For over 80 years, 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, local and state elected officials, and local elected officials 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 highway 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. The Community Preferred Alternatives Act helps balance state and local decision-making to ensure that local residents and the elected officials who represent them have meaningful advisory roles on projects within their jurisdiction.
This is not about giving local authorities veto power over all transportation decision-making; this is about ensuring local voices are heard and lead to meaningful design changes and better outcomes.
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. More successful and stable projects build public trust, speed up project delivery, and ensure the stability of good, dignified jobs building infrastructure across our state. This is especially important on large, politically fraught projects in sensitive areas, such as the 252/94 Project and the Rethinking I-94 Project.
The legislation specifically:
- Improves the public process for community members and local elected officials to play a meaningful advisory role in major MnDOT projects
- Creates meaningful community engagement opportunities for the residents, small business owners, community groups, and advocates to engage with projects shaping their community
- Allows direct input on key project documents, including purpose and need statements and evaluation criteria
- Directs MnDOT to develop a process to create and study a “community preferred alternative” based on feedback from local stakeholders and all potential investment approaches
- Exempts smaller maintenance projects for efficient implementation
The bottom line: communities are heard and 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 most impacted to help shape these crucial decisions that will shape their neighborhoods for decades to come.
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