Chippewa County board pledges local share for first phase of Highway T expansion after debate

The Chippewa County Board of Supervisors voted Feb. 11 to pledge local funding toward phase 1 of a planned four‑lane expansion of County Highway T following presentations from highway staff and nearly two hours of public and supervisor debate.

The board approved a resolution committing Chippewa County to pay roughly 32.67% of the local share of phase 1 costs, with the county’s estimated portion of the current local cost range stated in the resolution as between $1.3 million and $2.2 million. The motion passed on a 14–6 vote.

The vote came after Highway Commissioner Brian Kelly presented updated 30% design plans and a cost estimate for phase 1, which covers the northern end near 29 Pines south toward Seventeenth Avenue. Kelly said the corridor serves about 8,000 vehicles per day now and traffic engineers project growth to 16,000 daily trips in 10 years, which he said supports building a divided four‑lane roadway with a raised median, bike/pedestrian accommodations and roundabouts at major intersections.

“Generally, if what they're telling us is if it's 10 to 15,000 cars a day, you…