Minnesota road/bridge projects could get green light

Motorists in the north metro who badly want Hwy. 610 extended have been braced for a five-year wait. Along Hwy. 169 in Bloomington, the pesky stoplights that constantly cause congestion were not going to disappear for a decade.

Now, those and other hurdles and headaches on roads and bridges around the Twin Cities may get urgent attention. If the $819 billion spending package that President Obama says will revive the national economy gets passed in Congress soon, both big-ticket projects could be underway this summer.

Even after last year's battles over Minnesota's troubled infrastructure led to higher gas taxes and millions in new revenues, dozens of nearly ready-to-go projects from the North Shore to the Iowa border had languished for a lack of funding. Now, because of the global economic crisis, they have a chance.

With the stimulus measure still working its way through Congress, the amount of money and the criteria for projects could change, so "the mix of projects could change," cautioned Khani Sahebjam, deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, who called the list "a live document."

The list was handed over to U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, the Minnesota Democrat who is chairman of the House Transportation Committee. He was in St. Paul on Thursday to talk up the stimulus package that the House had approved the day before. Some $478 million of the package is aimed at highway and bridge projects in Minnesota, which could result in the creation of 12,000 jobs.

MnDOT said that the readiness of a project was the most important factor in determining which ones made the list. The type of work, the number of jobs created and a desire to spread jobs around the state also were considered.

The projects need to be under contract within 90 days of Obama's signing of the bill, said Oberstar, who expects that to happen in mid-February. The number of jobs created is not an actual head count of workers needed for each project but rather an estimate based on a Federal Highway Administration formula of 27.8 jobs per million dollars of spending.

Joy in the northern suburbs

After lobbying for nearly a decade, leaders of the Trunk Hwy. 610 Coalition were ecstatic about another leg of their project being included in MnDOT's list. The two-mile, $86 million extension will carry Hwy. 610 from Hwy. 169 in Brooklyn Park to Fernbrook Lane in Maple Grove.

"That's wonderful news for us," said Maple Grove Mayor Mark Steffenson. "It's been a long time coming." The land is open, and a few bridges already are built on the route, he said.

Bloomington officials were glad to hear that the Interstate 494-Hwy. 169 interchange is a candidate to be rebuilt; as recently as last summer, it wasn't even on MnDOT's 10-year work plan. The $134 million project will remove the last three traffic lights on Hwy. 169 between Shakopee and Brooklyn Park.

"It's been a bottleneck for years," said Jim Gates, deputy public works director for Bloomington, which shares the interchange with Edina and Eden Prairie. He said all three cities have approved the project, the land is acquired and environmental reviews done. It will help traffic flow and could stimulate more commercial development and jobs around the interchange, he said.

The stimulus bill also includes $84 million for transit around the state. The grants are designated for capital projects. Peter Bell, chairman of the Metropolitan Council, said possibilities include adding cars to the Hiawatha line and lengthening stations to accommodate three-car trains, adding to a main bus hub in Minneapolis, and adding or expanding suburban park-and-ride facilities.

But because Metro Transit is strapped for operating cash -- it's looking at a $45 million deficit in the next biennium -- Bell said he would look for ways to use the stimulus for current capital expenses to free up money for operations.

"I have repeatedly said that my first, second and third priority is to use the stimulus dollars to operate our core bus system," he said.

jim.foti@startribune.com • 612-673-4491 jim.adams@startribune.com • 612-673-7658