On February 6th, RGC President Casey Venema and Vice Chair Pete Hyduke sent a letter to MnDOT District 1 requesting information to support state and federal funding requests. On Monday, February 9, they met with MnDOT District 1 Engineer Duane Hill in Duluth. Here are the outcomes from that meeting:

• MnDOT has been working with the Federal Highway Administration, including a meeting last week, to advance the project through the federal regulatory (National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA) process. The NEPA process is required by the federal government to assess the impact of proposed actions and determine what further analysis is needed.
• MnDOT District 1 staff will prepare a one-page document for RGC, which will include updated cost estimates, project timelines, and anticipated project boundaries.

RGC initially requested cost estimates, project timelines, and other information from MnDOT no later than Friday, February 13. MnDOT requested a full week to compile the document, so we anticipate that we will receive it sometime this week. As soon as that information is provided, RGC will immediately work with our legislative supporters to introduce legislative requests. We’ll also call on our members to help support our advocacy efforts, so keep an eye on our emails for further information.