Friday digest: transportation edition

Will state transportation funds freed by federal recovery dollars be used to speed the upgrade of Highway 14, one of the most dangerous raods in Minnesota? Maybe not, the Owatonna People's Press in Freed state funding may not be used for Highway 14:

When Minnesota congressmen announced federal funds would be earmarked for U.S. Highway 14 in the 2009 appropriations bill, it sounded like great news. But, the nearly $2.4 million may not actually help the project.

The $52 million project — expanding Highway 14 from two lanes to four from Owatonna to Waseca — already had state and federal funding set aside for construction to begin in 2009.

The hope of congressmen and Minnesota Department of Transportation representatives is that this new $2.375 million would free up state matching funds that could be put toward another section of Highway 14.

However, those freed state funds would not necessarily be put toward a Highway 14 project.

“If the money gets freed up, it goes back to the Statewide Corridor Project. So it wouldn’t go for necessarily a Highway 14 project,” said Kristine Hernandez, a representative for MnDOT District Seven. “It could go anywhere in the state.”

In 2008, the Minnesota Department of Transportation applied for more federal funding to expand that section of Highway 14. However, the 2009 appropriations bill was not passed in 2008. Instead, it passed the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday and is expected to pass the Senate yet this week.

“Normally, the appropriations bills get done in the fall, but because of a disagreement with President Bush it didn’t pass,” said Meredith Salsbery, director of communications for Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn. “We’re discussing with MnDOT how we can work together to use that money. Our hope is that they can use it in substitute for some of the state allocated funds. At this point, we can’t change that earmark.”

The funding for Highway 14 is distributed by the state corridor system, this includes federal earmarks and funds from the state. Bids for the Owatonna-to-Waseca project were let out in January, with the funding to be paid for in the 2010 fiscal year which starts July 1.

“The problem was the bill came after we let the project,” Hernandez said. “Luckily, the project is what we call an ELLA, an Early Let Late Award project. If it is not an ELLA, we would award it within 30 days of the letting and this money would have been too late.”

Hernandez said MnDOT District Seven has applied for funding of the Highway 14 portion from Owatonna to Dodge Center in 2010 and hopes this new money can be used in that direction.

An environmental impact study was completed in 2008 and a design decision has been made. However, no money has been granted for right-of-way acquisition or construction.

“We will continue to look at trying to find some additional money in the 2010 package. I think that project should be complete and ready for bids in 2010, and hopefully with the federal government’s help and some assistance from the state we can move that project instead of seeing it go into 2015,” said Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz.

Salsbery said Walz also hopes the freed state money will be re-allocated to another portion of Highway 14.

“People are eager to see those improvements,” she said. “We’ll do everything we can to make sure they can use the money.”

The Mankato Free Press said that St. Peter benefits from stimulus money:

The Highway 169 reconstruction project through St. Peter was the big benefactor in the area from federal stimulus money.

The project will get $11 million and construction will begin this spring.

It is one of 60 transportation projects in greater Minnesota that will get funding from the federal stimulus package. Gov. Tim Pawlenty stopped at the Mankato airport Wednesday as he traveled around the outstate to announce the projects. . . .

The paper has posted a searchable list of MNDOT projects funded by the recovery bill. The article notes that Highway 14 isn't among the projects toward which Pawlenty is directing recovery money:

The ongoing construction of Highway 14 into a four-lane was not given added funding through the stimulus bill. MnDOT officials said the stimulus money needs to go to projects that are “shovel ready” and the next phase of the Highway 14 project — from Owatonna to Dodge Center — isn’t ready to go this spring.

“That project from Owatonna to Dodge Center will get done,” Pawlenty said. “It just didn’t fit here.”

Still, the recovery bill bumped up available federal funding:

Greg Ous, assistant district engineer for MnDOT, said the $19 million for the Mankato district is significant. “It almost doubles the amount we’d get from the federal government normally over two years.

“It’s quite a boost.”

Funding for area roads is also coming via earmarks in the House spending bill. The Free Press also reports in Area projects secure in spending bill:

A federal appropriations bill that will bring nearly $4 million in earmarks for south-central Minnesota is long delayed but moving much faster than normal through the U.S. House and Senate budget-setting process.

The omnibus appropriations bill is for the current fiscal year, meaning it was supposed to be enacted last year. Disagreements with then-Pres. George W. Bush prompted Democratic congressional leaders to put off passage of parts of the bill where agreement couldn’t be reached.

Now, with a Democratic president in place, the bill is moving quickly. It passed the House on a heavily partisan vote Wednesday. And the Senate version of the bill is basically identical to the House version, meaning a long conference committee to work out a compromise shouldn’t be necessary, said Meredith Salsbery, communications director for Congressman Tim Walz.

“Once it goes through the Senate, it’s pretty much headed to the president,” Salsbery said.

Read more about the Mankato area projects in the Free Press. The Rochester Post Bulletin notes in Transit center in line for federal funding:

A transit operations center in Rochester is one of 10 southeastern Minnesota projects that will receive federal funding through the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved it 245-178 Wednesday. The Senate will act on it in the coming days. If passed, it will be sent to President Obama for his signature.

The $712,000 apportioned for the operations center would help pay for the multi-million dollar facility, which will include a 60-bus garage and a park-and-ride facility for Rochester.

"Any type of funding is welcome," Rochester transportation director Tony Knauer said Wednesday. "We're still waiting for the stimulus."

In Winona, the Daily News reports WSU child protection center may get earmarks

The Winona State University-housed National Child Protection Training Center may be on firm financial footing after years of scrambling for the funding just to stay open.

The 2009 omnibus budget passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday contains two earmarks that devote $1.2 million to the center. The funding should give the center financial stability for the next 24 months, director Victor Vieth said.

Founded in 2003, the center provides training to law enforcement and child protection professionals who handle child abuse cases.

“We’ve never had a moment before where I could say we look solid for two years,” Vieth said. “That’s really encouraging.”

Minnesota’s Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Tim Walz requested $700,000 for the center’s main office at WSU. If approved by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama, the funding would build on the $1.22 million appropriated to the center in 2008.

“These funds will do more than just create jobs,” Walz said in a press release. “These dollars strengthen the fabric of our communities.”

Despite the funding, the center nearly closed its doors last year because bureaucratic delays held up the money for months. This new appropriation should eliminate cash flow problems at the center for the foreseeable future, Vieth said.

Another earmark in the bill includes training for teachers in science and other disciplines (STEM) according to the WDN article Earmark may help SMU teacher training:

In some rural districts, science teachers may be forced to handle disciplines for which they were not trained. Continued teacher education can help someone certified in chemistry instruction also teach biology courses, but not every district can afford that training.

“School districts can only provide so much,” said Rebecca Hopkins, SMU graduate school of education dean.

SMU has for years provided training and certification programs to teachers, but it can be hard for teachers to drive to Winona from western Minnesota for a workshop. The program expansion would attempt to bring the workshops to teachers through video and online systems, Hopkins said.

The emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is a priority for the Pawlenty administration, business, and education leaders. We can't wait to hear the Republicans whine about this earmark.

We find welcome news for rural vets in an AP story, Obama proposes expansion of VA health care:

Obama would provide extra funding for programs targeting homeless veterans and those in rural areas. And it would pay for upgrades to the VA's technology system to help eliminate the average six-month wait to have a disability claim processed.

Overall, it would increase the agency's discretionary spending by 10 percent to $53 billion.

The Army Times quotes Walz in Veterans optimistic about progress on VA ills:

But Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., noted that the Defense Department, which also is dealing with a suicide epidemic, problems with TBI and PTSD, and a disability case backlog, needs to pick up the pace on the front end, rather than passing all problems to VA.

“DoD simply can’t see the warriors as another piece of equipment that, when its shelf life is over, is handed to someone else,” Walz said.

Via Polinaut, we learn that the National Journal's House vote rankings are out for 2008. Walz had the 175th most liberal voting record; go to the National Journal site to figure out what that means.

We're traveling most of the day. Drive carefully and enjoy the sun.