WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation will provide $17.7 million to help construct an interchange at Hwys. 169 and 41 in Scott County. The move is designed to promote rural industrial development by unclogging a dangerous intersection and moving freight faster.
Funded by the federal Tiger Grant program, the project was one of 40 selected from a pool of 585 applications nationwide, according to U.S. Transporation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who announced the projects Friday.
Billed as a "freight mobility project," the Scott County work includes a grade-separated intersection to reduce delays and crashes on Route 169. The road is a major artery for moving aggregate materials and grain by trucks from southern Minnesota to the Twin Cities.
The newly announced Tiger Grant is expected to leverage state, local and private funds for the upgraded intersection, which has a total projected cost of $56.1 million.
Federal grant administrators pointed to significant growth in Scott County since 1990 as a reason for funding. The county is expected to grow an additional 45 percent by 2040, they said.
Jim Spencer • 612-270-1266
