For decades, major highway projects in Minnesota have moved forward without meaningful input from the communities they impact. When highways like I-94 and I-35W were constructed, they divided neighborhoods, displaced residents, and created lasting impacts, particularly in low-income areas and communities of color. Even today, communities have little substantive influence over highway projects that dramatically impact their daily lives, health, and community vitality.
The current system’s flaws are evident in projects like the 252/ I-94 expansion, where expansion plans continue to advance despite strong opposition from local residents and elected officials. This has resulted in a decade-long process that has cost taxpayers millions while failing to address safety issues. Under existing regulations, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has the ultimate authority on the major highway project’s design. There are few checks and balances to respect the will of impacted communities and elected officials who represent them.
The Community-Preferred Alternative Act would transform this process by establishing a structured framework for community input in major highway decisions. The legislation specifically strengthens the power of a project’s policy advisory committee (PAC). These committees, composed of elected officials from the impacted project area, currently have no legal authority to affect the project outcome.
This law would strengthen the voice of impacted communities by:
- Requiring MnDOT to study project alternatives that are formally requested by the PAC
- Requiring MnDOT to obtain approval from a project’s PAC before proceeding with selecting a preferred design and beginning construction.
The benefits to this approach go beyond equity. This law creates a smart planning process that saves time and money and ensures better outcomes. When communities have a meaningful voice in transportation decisions, projects can move forward more smoothly and are more likely to succeed. Early community engagement helps identify and resolve concerns before they become costly problems, reducing the likelihood of expensive modifications or legal challenges later in the process.
The legislation maintains high technical and safety standards while ensuring that transportation projects serve both local neighborhood needs and broader regional goals. It creates clear processes for incorporating community input without compromising engineering requirements or regional connectivity. Notably, the act only applies to major highway projects above certain cost thresholds, ensuring that routine maintenance and smaller improvements can proceed efficiently.
By reforming how we plan and build major highways, the Community-Preferred Alternative Act offers benefits across the board: communities get infrastructure that serves their needs, taxpayers save money through more efficient project delivery, and workers benefit from more stable construction timelines. It’s time to ensure that when we invest in transportation infrastructure, we do it right the first time by empowering the communities who know their neighborhoods best to help shape these crucial decisions.
The legislation provides a practical path forward for better transportation planning in Minnesota, recognizing that the most successful infrastructure projects truly serve the communities where they’re built. Let’s make Minnesota a leader in community-centered transportation planning that works for everyone.
Contact your representatives.
Ask your legislators to support the Community-Preferred Alternative Act, part of the larger Highway Justice Act.