Transportation stimulus dollars flow to Minnesota

Who decides where the money goes in the metro area?

Some are calling it a Niagara Falls of money that will flow to state and local units of government, now that the president has signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. About $9 billion of that economic stimulus package will make its way to Minnesota, with $502 million for road and highway projects and $94 million for transit.

So, who decides how those transportation dollars will be spent?

One goal of the transportation stimulus dollars coming to Minnesota is to create construction jobs. (Photo courtesy Mn/DOT)

“Fortunately, we have a good process in place for determining the projects that receive federal funding,” said Metropolitan Council Chair Peter Bell. “It’s a process that will help us tremendously as the state and region put projects on the fast-track, and ensure openness and transparency to the public.”

The bulk of Minnesota’s share of transportation stimulus dollars, $351 million, will go to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) for road and highway projects throughout the state, including the metro area. About $151 million is targeted to counties and cities across the state for road and highway projects.

Of that local portion, about half will go to the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), composed jointly of the Metropolitan Council and Transportation Advisory Board (TAB), for distribution to road and highway projects in the metro area. To distinguish these dollars from the state-allocated funds, planners are calling these monies the “MPO” dollars.

In addition, the Council and TAB will allocate an additional $69 million in stimulus dollars for metro area transit projects.

How the selection process works

While Washington was nailing down the details of the federal recovery program, here at home the TAB has been gearing up for the fiscal infusion; monitoring the legislation and congressional action, developing criteria for the selection of projects, and reviewing potential projects for funding. Once the TAB reviews and selects projects for stimulus funding, it will send its recommendations on to the Metropolitan Council for approval.

FAST TRACK PROJECTS

Seven projects are outpacing even the fast-track process and are being added to the Transportation Improvement Program early for potential stimulus funding. That’s because they’ll be ready for contract letting this spring. They include:

Trunk Highway 5 reconstruction in Oakdale, Lake Elmo, Baytown Township and Oak Park Heights
Rebuilding the lighting system on TH100 from I-494 to Vernon Ave. in Edina
Rebuilding the lighting system on I-35W from Cliff Rd. in Burnsville to 106th St. in Bloomington
Creating a living snow fence at the Fish Lake interchange in Maple Grove
Rebuilding the cable median barrier from the Fish Lake interchange in Maple Grove to the Hennepin County line with Wright County
I-35 north of the 35E and 35W junction to north of TH8, bituminous mill and overlay and auxiliary lane]
TH100 upgrade and lighting replacement from 50th St. in Edina to Excelsior Blvd. in St. Louis Park

“We’ve never experienced anything quite like this,” said TAB Chair Donn Wiski. “While the TAB helps to openly and methodically allocate many millions of dollars on behalf of the seven-county region, we typically have more time to solicit applications and review and recommend projects. We have worked to prepare for this program. It has kept us on our toes, to say the least, but our region is probably better positioned than most to evaluate and move these projects forward quickly.”

Complying with the federal government’s timeline on these projects will be no small feat. One-half of the Mn/DOT projects identified for stimulus funding must be ready for contract letting within 120 days. For transit projects, half of the selected projects must be ready for contract letting within 180 days.

Ultimately, all transit and highway/road projects in the region that are recommended for federal funding under the recovery program must be included in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for Metropolitan Council approval. And, there is no shortage of projects in the queue.

Projects targeted for investment

The Council has identified a number of priority investments that would take advantage of the $69 million in transit stimulus funds. Among them is a projected shortfall of $45 million in the regional transit operating budget due, primarily, to the collapse of Motor Vehicle Sales Tax receipts, a major source of transit funding.

Other transit projects identified for possible investment of Federal Transit Administration funds include:

Replacement buses for Metro Transit and Metro Mobility
Additional vehicles for the Hiawatha Line to increase capacity
Additional vehicles for Northstar Commuter Rail
New bus garages for bus storage and maintenance
Park-and-ride expansions
A bus-only ramp on TH169 and Stagecoach Road

The “MPO” pot of money that the TAB and Council will allocate will be tapped for metro-area road projects submitted by counties, cities and Mn/DOT.

Hard choices must be made

hybrid bus on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis

The Council will likely use some stimulus money to accelerate planned purchases of more hybrid-electric buses for its fleet.

“Admittedly, the dollars we need and the dollars we’re receiving in the stimulus package don’t add up,” said Khani Sahebjam, Deputy Commissioner for Mn/DOT at a Feb. 18 TAB meeting. “The need exceeds available resources. Nonetheless, this is an opportunity to obligate these funds and select good projects that will help to improve mobility, promote safety and maintain the existing system.”

In the metro, Sahebjam said two projects in particular stand out for consideration, including a segment of Highway 610 from TH169 to County Road 81 and rebuilding the intersection at I-494 and TH169.

“We will face some difficult choices about whether to embark on a few larger projects like 610 and the 494/169 interchange, or make funds available for many smaller projects,” he said. “These are the choices Mn/DOT, along with the TAB and Council will make in coming weeks.”

The TAB and its several committees will hold more meetings than usual as it considers projects for Council approval. To keep tabs on the TAB, check the Council's Meetings web page.