Private proposals Minnesota toll road 212 flies, four others grounded

Private proposals:

Minnesota toll road H-212 flies, four others grounded

Minneapolis-St.Paul is one of the few metro areas in the U.S. with a population over 2 million that has resisted the siren-song of rail transit. Instead it has developed one of the nation’s best systems of bus/HOV lanes based on a relatively dense grid of small expressways and well-ordered arterials. The state of Minnesota is devoting all its gas tax revenues to maintaining the existing system and last year called for private sector proposals for new toll highways under a program it calls “Transmart.” Five projects were submitted to the state Transportation Department (MnDOT):

(1) Trunk Highway 212, a project of Interwest/DLR (Dick Carr 602 955 1187) to build a 4 lane toll road branching off from the southwest corner of the Twin Cities’ ‘beltway’ I-494 at Eden Prairie heading 14 miles in a generally southwesterly direction to end at Carver County Road 147, with a possible later extension to Cologne. The route roughly parallels a rail line and the Minnesota River and passes through bedroom communities and developing industrial areas of Chanhassen and Chaska. 8 interchanges and $220m expenditure are involved. The Interwest group is a strong believer in gaining local commitment and is acting as project manager and financier for the “212 Community Highway Association” a non-profit run by local residents and business people who want the new road. Tolling to be electronic.

(2) Southwest I-494: reconstruction, extra lanes, HOV lanes and interchange improvement on a 2 mile stretch of the twin cities ‘beltway’ between TH-169 at Eden Prairie and TH-100 in Bloomington. $266m, electronic tolls. A project of Minnesota Transportation Group (MTG), a subsidiary of Hughes Transportation Management Systems (Robert Zauner 612 858 9410).

(3) North Crosstown Parkway or TH-610: a 16 mile $281m east-west route about 15 miles north of the central business district, TH-610 will begin at its west end at Maple Grove at an interchange with I-94 which approaches Minneapolis from North Dakota heading southeasterly. TH-610 heading east and slightly north will provide relief to I-94/I-694 and tie a poorly served area into the expressway grid. The present project will end at I-35W. Midway will be a new bridge over the Mississippi river. Electronic tolls. The 2nd MTG /Hughes proposal.

(4) Wakota Gateway, I-694: major expansion and reconstruction of the twn cities’ beltway in its southeastern corner in South StPaul at the crossing of the Mississippi River. Construction of a new 4 lane bridge and approaches for one direction of traffic, reconstruction of existing bridge for the other direction and rebuilding of an adjacent interchange. $180m, electronic tolls. 3rd MTG project.

(5) Winnipeg to Duluth Truck Tollway: $1.3 billion to build 322 miles of limited access heavy duty highway to serve heavy duty long combination truck trains of wheat to provide a more economical means of transportation of northern prairie produce (Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North Dakota) to Great Lakes shipping. Presently the Canadian railroad has a monopoly of the Winnipeg-Thunder Bay wheat haul. The truck tollway will parallel Highway 2 from Duluth to east of Crookston then head north west of the sensitive Red Lakes. The project ends at Richter just east of the Winnipeg metro area. Lead partner is James Ball of Transportation Industries International (202 986 5063.) Ball is a former head of transportation in the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

May 9, just as we go to press, MnDOT released a statement that Highway 212 will continue to be considered, but not the other four projects. It said: "These projects lacked community support, financial and technical feasibility, or posed environmental concerns. However state law does not preclude a modified proposal being submitted to the state addressing any concerns raised."

Ball the lead proposer of the upstate truck tollway is unhappy and has written to the state proposing further talks.

Zauner of Hughes TMS expressed disappointment too at the MnDOT decision saying he thinks state officials overestimated local opposition. He said his company will go on with projects it is proposing in other places around the world, but that maybe some time in the future the three Minnesota Hughes projects will be revived.

Meanwhile H-212 moves foward. Adeel Lari director of the department's Office of Alternative Financing (612 282 6148) told us he hopes an agreement between the proposer and the department can be finalized by late summer. The agreement will define the project, and be presented at a public meeting. From the date of signature of the agreement, "affected communities" (apparently represented by cities and county governments) have 30 days in which they can veto the project.

MnDOT's statement said that "the communities affected by the H-212 project have to date expressed strong support for the proposal." (Contact: Shayla Tate MnDOT 612 296 8483)

TRnewsletter