Baxter businesses press MDOT to change 'button-hook' design for Highway 371/210 interchange; MDOT warns funding could be lost

Chamber of Commerce president Matt Killian told the Baxter City Council at a work session that the local business community is overwhelmingly opposed to MDOTs preferred "button-hook" design for the Highway 371/210 interchange and urged the agency to revise the plan before municipal consent is considered.

"We are not nor have we ever pushed to kill the project," Killian said, adding that the chamber and area businesses want a different design that preserves access and visibility for customers. He said a June/July survey of local merchants drew responses from about 70 Baxter businesses; "60% rated the proposed design as poor," he said, and "71% want changes." Killian also said 240 businesses had signed a regional letter and 104 Baxter businesses had signed a local coalition letter asking for changes.

Killian framed the issue as one of local economic survival, saying business owners worry about both short-term losses during construction and longer-term declines if customers cannot navigate to storefronts. He urged the council to press MDOT to explore alternatives, delay the municipal-consent vote if…