~ Public-Private Partnerships, MnPASS study, Greater MN safety projects among initiatives ~

Saint Paul – Under Governor Tim Pawlenty's leadership, Minnesota has experienced the largest and fastest increase in road construction and additional transportation options in modern Minnesota history. In order to maintain and further expand our transportation infrastructure, Governor Pawlenty today proposed several measures to get Minnesotans where they need to go quickly, safely, and efficiently.

“Positioning Minnesota for future success means making strategic transportation investments to move people and goods around our state more safely and efficiently,” Governor Pawlenty said. “The initiatives we’re announcing today can be undertaken right away – they don’t require any additional legislation. Moving forward, we’ll need to use innovative techniques like these to get the greatest possible value for our transportation dollar.”

Governor Pawlenty announced the following transportation initiatives:

• Innovative Financing – Public-Private Partnerships (P3)
• Next Stage MnPASS Implementation Study
• I-94 Improvements between Minneapolis and Saint Paul
• Low Cost/High Benefit Congestion Project Acceleration
• Low Cost/High Benefit Traffic Safety Solutions in Greater Minnesota

Innovative Financing – Public-Private Partnerships (P3)

Governor Pawlenty is directing Mn/DOT to increase the use of Public-Private Partnerships (P3) to expand capacity and use transportation dollars to encourage targeted economic development.

P3 partnerships will be used to accelerate expansion projects by leveraging public and private resources to bring planned projects online faster and create expansion opportunities where none were planned.

Moreover, P3 partnerships can be used on targeted projects designed to facilitate specific economic development objectives, as well as meet transportation goals.

Examples of P3 partnerships include:

• Reconstruction of the interchange at Highway 169 and Bren Road in Minnetonka. Partners in the project include Mn/DOT ($7 million), the Department of Employment & Economic Development ($1 million), the City of Minnetonka ($5 million), and UnitedHealth Group ($5 million). The project will accelerate needed improvements that will allow UnitedHealth Group to proceed with an expansion that will add more than 1,600 employees to their campus in Minnetonka. Construction of the expansion itself is expected to produce more than 1,400 jobs and $50 million in associated wages over the course of the project. The interchange project is expected to get underway in spring 2010.

• Construction of the new Highway 52 Elk Run Interchange in Pine Island just north of Rochester will aid the development of a new bioscience medical facility and supporting businesses. The 2,300-acre development will create numerous high-paying jobs and boost the state's economy. This project represents a partnership between Mn/DOT, DEED, Olmsted County, the City of Pine Island, the developer (Tower Investments) and a bio-business capital investing firm (Burrill & Co.). The total construction cost of the interchange project is estimated to be approximately $36 million. Tower Investments and Burrill & Co. donated an estimated $13 million in right-of-way for the project. The project will be a Design-Build Best-Value project and could be put out for contract as early as January 2010.

Next Stage MnPASS Implementation Study

Governor Pawlenty is directing Mn/DOT to identify additional metro freeways that will benefit by the installation of a MnPASS congestion-pricing, high occupancy toll lane network. MnPASS lanes would be implemented in places where new capacity could be offered.

The study, which will be completed by September 2010, will look at the Twin Cities metro area highway system, evaluate traffic volumes, analyze travel patterns, identify geometric capabilities in various corridors, estimate construction and operating costs and determine revenue potential.

MnPASS has already been implemented on I-394 and last month on I-35W. Examples of possible future routes include Highway 77 between Eagan and Bloomington/Richfield, Highway 169 between Shakopee and Bren Road in Minnetonka, and I-94 from the Fish Lake interchange to Highway 101 in Rogers.

I-94 Improvements between Minneapolis and Saint Paul

During the I-35W bridge reconstruction, lanes were added to I-94 to manage increased traffic congestion. These additional lanes greatly improved traffic flow. Governor Pawlenty is proposing additional enhancements in this corridor, including managed lane technology, high speed bus shoulders, and eight lanes on I-94 between Highway 280 and downtown Minneapolis.

In the future, one of the additional lanes and the bus shoulder would be converted to a MnPASS lane, allowing for another commuting option. Conversion of a lane/shoulder in each direction to a MnPASS lane is dependent on finding a low-cost solution for modifying the interchange at Highway 280.

Low Cost/High Benefit Congestion Project Acceleration

The Governor is proposing an initiative to combine and accelerate $20-$40 million of low cost/high benefit congestion mitigation projects in the Metro area. These are projects that typically cost $10 million or less and significantly reduce congestion.

Examples of recently completed low cost/high benefit congestion mitigation projects include a $1.1 million interchange modification completed this month to allow westbound I-494 traffic to enter westbound Hwy. 212 on an additional lane and a $7.1 million project adding lane capacity to north and southbound Highway 100 between Highway 7 and I-394 that was completed in October 2006.

Low Cost/High Benefit Traffic Safety Solutions in Greater Minnesota

In an effort to reduce traffic fatalities and improve safety, Governor Pawlenty is proposing aggressive implementation of proactive safety strategies in Greater Minnesota, where the majority of the state’s fatal and serious crashes occur. This initiative will accelerate $3-$5 million in low cost/high benefit safety projects around Greater Minnesota.

Some of the low cost strategies that provide high value to motorists include greater lighting at rural intersections to improve visibility, improved signage and pavement markings on curves, increased use of cable median barriers to reduce cross-over crashes, rumble strips to alert drivers who veer out of their lanes, and upgrading pavement striping to wet reflective markings that are more visible at night during rain.

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