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Community Corner

Letter to the Editor: I-35 State Highway Investment Plan Comments Needed

Mayor Matt Little: "The City Council and I encourage residents and business owners to provide comments to MnDOT."

To the editor:

A few months back the City Council and I wrote to Governor Dayton, MnDOT, and local leaders to express our desire to expand I-35 to three lanes.  We requested this to alleviate congestion and reduce the number of accidents on this stretch of road.

Since that letter, we have met with local officials to begin forming a coalition to assist in lobbying MnDOT, St. Paul, and Washington, D.C.  But now, the Council and I are asking for your help in furthering this project.

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The State of Minnesota is preparing its 20-year State Highway Investment Plan for the Metro Area and the current draft plan does not include our I-35 project.  As you know, I-35 is a critical corridor serving Lakeville and the entire Metro area. As the Metro area has grown, the levels of congestion have increased and safety has been impaired. There have been over 300 crashes that have occurred in this section of I-35 over the past three years, including 125 injuries and four fatalities. Even the Federal Highway Administration has previously commented that additional lanes are warranted along this stretch of highway.

This is where you come in.  MnDOT is accepting public comments on the 20-year State Highway Investment Plan through the end of July. The City Council and I encourage residents and business owners to provide comments to MnDOT by going to the website: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/mnship/. Again, the deadline is soon so make sure to submit your comments by July 31st.  You can use the information in this letter to guide your comments if you so desire.

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Under the current proposed plan, it will be at least 2033 before that section of highway is expanded.  And even then, there is no guarantee.  This is unacceptable.

Please, on behalf of the City Council and I, get involved by submitting your public comments to MnDOT.  Staff and I are on hand at city hall if you need or want help drafting a comment.

Matt Little
Mayor of Lakeville

Signatories:
Doug Anderson, City Council Member
Bart Davis, City Council Member
Kerrin Swecker, City Council Member
Colleen Ratzlaff-LaBeau, City Council Member

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