MnDOT to request federal grant funding for Highway 14

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will again seek federal funding in an effort to expand Highway 14 from New Ulm to Nicollet. The project, estimated at $90.5 million, is currently unfunded.

In January, a New Ulm woman died, and a North Mankato man was killed on the stretch of highway in two separate crashes in two consecutive days.

The 12-mile stretch of highway is the final segment of the roadway to be expanded.  MnDOT broke ground on the expansion of the roadway between Owatonna and Dodge Center in November.   That same month, the state was shut out of infrastructure funding from the federal BUILD program.

MnDOT will request a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program to expand Highway 14 from New Ulm to Nicollet into a four-lane highway.  The request of one of three projects the state is submitting for funding.

MnDOT and local partners would fund the difference, and seek additional dollars from other federal sources to construct the project.