The Way We Invest Isn’t Working. It’s Time for Change.
Minnesota spends billions on wasteful road projects that fail to reduce congestion, grow tax bases and economic opportunity, increase transportation choices, and make it cleaner and more affordable to get around. While our roads and bridges crumble, pedestrian deaths hit 30-year highs, vulnerable communities breathe polluted air, communities lack housing and tax base, and a third of Minnesotans lack adequate transportation options. It’s time for a new approach.
A System that Doesn’t Deliver
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) continues to behave like it’s the 1960s, creating intersecting economic, environmental, and human problems. We are pouring money into highway expansions that fail to make it easier and more affordable to get around, while neglecting maintenance and investing in innovative approaches to improve Minnesotans’ lives.
$3.5 Billion — The current unfunded gap needed to maintain Minnesota’s roads and bridges
This shortfall is expected to balloon to over $17 billion by the mid-2030s. Despite this maintenance crisis, MnDOT plans to spend over $1.4 billion on highway expansions while our current system crumbles (MnDOT 2022 Transportation Asset Management Plan).
You wouldn’t add an addition to your house before fixing a leaky roof. MnDOT shouldn’t either.
$53 Billion — The value of the 559 square miles of land occupied by roads in Minnesota’s largest counties–equivalent to 10 times the land area of St. Paul or 24 times the size of Lake Minnetonka. (Source: Guerra et al. 2024)
Our local and state governments need revenue to fund essential services. Communities lost homes, businesses, places of worship, parks, and opportunities when highways were overbuilt.
Local tax bases and residents’ quality of life have never recovered.
4th Highest — Minnesota’s ranking for the number of road lane miles compared to other states. (Source: FHWA 2022)
This is not a per capita measure– Minnesota actually has more lane miles than nearly every state, despite ranking 22nd in population and 19th in GDP per capita. The road system is far larger than our population, economy, or farm-to-market needs would require.
30-Year High — Pedestrian and bicyclist deaths have reached their highest level in three decades nationally—a trend mirrored in Minnesota (FHWA, MnDOT, US CDC).
In 2025, 370 people didn’t make it home to their families after a fatality on our transportation system. Bike and pedestrian injuries and deaths continue to rise as we don’t take safety seriously.
$300 Million — The amount MnDOT plans to spend expanding Highway 252 in Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park, which won’t improve traffic or mobility (MnDOT).
MnDOT’s own projections show that traffic will return to pre-expansion levels just five years after construction—and the city of Brooklyn Center strongly opposes the project.
Who gets left behind?
When we build a transportation system that is almost exclusively focused on private vehicles, we leave millions of Minnesotans without adequate mobility options (NRDC).
| 32.6% of Minnesotans do not rely on personal vehicles for daily travel | 73% of people with disabilities don’t drive for most trips (nationally) |
| 37.6% of people over 75 have driving limitations (nationally) | 30,000 people in rural MN live in households without car access |
| 405,000 Minnesotans share one car with 2+ other drivers | 84.7 hours/year spent by MN drivers chauffeuring others |
Air Quality and Community Health
Vehicle emissions remain a leading source of air pollution, contributing to respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, and premature death—with the heaviest burdens falling on communities living near highways and major roadways (Urban Institute).
Environmental Justice
Low-income communities and communities of color often bear disproportionate health and environmental impacts from transportation infrastructure, from highway pollution to lack of access to healthcare facilities (Urban Institute, Union of Concerned Scientists).
What Minnesotans Want
Polling consistently shows that Minnesota voters support a new direction for transportation. They want a system that works for everyone:
- 74% of voters support a complete streets approach—designing roads that are safe and comfortable for all users, including those who bike, walk, roll, and use transit, not just cars and trucks
- 72% of voters support reducing transportation’s harms to communities’ health and well-being
- 71% of voters support MnDOT using up-to-date travel demand models to evaluate investments
- 66% of voters would support improving transportation options using funding that would otherwise go to highway expansion
Sources: MOVE Minnesota / Our Streets Joint Poll 2022, Our Streets Data For Progress Poll 2023
Our Streets’ policy agenda solves these problems and will create a safe, affordable, and accessible multi-modal transportation system built with transparency and accountability, giving all Minnesotans reliable, affordable options to reach jobs, schools, and healthcare without the high cost of car ownership.
Frontline communities living, learning, and playing along highways would enjoy cleaner air and safer streets rather than bear the burdens of highways. Vibrant main streets and local businesses would thrive as transportation investments strengthen community tax bases and create union jobs, while cities benefit from restored developable land and households spend less on transportation—finally making transportation a tool to build vibrant communities in cities, suburbs, and small towns across Minnesota.
State Legislative Priorities
Transportation policy and funding can—and should—create vibrant communities across our state. It’s time to think differently about transportation to get Minnesotans moving. We can improve our transportation system while promoting racial and economic justice, creating fiscal and economic prosperity, and supporting the vibrant communities across Minnesota.