Highway 14-Will it ever become a four lane highway?

The MN Department of Transportation (MNDOT) is giving us enough red flags about the four lane completion of Highway 14 from Owatonna to Dodge Center that we are concerned it won’t be in their upcoming 20 year plan (to be released near the end of the year).

Can we count on State Funding for Highway 14 completion?
At a recent meeting in St. Paul where the MNDOT Commissioner Tom Sorel presented the departments vision for the future, it was clear they are planning to save the major road investments for congestion projects. They have strongly suggested they are not going to include the four-lane expansion of Highway 14 in this new plan.

They have also suggested highway expansion remains an option to address rush hour congestion.  This contradiction will lead to an unacceptable outcome for southern Minnesota.

Highway 14 remains one of the most dangerous rural roads in Minnesota.  Projected population and traffic growth along the corridor will only make this highway more dangerous in the future.

Four-lane expansion is the only solution that will address safety, mobility and traffic growth along Highway 14.  Many cheaper alternatives have already been exhausted; more will only make the situation worse.

How can I Help get Highway 14 completed?
We are not sitting idle.  We recently sent an alert out to all chamber members asking you to send a pre-written message to the Governor and our state representatives urging their support for having Highway 14 in the 20 year plan.

This pressure needs to remain to strengthen the message that Highway 14 as a 2 lane is not acceptable.
The Legislature should not abdicate such an important decision like this to MnDOT alone.  The Legislature needs to assert its right to oversee MnDOT before any final decision is made.