Interstate 94 Expansion Between St. Michael, Rogers, Gets Gov's Green Light

UPDATE (3 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 14) - St. Michael City Administrator Steven Bot said the Interstate 94 Coalition, a lobby group initially founded with the 94 West Chamber of Commerce, was overjoyed with today's announcement. 

"It goes to show, even in government, if you get a group of people pushing in the right direction for the changes needed to do business, things can happen," Bot said. "We're really excited."

Bot said the state has indicated construction will begin in early 2014, with the major portion of the project focused on widening the bridges spanning the Crow River at the Hennepin and Wright County borders. 

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More details are forthcoming, but a long-awaited expansion of Interstate 94 between St. Michael and Rogers is now in the cards thanks to a new bonding initiative unveiled by Gov. Mark Dayton and the Minnesota Department of Transportation Thursday afternoon.

 Dayton, in a press conference with Capitol reporters in St. Paul, added the project to his “10 Corridors for Commerce” list, with MnDOT commissioner Charles Zelle at his side.

The $300 million bonding list is cleared, according to local State Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer.

“No strings attached!” she tweeted to constituents Thursday.

The project has been backed by everyone from local businesses and city councils to Rep. Michele Bachmann, who pushed for the expansion at the federal level last year.

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