders and I offered different options to fund Metro Transit that involved no state monies. Speaker Daudt rejected them all. His intransigence is the principal reason there will be no special session,” Dayton said.
The governor also flatly denied the idea that light-rail transit is the the lone barrier to a special session. Still left unresolved were requests he had made for additional funding for historic Fort Snelling and the St. Peter treatment facilities. He and other Democrats, including Thissen, also want to get rid of earmarking for 21 road projects in the bonding bill, including U.S. 14.
Daudt contends that move shows Democrats aren’t willing to get behind the U.S. 14 project. Thissen rejects that idea. He said he is just opposed to earmarking funds for specific projects, noting that some on the list are not ready to advance. He said he would rather see money continue to be allocated to the Corridors of Commerce grant program. Projects could compete for those dollars and, historically, U.S. 14 has done well in such competitions.
‘How much controversy?’
Some lawmakers are warning that the sparring between rural and metro lawmakers could hurt long-term efforts to finish the U.S. 14 project. Sen. Vicki Jensen, DFL-Owatonna, noted that the money set aside in the public works bill would only have covered right-of-way acquisition and engineering costs for the Dodge Center to Owatonna project. That means the legislative fight would have to continue to get the money complete the road project.
She said it is important to remember that if lawmakers don’t OK funding for the light rail line, the state will lose out on $900 million in federal money.
Jensen added, “How much controversy are we going to create between metro and rural by saying that we don’t want light rail? Even if you pay for it on your own, we don’t want you to do it. What’s the negotiation or leverage to say that we really need Highway 14?”
A campaign issue
Carolyn Jackson, a lobbyist for the U.S. Highway 14 Partnership, is vowing the group will keep efforts to get the project funded in the spotlight this election year. The group is planning to meet with legislative candidates to talk about the project’s importance — a first for the organization. The partnership wants lawmakers to pass a long-term transportation funding package to make sure U.S. 14 is upgraded to four lanes from Rochester to New Ulm.
Jackson added, “We want to get the message to legislative candidates that this is a voting issue for us. That the failure to get this done is really bad, and that we want them to figure out a way to do this, to get it done.”