State Senator John Jasinski (R-Faribault) this morning participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the grand opening of the new highway 14 route between Dodge Center and Owatonna. Senator Jasinski and Senate Republicans delivered funding for the project in 2018, twenty-five years after its first Environmental Impact Study was completed in 1993 and twelve years after the Minnesota Department of Transportation held its first official public meeting on the project in 2006. 

“I am absolutely ecstatic that Highway 14 is finally open,” said Sen. Jasinski, the Senate Republican who was a driving force that secured funding for Highway 14. “Long before I was elected to the Senate, I remember feeling discouraged by the numerous failed attempts to get this done. When I came to the Senate in 2017, I made expanding this dangerous highway my number one priority. I am happy that so many legislators of both parties shared that goal. To say I am thrilled doesn’t even begin to describe it. It is an exciting day for southern Minnesota. This expansion will save countless lives.”

Motorists are reminded that construction work will continue even as crews prepare to open the road to traffic. Additional work will take place during the spring and summer of 2022.