Transportation bill includes funding for I-35/County Road 9 interchange
As the vice chair of the Senate’s transportation committee, I am proud of the work we have done over the last five years to improve the state’s transportation infrastructure. We have invested billions of dollars to rebuild roads and bridges across Minnesota — like the long-overdue Highway 14 expansion, which I worked hard to get done in my first year in office.
This year we continued that longstanding commitment to transportation, and we did it without a penny of increases to the gas tax, license tab fees, sales taxes, or adding a new tax on the mileage you drive — ideas that Gov. Walz and Democrats in the House have repeatedly pushed for.
The next transportation budget provides $7.8 billion for state roads, including construction, development, and maintenance. That includes $3.68 billion for State Road Construction and $300 million for Corridors of Commerce, which is the program that we used to complete Highway 14. The bill also provides an additional $14 million for local bridges and an additional $5.5 million for the Local Road Improvement Program, as well as an additional $30 million for small city and township roads.
One of my top transportation priorities for the year was to get the ball rolling on the proposed interchange at I-35 and County Road 9 near Faribault. This project has been discussed for more than a decade. The north end of Faribault has seen rapid growth, with Aldi, Saint-Gobain/SageGlass, Trystar, Daikin, and Faribault Foods among the businesses that have completed expansions. Nearly all of the existing industrial parkland is now in use, and the city is looking for more areas to grow. An interchange at County Road 9 will help us maximize our opportunity for economic growth. This is just the start. The interchange will not be built overnight, but the funding we provided will help the project become shovel-ready so it can be completed as soon as possible.
Several other bills that I authored were also included in this year’s transportation bill:
- A provision that allows you to purchase your license tabs and replacement license plates from fully automated kiosks.
- Language that would designate the section of Trunk Highway 13 from the southern border of Woodville Township to the northern border of Blooming Grove Township as “Corporal Caleb L. Erickson Memorial Highway,” named for Marine Lance Corporal Caleb L. Erickson of Waseca, who was killed in action on February 28, 2014 in Helmand Province when his convoy came under attack by a suicide bomber.
- Freight Network Optimization to make goods more affordable by reducing supplying chain costs and improving the state’s shipping transportation network.
We also worked to reduce stress on drivers by making DMV visits more efficient. The final transportation budget permits driver’s education students to take the classroom portion of their instruction online; creates a pilot program where Minnesotans could receive their standard driver’s license card the same day they renew their license or pass their driving test; and reopens all recently-closed exam stations to deal with the testing backlog. The bill also provides funding to improve speeds and reduce wait times at local DMV offices by adding more staff.
Finally, the bill honors our commitment to Minnesota’s brave law enforcement officers by providing $608 million for the state patrol and capitol security, including funding to hire 63 new troopers, funding to meet the state patrol’s request for body cameras, and funding for trooper pay raises. These folks put their lives on the line every day. They deserve our utmost support and gratitude for their work.
If you have any questions about the transportation bill or any other legislative issue, feel free to contact me any time at sen.john.jasinski@senate.mn or 651-296-0284. It is a privilege to serve you!