Northfield Awarded $1 Million Grant for Highway 3 Underpass Project

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday announced Northfield will be awarded a $1,060,000 TIGER grant towards building an underpass on Highway 3 near Greenvale Avenue.

The Northfield City Council in September toward the estimated $1.56 million project.

Although the federal government does not require local governments to provide matching funding, Councilor Erica Zweifel said at a September council meeting that previous grants were awarded to projects with local financial support.

The council pledged to put a $500,000 matching fund toward the project, though where that money comes from has yet to be decided. One potential source of local dollars would be proceeds from the city’s downtown tax-increment financing (TIF) district.

But for now, bicyclists and pedestrians advocates are pleased with Thursday's news.

"My Council colleague, Erica Zweifel deserves a huge round of applause for her leadership in bringing this project forward, soliciting community support, and working with Bolton & Menk preparing the application," wrote Councilor Betsey Buckheit wrote on her blog on Thursday.

TIGER grants are handed out by the U.S. Department of Transportation for infrastructure projects.

, the Northfield Grass Roots Transit Initiative and other groups were instrumental in providing support and encouragement in getting the city to apply for the grant.

The council also considered applying for a TIGER grant to build an overpass near Malt-O-Meal, but ultimately decided its chances would be better to focus on one project.

Project highlights

• Addresses a safety need with a grade-separated off-street crossing
• Connects a pedestrian underpass to a surrounding street and sidewalk network  
• Improves access between residential and college areas and downtown 

Project benefits

The project will improve pedestrian and bicycle access between residential and college areas in the western portions of Northfield and the downtown area, improve safety conditions for motorized and non-motorized travelers, and will provide a grade-separated mixed-use off-street crossing of Trunk Highway 3 in Northfield, MN. The project represents a widespread community effort to improve safety in an area where 23 percent of all commutes made by residents are nonmotorized. The project is supported by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), Progressive Rail, Union Pacific Rail, the two colleges, and other organizations.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation