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Saint Cloud area leaders push $35 million request to improve safety and access on Highway 10
Summary
Representative Wolgamott presented House File 1642 seeking $35 million for phase 1 of a multi-segment Highway 10 safety and access project in southeast Saint Cloud. Testimony highlighted a pattern of crashes and local business and school-transportation impacts; the committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion.
Representative Wolgamott moved House File 1642 to be laid over for possible inclusion; the bill requests $35,000,000 for safety and access improvements on Minnesota Highway 10 in southeast Saint Cloud and represents the next phase of a corridor program previously funded for study and design.
Wolgammott and local stakeholders described a history of collisions on the corridor. Wolgamott said a corridor study and earlier planning appropriations previously funded $1 million for a study and $6 million for planning, design and right-of-way; the $35 million would fund phase 1 of a multi-segment approach to address a corridor that, between 2017 and 2021, experienced 315 crashes and several fatal or severe-injury collisions above statewide averages. Local businesses and safety stakeholders testified to access problems: John Peterson of TCC Materials described heavy truck movements and an industrial site with many employees and daily vehicle trips; Landon Bowe, director of safety for a local bus company, said drivers and buses face narrow medians and lack of acceleration lanes on Highway 10, complicating safe access with more than 25,000 ADT.
Members asked about scalability and MnDOT coordination. Representative Wolgamott said the $160 million corridor plan has been segmented and that the $35 million request is phase 1; the sponsor and testifiers said the project has been under coordination with MnDOT planners and engineers for several years and earlier appropriations funded the study and right-of-way work. Committee members asked whether greenhouse-gas mitigation components were included; testifiers said specifics should be provided by MnDOT engineers but noted safety improvements can also reduce idling and stop-and-go conditions.
Outcome: House File 1642 was laid over for possible inclusion.
Why it matters: Testimony underlined a high-crash corridor with daily freight and school transportation movements; local industry and school-transportation representatives urged the committee to fund the next construction-ready phase of safety improvements.
