MnDOT should immediately pause the Rethinking I-94 project to protect Minnesota’s autonomy in deciding the future of our state’s most significant transportation mega-project and avoid locking our communities into a federal framework that contradicts our state values. Continuing now means ceding control to an administration actively hostile to our priorities and caving to dictatorial mandates, while facing diminished funding prospects on a corridor that will shape the Twin Cities for the next century.
A pause:
- Preserves state sovereignty over transportation decisions affecting our communities
- Protects community vision from federal interference and dilution
- Avoids wasting resources on a federal process unlikely to yield funding or acceptable outcomes
- Maintains flexibility to pursue state-led alternatives or re-engage with a potentially supportive future federal administration
- Demonstrates leadership by refusing to compromise Minnesota values for uncertain federal dollars
- Prevents locking in bad decisions that would constrain the corridor for decades
Federal Occupation Impacts
Minnesota is facing a federal occupation that is terrorizing our neighborhoods, especially our most vulnerable and marginalized communities. Everyday neighbors are joining activists, faith organizations, and non-profits in legal observation to keep their neighbors safe. When people can’t go to school, work, or even the doctor safely, we cannot expect business as usual. While there was an announcement of the “surge” supposedly concluding, this is just another tactic of deflection from the present realities. Our most vulnerable communities are still under threat of kidnappings, eviction, lost wages, and long-term health impacts from being terrorized. People just don’t have the bandwidth, and safety is not guaranteed. That includes engaging with decisions on major transportation projects.
If the Minnesota Department of Transportation wants true community input on its Rethinking I-94 recommendations, the agency must pause the project. The Rethinking I-94 project public comment period started on January 6, 2026, a day before Renee Good was murdered. Minnesotans have felt the impact and escalation of this emergency since I.C.E. agents first walked our streets. There has been no eviction moratorium from Governor Walz, no state legislative vote defunding the agency, and no financial help for the businesses struggling because of the federal presence here. We cannot ask the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the outcome of the Rethinking I-94 project to thoughtfully engage with the public comment period. If business continues as usual, public comments will only come from the most privileged. We must uplift marginalized voices, especially those that have historically been ignored in large transportation projects such as highway construction.
Loss of State Control Over the Project’s Vision
As the Rethinking I-94 project advances into the Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), it becomes increasingly entangled with federal processes and subject to shifting federal priorities. The Trump administration will be a formal partner in the environmental review, giving a hostile administration substantial influence over the project’s review process.
Once we enter the federal EIS process under current conditions, we effectively surrender decision-making authority to an administration that:
- Opposes the multimodal, community-centered approach Minnesota communities have advocated for
- Prioritizes highway expansion and vehicle throughput over livability, equity, and climate goals
- Has demonstrated willingness to withhold funding from states that don’t align with its vision
- Will only fund projects aligned with their vision
If we proceed now, we risk spending years and millions of dollars developing a project that serves the Trump administration’s priorities—not Minnesota’s. A pause allows us to wait for a federal partner aligned with our values or to develop a state-funded alternative that maintains full local control on a project of this significance.
Unlikely Federal Funding in the Near Term
Federal transportation funding is among the largest pools of funding that states like Minnesota receive every year. This funding has been at severe risk of being clawed back since January 2025, when the Trump Administration took office. Current conditions make federal funding for the Rethinking I-94 project extremely unlikely:
Funding Environment
- The administration has already paused or revoked billions in previously awarded infrastructure grants, particularly those focused on safety, equity, multimodal transit, and community reconnection
- Competitive grant programs that would support innovative I-94 alternatives (like the Reconnecting Communities program) have been paused, revoked, or otherwise delayed
- The upcoming federal transportation reauthorization is expected to dramatically reduce formula funding to states and eliminate grant programs that don’t prioritize vehicle throughput
- Minnesota’s progressive transportation priorities make us an unlikely recipient of discretionary funds under the current administration
Financial Reality
- Any federal funding we might receive would come with strings attached—requiring the project to align with administration priorities that contradict community input
- The cost of federal compliance (lengthy reviews, design compromises, ongoing federal oversight) may outweigh the value of diminished federal contributions
- State and local funding sources provide more flexibility and faster project delivery without federal interference
Strategic Timing
- Pausing now allows Minnesota to reassess funding strategies without federal constraints or costly sunk costs
- MnDOT has already completed major bridge work on I-94 this summer, meaning all immediate roadway safety needs are met in the short term, and drivers won’t be at increased safety risk as a result of a delay
- If federal leadership changes in 2029, we can re-engage with a supportive federal partner; if not, we’ll have preserved our ability to act independently
Legal and Regulatory Uncertainty
The elimination of standardized NEPA implementation creates significant legal risk for projects entering environmental review now:
- No clear rules: Agencies are operating without consistent guidance, leading to unpredictable review processes
- Litigation exposure: Weakened environmental reviews are more vulnerable to legal challenges and may be out of compliance with state environmental review laws
- Shifting goalposts: Federal requirements may change mid-process, forcing costly restarts or redesigns
- Precedent risk: Decisions made under the current federal leadership could lock Minnesota into frameworks that persist beyond this administration
Pausing protects Minnesota from becoming a test case for untested federal policies.
Protecting Community Investment and Trust
Minnesota has invested significantly in community engagement for Rethinking I-94. Residents along the corridor—particularly in historically marginalized neighborhoods like Rondo—have participated in good faith, sharing their vision for a project that reconnects communities, prioritizes transit and walkability, and addresses historical harms.
Proceeding under current federal conditions betrays that trust. Communities were promised a rethinking of I-94, not caving to dictatorial mandates from a hostile federal government. If we continue now, we signal that federal funding matters more than community vision and local government priorities—undermining public trust in transportation planning for years to come.
A pause demonstrates respect for community input by ensuring their vision can actually be implemented, not compromised away in federal negotiations.
A pause is a strategic protection of our state’s interests and our communities’ vision. It positions Minnesota to act when conditions allow us to actually deliver what our residents need, rather than what a hostile federal administration will permit.
The boldest action Minnesota can take is to refuse to build the Trump administration’s vision for our communities. Impacted communities, local governments, and our state at large need to be in the driver’s seat in defining the future of I-94.
Take action
The communities divided by I-94 have lived with this highway’s harm for over 60 years. This public comment period is your opportunity to demand a different future—one that prioritizes health, equity, and community connection over highway expansion.
Continue to Provide Public Comment
Your voice matters. Make it heard. The public comment period will run for 60 days, from January 6th to March 9th, 2026. RSVP to provide public comment.
About Twin Cities Boulevard
The most responsible option for the future of the Rethinking I-94 project is a multi-modal boulevard that returns the surrounding land to neighborhoods and fulfills calls for reparative justice along the corridor. The Twin Cities Boulevard will create healthier air, much-needed economic opportunity, and accessible, affordable, and sustainable transportation access to places all along the corridor.