8.1 SR 11-21-2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Corridors of Commerce Program Guidance & Selection Process Updated for 2022-2023 Project Selection Process I. Overview A healthy transportation network supports a growing economy by helping facilitate commerce throughout the State. Transportation investments directly and indirectly foster economic growth through the provision of construction jobs and a commerce -friendly network of corridors to ship goods and provide mobility to citizens. In 2013, the Minnesota Legislature created the Corridors of Commerce Program with the purpose of achieving two major goals. • Provide additional highway capacity on segments where there are currently bottlenecks in the system. • Improve the movement of freight and reduce barriers to commerce. The Corridors of Commerce program is not intended to serve as an alternative funding mechanism for MnDOT's regular preservation and expansion program. The Minnesota Legislature enacted this program to be separate from MnDOT's regular program and established separate eligibility and scoring criteria for the program that are different than MnDOT's regular program priorities. II. Project Eligibility The Corridors of Commerce law specifically laid out program eligibility guidelines. In order for a project to be eligible for the program, it must meet the following eligibility requirements. 1. Projects must either be classified as a Capacity Improvement Projects or Freight Improvement Projects. The requirements for each of those classifications are as follows; a. Capacity Improvement Projects must meet one of the following bullets; ■ Currently is not a divided highway, and that highway is an expressway or freeway beyond the project limits. ■ Contains a highway terminus that lacks an intersection or interchange with another trunk highway. ■ Contains fewer lanes of travel compared to that highway beyond the project limits. ■ Contain a location that is proposed as a new interchange or to be reconstructed from an intersection to an interchange. b. Freight Improvement Projects must meet one of the following bullets. • Remove or reduce an existing barrier to commerce.