Senate committee advances bill letting cities, counties use national road‑design guides

Senator Dibble, the chief author of Senate File 21‑62, told the Senate Transportation Committee on March 12 that the bill would let cities and counties adopt nationally recognized roadway design standards for municipal and county state‑aid streets and streamline the process for reviewing design variances.

The legislation would allow a political subdivision to adopt a “qualifying alternative roadway design standard” — guidance such as MnDOT’s Facilities Design Guide, the AASHTO Green Book, Institute of Transportation Engineers guidance, NACTO guidance, and other FHWA‑recognized manuals — in place of separate state aid rules. The bill also adds a hold‑harmless and indemnification clause, codifies criteria and notice for variance denials, and revamps the advisory committee that reviews variance requests.

Proponents said the change is aimed at giving local officials more flexibility to design streets that match local context and safety needs and reducing delays and administrative burdens caused by the current variance process. "This bill allows local communities to adopt and use nationally recognized standards instead of the state aid standards," Senator Dibble said during his overview. He added that the…