Duluth – Page 3

How federal transportation dollars will be spent in Duluth…4 years from now

Posted on Mar 5, 2015Dec 20, 2017 by Rondi Watson

Although it fluctuates from year to year, about $8 million – on average– of federal transportation assistance comes in to the Duluth area. Of that amount, approximately $6 million is allocated for MnDOT projects, and $2 million goes to county and city projects.

Each year several new transportation improvement projects are proposed by these jurisdictions, for four years in advance. This allows the time needed to do the planning and engineering work before they can be implemented.

This year, five projects are being proposed to utilize the $8 million in federal funding estimated to be available in year 2019. These projects and their estimated costs are listed below.

Because federal funding is public money, the public has the right for their comments to be recorded and reported on these projects. Look the projects over – do you have anything to say about them?

E 8th Street/E 9th Street – Pavement Preservation
A mill and overlay of the existing pavement on the 1.6 miles of E 8th Street/E 9th Street between 6th Avenue E and Woodland Avenue. Repairs to storm water, curb and gutter, and sidewalk will also be part of this project.
Jurisdiction: City of Duluth
Project Cost: $1,300,000 ($860,000 federal funds; $440,000 local funds)

Maple Grove Road – Pavement Preservation
A mill and overlay of 3.5 miles of Maple Grove Road from Midway Road to Westberg Road. The project will include intersection improvements at Midway Road and at LaVaque Road.
Jurisdiction: St. Louis County
Project Cost: $2,000,000 ($1,600,000 federal funds; $400,000 local funds)

McCuen Street (State Highway 39) – Pavement Preservation
Resurfacing of 1 mile of highway from State Highway 23 to the Oliver Bridge.
Jurisdiction: MnDOT District 1
Project Cost: $900,000 ($720,000 federal funds; $180,000 state funds)

Mesaba Ave, Bridge # 6544 – Bridge Repainting (Preservation)
Repainting of the understructure of the bridge over Superior Street in Downtown Duluth.
Jurisdiction: MnDOT District 1
Project Cost: $1,500,000 ($1,200,000 federal funds; $300,000 state funds)

Blatnik Bridge – Bridge Repainting (Preservation)
Repainting the superstructure of the I-535 bridge over St. Louis Bay. This project includes a cost-share with WisDOT.
Jurisdiction: MnDOT District 1
Project Cost: $8,260,000 ($3,717,000 federal funds; $413,000 MnDOT funds; $4,130,000 WisDOT funds)

You may have noticed that what these projects have in common is preservation of existing roads and bridges. This is a trend that will continue as transportation funding becomes more scarce. In our area (and throughout the state) we will be seeing very little new construction in the coming years.

More information about the Duluth Area TIP (Transportation Improvement Program) and the projects being proposed for 2019 can be found on the MIC’s website at www.dsmic.org.

Meanwhile, if you have any opinions about these proposed projects, we welcome your comments.

What will our Transportation System Look Like in 2040?

Posted on Sep 1, 2014Dec 20, 2017 by Rondi Watson

Updating the 25-year Vision for Transportation in the Twin Ports

You are invited to attend one of the four public meetings on Connections 2040 – the Twin Ports Long Range Transportation Plan.

The Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council (MIC) is updating its Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) to provide policy guidance, goals and strategies for jurisdictions within the greater metropolitan area of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. It covers a twenty-five year planning horizon and is updated every four years.

The over-arching purpose of the LRTP is to provide a planning foundation for jurisdictions to work cooperatively to provide a well-maintained, integrated, accessible and multi-modal transportation system to safely and efficiently move people and freight for the next 25 years, within the constraints of funding the region can reasonably expect to receive.

The heart of the Plan is a listing of proposed federally-funded transportation projects, as well as transportation initiatives underway within the region, to be implemented from 2015-2040. You can view an interactive map of the projects here.

To learn more about demographic trends for this area, projections, transportation priorities and planned projects, you have three opportunities for input:

1. Attend a Public Meeting

Thurs. Sept 11, 2014
5:00-7:00pm
Community Action Duluth, 2424 W 5th Street, Duluth, MN 55806

Thurs. Sept 18, 2014
4:00-6:00pm
Superior Public Library, 1530 Tower Avenue, Superior, WI 54880

Thurs. Sept 25, 2014
4:00-6:00pm
Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC)
221 W First Street, Duluth, MN 55802

Mon. Sept 29, 2014
4:00-7:00pm (drop-in)
214 West Superior Street
221 W First Street, Duluth, MN 55802

2. Visit our Connections 2040 web page at www.dsmic.org/lrtp for more information about the plan and to view the interactive map of proposed projects. You can use the “layers” tab in the upper right corner to toggle on and off views of information about environmentally sensitive areas, low-income and minority populations, etc.

3. Contact MIC Senior Planner James Gittemeier by phone at (218) 529-7556 or by email at jgittemeier@ardc.org.

New Federally Funded Projects for 2018

Posted on Jun 28, 2014Dec 20, 2017 by Rondi Watson

An average of $86 million in federal transportation dollars is spent on transportation projects throughout the northeast region of Minnesota.

How that money is allocated

These funds are allocated according to a federal formula and managed by the state. Most of this money (about $78 million) goes to MnDOT and is used to maintain the freeways, state highways and bridges in the region. Approximately $5 million goes towards county highways, local streets, and transit in the,the MIC area. A small allocation is also made for non-roadway projects, such as paved trails, through the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).

Separate processes are conducted for the Duluth metro and the rest of the Arrowhead region. The MIC administers the urban-area share of the funds and the Northeast Minnesota Area Transportation Partnership (NE MN ATP) is responsible for administering the rest.

Both the MIC and the NE MN ATP solicit, evaluate and select the specific roadway, transit and trail projects that will utilize the funds in those areas. These processes have been underway since the start of the year.

Programming those funds in the TIP

As the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for this area, we are now finalizing the roster of all transportation projects slated to receive federal funding in the MIC area for the next four years.

This list is called the “TIP” (Transportation Improvement Program) and it must include all federally-funded transportation projects in the Duluth metro for the coming four years. As projects in the current year get built, we add new ones to the outer year. This time around, the outer year is 2018.

MIC Projects

It is our job to work with local communities to determine how our (increasingly scarce share of) federal transportation dollars are spent.

In a selection process that began in January, we solicited applications from local jurisdictions. These potential projects were then published for public comment, evaluated and prioritized by the MIC’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) and recommended by the MIC Policy Board, submitted for consideration to the NE MN ATP, and, in June, approved for inclusion in the draft version of the Duluth Area TIP 2015-2018.

The following Duluth-area projects are being proposed for 2018 funding by the MIC:

Decker Road Preservation

Resurfacing of Decker Road from Piedmont Avenue to Mall Drive. Repairs to storm water, curb and gutter and sidewalk systems. ADA improvements and bike lanes/shoulders.

Jurisdiction: City of Duluth

Project Cost: $1,412,500

Federal funds: $ 900,000

Local funds: $ 512,500

Highway Ramp Reconstruction

Reconstruct US Hwy 2 / I-35 southbound freeway ramps

Jurisdiction: MnDOT

Project Cost: $495,670

Federal funds: $383,720

State funds: $ 95,930

Regular Route Bus Purchase

Purchase of three regular route vehicles to maintain existing fleet to safety, comfort, and efficiency standards.

Jurisdiction: Duluth Transit Authority

Bus Purchase Cost: $ 435,000

Federal funds: $ 250,000

Local funds $ 185,000

TAP Projects

In addition, the following Transportation Alternatives Program projects within the MIC have been forwarded for inclusion in the 2017 TIP projects list by the NE MN ATP:

Construct 2 miles of sidewalk along Rice Lake Road

From Central Entrance to Arrowhead Road

Jurisdiction: St. Louis County

Project Cost: $400,000

Federal funds: $320,000

Local funds: $ 80,000

Construct paved Lakewalk connection

Construct shared use path (Lakewalk) along Water St between 20th Ave East and 23rd Ave East

Jurisdiction: City of Duluth

Project Cost: $231,809

Federal funds: $185,447

Local funds: $ 46,362

We want to know what you think!

Transportation projects are public facilities and services funded with taxpayer dollars. Do you have any opinions about the importance of these proposed projects to our area?

Since they have been chosen for funding in 2018, is there anything you have to say about these specific projects?

Read the draft document

You can learn more details about these projects, as well as those lined up for years 2015, 2016 and 2017 from the draft TIP document, which is open for public comment from now until July 31.

Talk to us in person

Contact Senior Planner Robert Herling by phone at (218) 529-7573 or by email (INSERT EMAIL LINK), or…

Attend an Open House

You are invited to stop by in person to talk with us:

Wed, July 2, 7:00am – 1:00pm

Holiday Center (2^nd floor skywalk level), 207 West Superior Street in downtown Duluth

Thurs, July 10, 8:00am – 5:00pm

MIC Office, 2^nd floor skywalk level of the ARDC building, 221 W. First Street, Duluth.

Leave a comment at the end of this post

As we let you know on OpenMIC every year…there are three ways to have your say.

Public comments are being taken through Thursday, July 31, 2014.

Public Involvement in Transportation Planning

Posted on Oct 3, 2013Dec 20, 2017 by Rondi Watson

For many of us, transportation projects seem to come from nowhere. Others may vaguely remember a project “promised” years ago. Too often, people develop negative impressions of the process by which transportation projects come into being because of the lack of information about how these decisions are made.

That’s where public involvement comes in.

Right now we are updating our Public Involvement Plan – the steps we take and the tools we use to facilitate two-way communication while our plans and studies are underway. Public involvement gives community members an opportunity to provide input and lets our planning staff provide information, answer questions and understand their perspective.

Our work at the MIC is to study, analyze and make recommendations to make it easier for people and businesses to get where they need to go—whether by car, bike, bus, on foot, by air or on water. We think about how well these transportation systems will function, and how they can be paid for, not just today but for the next 5, 10, even 25 years.

Public involvement ensures that these decisions are made with input from the people who know this area first-hand.

With this in mind, take a look at the draft of the MIC’s updated Public Involvement Plan. We understand that there’s more to public participation than holding meetings. We need to become more visible and find multiple ways to get people and organizations involved.

So let us know: will these steps help to encourage participation in the MIC’s planning activities, as well as to broaden the range of voices and views expressed?

What do YOU Think about These Projects?

Posted on Jun 28, 2013Dec 20, 2017 by Rondi Watson

We say it on OpenMIC every year…

“As the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for this area, it is our job to work with local communities to determine how the federal transportation dollars that come to our area get spent.”

We are now finalizing the roster of local transportation projects that are slated to receive federal funding. This list is called the “TIP” (Transportation Improvement Program) and it lines up projects for the coming four years. As projects in the current year get built, we add new ones to the outer year.

This time around, the outer year is 2017, and these projects are the projects we’re adding:

Resurfacing of Mesaba Avenue (I-35 to Central Entrance) – $2.1 million.
Resurfacing of E 4^th Street (from 6^th Ave. E to Wallace Ave.) – $3.4 million.
3 STRIDE Buses for the DTA – $200 thousand

As you can see –due in large part to a decrease in the federal funds now available–only two roadway improvement projects and a few new buses to the DTA’s special-needs STRIDE fleet can be programmed for 2017.

Your Priorities?

These projects were evaluated and prioritized by the MIC’s Transportation Advisory Committee and recommended by the MIC Policy Board.

These decisions, however, also need to consider the public’s input, so we are asking you: are these the three projects you would have funded? Since they have been chosen for inclusion in the TIP, is there anything you might have to say about these specific projects?

View the Draft Document

You can learn more details about these projects, as well as those lined up for years 2014, 2015, and 2016 from the draft TIP document, which is available for public review from now until August 21^st.

Talk to Us in Person

Or, you can ask us questions directly by calling (218-529-7573). You are also invited to stop by our office during one of the TIP open houses scheduled for 7am-5pm on Thursday, July 18^th and Friday, July 19^th. The place: 221 W First St., downtown Duluth, second floor.

Or, you can leave a comment at the end of this post. As we let you know on OpenMIC every year…

Category: Duluth