MnDOT seeks Richfield input on I‑494 phase 2, warns federal grant requires E‑ZPass plan

Minnesota Department of Transportation officials told the Richfield City Council May 27 that major grants backing a multi‑phase I‑494 corridor vision require the project to keep the currently proposed managed (E‑ZPass) lanes and that altering that design could threaten the funding. Andrew Letai, a MnDOT project representative, said the INFRA federal grant applications and earlier state Corridors of Commerce requests shaped the scope of the first and upcoming phases.

The warning matters because the corridor vision covers roughly $1 billion in potential improvements and MnDOT has so far identified funding for only a portion of that total. Changing the lane plan now, Letai said, could cause grant money to be withdrawn and jeopardize the schedule for the stretch of 494 that passes through Richfield.

MnDOT described the corridor vision as a joint effort among state, regional and local partners and said the overall plan was broken into nine independent project elements so work…