Concerns with I-94 West Raised During Meeting with MnDOT Commissioner

Will more lanes be added the I-94 West corridor?

No definite answers were received, however, concerns were raised, during the Sept. 5 meeting in Rogers with Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Charles Zelle.

More than 50 area leaders, business owners, and community members from up and down I-94 West turned out for the Thursday meeting sponsored by the I-94 West Corridor Coalition and I-94 West Chamber of Commerce.

Zelle primarily gave a high-level overview of MnDOT’s vision, the state infrastructure, funding and other items at the Sept. 5 meetingand answered questions from the public.

In the proposed draft 10-year work plans on the MnDOT website, there is no funding allocated for additional lanes on the I-94 West corridor stretching from the Rogers to St. Cloud. Some funding is identified in areas for maintenance and/or replacing aging roadway.

“It is about funding, but also planning,” Zelle said of the I-94 West Corridor, during the meeting, adding “more lanes isn’t the solution.”

“There is no one magic fix,” he said.

Several community members and area legislators voiced their concerns about the I-94 West issues and MnDOT planning process.

“Over the years, I’ve been watching where MnDOT spends money,” Senator Warren Limmer (R-Rogers, Maple Grove) told Zelle. “I keep seeing resources going south. I get the impression we’re being neglected.”

Limmer said it is a “question of prioritizing.”

“I don’t always sense flexibility in the 30-year planning process,” he said.

Rep. David FitzSimmons (R-Albertville) said a “source of concern” is the boundary between District 3 and Metropolitan Council and the impact of Metropolitan Council policies with the I-94 corridor.

“The Met Council does have an impact,” Zelle responded, stating the expectation that “it isn’t a hard line.”

Rep. Joyce Peppin (R-Rogers, Maple Grove) questioning the criteria process by MnDOT, asking “what determines the order of projects?”

“I don’t have a clear understanding what makes a project move up to number one on your list,” she said.

Other community members shared their concerns about the I-94 West Corridor, sharing stories of congestion, impacts of increased traffic from areas outside of Minnesota—such as North Dakota due to the oil fields.

The Minnesota State Highway Investment Plan for 2014-2033 is broken down into three periods, according to the MnDOT websitedraft plan.  The final document is anticipated to be posted to the MnDOT website in September 2013.

A decision on whether a expansion on the I-94 West corridor would be “funded by MnDOT and federal monies won’t be known until the 2014 Legislative session begins,” according to a recent Press & News article.

For updates and other information about the community, join us on Patch, like us on Facebook and follow Maple Grove Patch on Twitter.

Read more:

• I-94 West Corridor Coalition Launches Green Light 94 (blog)