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$180M in outstate projects unveiled
Governor details plans for transportation money in stimulus package that he continues to criticize.
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Gov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled a list of 60 transportation projects in outstate Minnesota on Wednesday -- worth an estimated $180 million -- that will be financed by money from the federal stimulus package.
Minnesota is expected to receive more than $596 million for state and local highway and transit projects over the next two years as a result of the federal legislation.
The Federal Highway Administration estimates that the outstate transportation projects will create about 5,000 jobs. Projects in the Twin Cities metro area will be announced later in March; the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Council are working on that list.
The projects announced Wednesday include concrete rehabilitation on Interstate 94 near Monticello, repaving Highway 75 north of Ortonville and concrete replacement work on stretches of Interstate 90 in southern Minnesota.
The most expensive project, costing $18 million, entails rehabilitating Hwy. 53 north of Duluth.
Pawlenty has consistently criticized the stimulus package as unfocused and unsustainable because it will increase the national debt. He has said it should have been more tightly targeted on tax cuts and infrastructure projects.
He did so again Wednesday in a prepared statement, saying the projects "are exactly the kind of bread-and-butter projects that we should have seen more of in the federal stimulus package. Unfortunately, only $27.5 billion of the $787 billion bill funds highway improvements."
DFLers pounced on Pawlenty's comments, criticizing him for his past positions on infrastructure spending.
In a prepared statement, party chair Brian Melendez said: "With the worst record of any governor in modern history of maintaining Minnesota's roads and bridges, Pawlenty is suddenly concerned that we're not doing enough for transportation -- even though he vetoed the most comprehensive transportation package Minnesota has ever seen."
Contractors for the first round of projects will be selected March 13, with work to begin in May.
The total cost of the projects announced exceeds the amount of federal stimulus money allocated for them, said Kevin Gutknecht, MnDOT's communications director. That's because if bids come in lower or a project drops off the list, or if other states don't use up their full allocation, Minnesota wants to be able to "obligate" all the potential money, Gutknecht said.
Bob Von Sternberg • 612-673-7184 Staff writer Jim Foti contributed to this report.
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Current state office holders
Governor: Tim Pawlenty
One of only a few prominent Republicans to win a competitive re-election contest in the Democratic sweep of 2006, Tim Pawlenty is widely seen as politically shrewd and naturally likable.
- Lt. Governor: Carol Molnau
- Secretary of State: Mark Ritchie
- Attorney General: Lori Swanson
- State Auditor: Rebecca Otto
Minnesota's political giants: Learn more about the men and women who have shaped Minnesota's political history.
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