Since most of the funding for transportation comes from dedicated sources like the gas tax and the sales tax, not the general fund, we did not have to make many cuts in this area.
The most significant transportation improvements in Burnsville are the result of the override of the Governor’s veto of the transportation bill in 2008. Because of my support of that override, the state was able to bring home $133 million in funding for improvements to 35 W that have added a new southbound lane and expanded transit options.
In addition, the new construction triggered an environmental assessment that will now bring sound walls to the residential areas along 35 W from Burnsville Parkway to McAndrews Rd. Residents along this stretch of the highway have been waiting on this for years. I’m proud to have helped deliver it for them.
Additional resources to improve the safety of our roads and bridges were an important part of our bonding bills passed these two sessions. An additional $35 million in trunk highway bonding dedicated to interchanges in the metro area might help us finally get the project at Hwy. 13 and Cty. Rd. 5 started soon. That project is key to the city of Burnsville’s re-development plans for the area North of Hwy. 13 and West of 35W.
For many years Minnesota has been trying to maintain and
expand a 21st century transportation system on 1980s resources.
As a result MnDOT has been forced to use resources that were supposed to
be for road maintenance to fund the bonding they have been using to expand the
system. In addition, counties and
cities have been forced to dedicate larger and larger portions of their
budgets—funded by property taxes—to maintain county roads and local streets.
The legislative auditor reported that 20 years of neglect
has resulted in Minnesota’s being $2.4 billion behind every year in what it needs to keep up with our growing population
and business needs.
In February of 2008 the legislature finally came together
in a bipartisan way with broad support from labor unions and the Chamber of
Commerce to pass legislation that would get Minnesota moving again.
The transportation bill we passed will provide more than $600 million each year in new funding to improve the safety and reliability of our roads and bridges. In addition the bill contained a dedicated funding stream for transit so we could expand transit options to help more people choose not to drive if they can, thereby helping to reduce congestion, pollution and our dependence on foreign oil. This dedicated funding stream will also make the Twin Cities metro area a more attractive target for federal transportation dollars that can help us improve our system in the long run.
There was significant bonding included in this bill to
continue to accelerate improvements to our system. This included $600 million over the next 2 years dedicated to
repairing the “fracture critical” bridges in our state.
But, unlike in past years, we were fiscally responsible in the way we
bonded for these road improvements by choosing a “pay as you go” method so
we would not have to steal resources from other needs to finance the interest on
these bonds.
We are already seeing greater federal investments having a
direct impact on the south metro. The
passage of this bill and the 2008 bonding bill helped to provide state matching
dollars to secure $133 million in federal resources that might have gone to
another metro area. These resources
will be used primarily along the 35 W corridor and Cedar avenue corridor to
improve utilization of existing lanes and further expand transit options.
One other benefit of this year’s bill is that it finally
placed into law a new formula whereby the distribution of new revenue will be
directed more to the metro area.
As a result of this bipartisan effort, with the full support of the business community, Minnesota is beginning to move forward again. Not only will these new investments in our infrastructure lead to safer, more reliable roads and bridges, but the expanded transit options will help reduce congestion and contribute to a cleaner environment. In addition, these investments will get more than 30,000 Minnesotans back to work improving our roads and bridges, and create countless more jobs as businesses are able to move goods and services more efficiently.
Finally, these investments will help to get you home to your family faster. Skyrocketing gasoline costs may be a federal issue. But, the action we took at the legislature this year will help to make sure you are spending less time wasting fuel in traffic, and provide you with more opportunities to save money taking the bus and/or train to work. I’m proud to have been a part of these quality of life improvements.
This web site was prepared and paid for by
The Volunteers for Morgan Committee
PO Box 1773, Burnsville MN 55337-1773