The preceding pictures were taken in Southwestern Minnesota during the construction of the “super highway” I-90 in the early 60’s. It connected rural America and bypassed it at the same time. This investment in infrastructure did create jobs and opportunities and provided an economic boost to the region.
With the collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis there has been renewed focus on the transportation debate in Minnesota. Here is a sampling from southwestern Minnesota newspapers:
Worthington Daily Globe, August 9, 2007, Mending Our Roads
“We’re pleased to hear Gov. Tim Pawlenty is reconsidering his position on a 10-cent increase in the state gasoline tax. It’s something that was necessary before the collapse of the I-35W bridge in the Twin Cities — and certainly needed now as a means of generating additional, much-needed revenue”.
and this,
“At a Tuesday meeting of the Nobles County Board of Commissioners, Public Works Director Stephen Schnieder indicated the county doesn’t have the funds needed to maintain road surfaces in accordance with 10-ton standards, much less fund road reconstruction projects. Something is wrong with this state of affairs.”
The editorial is here.
Marshall Independent, August 7, 2007, Make Response on Infrastructure Comprehensive
“The landscape has changed, almost overnight, on transportation talk.
What happened in Minneapolis last Wednesday was unacceptable.
It will also be unacceptable if the response from Minnesota law and policy makers falls anything short of a comprehensive, thoroughly funded change of course on roads and bridges.
Minnesotans need to be able to trust that their transportation system is safe and well-cared for.
Until lawmakers respond, that trust is shaky.”
The editorial is here.
Cottonwood County Citizen, August 8, 2007, Value of Infrastructure
“…Let’s face it, the State of Minnesota has taken a patchwork approach to its transportation system for at least a couple of decades. What we are now seeing is clearly a case of state officials reacting to a tragedy and the public pressure that has ensued.”
and this
“The challenge before rural lawmakers is to convince metro lawmakers of the importance of addressing all state highway needs equally - without favoring the metro area.
It is about time that state lawmakers address our deteriorating highways and bridges. It’s too bad, however, it took a tragedy to push them to this point.”
The editorial is here.
If we are to make something positive out of this we need to continue the momentum calling for a real investment in our transportation infrastructure. There will be additional debates about rural versus metro needs and roads versus transit but hopefully we will have some leadership that will show that this type of investment will strengthen our economy more than any of the economic development tax break plans that have received so much hype.
Peace and solidarity,
CHC
Technorati Tags: politics, I-35 bridge collapse, infrasturcture, I-90, Minnesota
I-90 … how about County Road 90 ?
In Blue Earth County, there is a relatively new road … County Road 90 which is designed to go around Mankato from Highway 169/60 West to Highway 14/22. When it opened, I questioned whether this was a good investment of taxpayer dollars but the County officials that I talked with assured me it was. I don’t travel it much but over the years, I have seen more houses built in the vicinity but not a lot of vehicle traffic. I had the occasion this weekend to make multiple trips to pick up logs for firewood splitting using this county road … sadly, I saw more bikers and walkers than cars. {Note : This area is near Mount Kato so there are a lot of great opportunities for exercise activity.}
I could not help but ask myself again … was this a good investment ? Or, should the monies have been spent on maintaining the existing bridges and roads ? No doubt as more rural land is converted to housing, the County will be glad to have the tax revenues, but to me they could have spent the money more wisely.
Sadly, politicians get good press when they show up at a ribbon-cutting ceremony … but what press can you get for maintaining roads / bridges ? And this may be what motivates them. In the TransPORKtation bill of 2005, Oberstar was successful in getting funding for new road construction … but MNDOT did not even have the road on their list of projects.
I asked the same question “If they build it, will they come” in my commentary http://minnesotacentral.blogspot.com/2007/06/pawlenty-dreams-but-minnesotans-fear.html which addressed county roads deteriorating faster caused by the construction of ethanol processing facilities. My premise was that Pawlenty is not recognizing that there are infrastructure impacts of his love for ethanol.
[...] archives when I-90 was being built near Beaver Creek in the early 60’s. In a previous post I stressed the need for investment in our transportation infrastructure and hopefully with the [...]