The Highway 14 expansion between Owatonna and Dodge Center has only one more hurdle to clear before becoming a reality. Last night, the Minnesota House and Senate approved full funding for the project as part of a comprehensive, infrastructure-heavy bonding bill. The bill has been sent to Gov. Mark Dayton for his signature or veto.

“Everyone in Southern Minnesota can celebrate today – Highway 14 is fully funded,” said State Senator John Jasinski (R-Faribault), vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. “This day has been far too long in the making. While it saddens me to think about how many people tragically lost their lives or suffered serious injuries on Highway 14, I know that this expansion will save countless more. It took a lot of work, and it wouldn’t have been possible without intense pressure from the people who live here and know how dangerous it is, but we finally got it done. All that is left now is for the governor to sign the bill.”

“For as long as he has been in office, Senator Jasinski has worked tirelessly to get funding for Highway 14,” said Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka. “He has lobbied for it at every opportunity and worked every conceivable option to get it done. Dodge, Rice, Steele, and Waseca Counties could not ask for a better advocate to represent them than John Jasinski.”

“It seems like every third word in Senator Jasinski’s vocabulary is Highway 14,” said Senator Dave Senjem, chair of the Capital Investment Committee. “Hardly a day went by that I didn’t get a call from John pressuring me about it. He has been a strong and powerful voice; it would not have gotten done without Senator Jasinski’s persistence.”

“By delivering full funding for Highway 14 in only his second year in office, Senator Jasinski accomplished what countless legislators from his district before him couldn’t,” said Senator Scott Newman, Senate Transportation Committee Chairman. “I am amazed at what he has been able to get done in such a short period of time.”

The project is funded with a $400 million appropriation for the Corridors of Commerce program, with a specific statutory requirement that MnDOT use the Spring 2018 project evaluation survey to select the highest-listed projects, including the next two projects outside of the metropolitan area. Highway 14 is the number one Greater Minnesota priority project on this survey.