Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) officials said the agency has awarded $61 million in funding for 13 highway infrastructure projects designed to bolster freight mobility, safety, and statewide connections.
“The projects selected through this program represent some of the highest freight needs in both Greater Minnesota and the Twin Cities Metro Area,” Andrew Andrusko, Minnesota Highway Freight Program (MHFP) manager, said. “We are excited to work with state and local partners to improve freight efficiency and support commerce and jobs throughout the state during this critical time.”
The initiative is in conjunction with a second round of transportation funding offered to Minnesota cities, counties, ports, airports, MnDOT Districts, and railroads through the MHFP Program. The first round of MHFP funding was awarded in 2017.
The program encourages the state’s cities, counties, ports, airports, railroads, and other government entities to apply for funding for transportation projects benefiting freight movement. MnDOT received 34 applications requesting a total of $178 million during this second round of MHFP funding.
Projects were scored using freight data such as truck counts, truck travel times, proposed crash rate reduction, facility access, and project readiness. The highest scoring projects were selected from the Twin Cities Metro area and Greater Minnesota. Funding for the MHFP comes from the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act or FAST Act.