St. Paul, Minn. – Today, the Minnesota House passed the Transportation conference committee report, which includes $68.75 million in funds for Highway 65. This follows vigorous advocacy from Rep. Matt Norris (DFL - Blaine) who made this a session priority and secured the initial funds in the House budget.
“Since the first day of session, securing funding for the critical Highway 65 project has been my number one priority. I’m ecstatic that we finally got this critical funding across the finish line,” said Rep. Norris. “I am incredibly proud the project was included in the final budget, and to such a great extent. This is a major step and one I would not have been able to accomplish without the support of many local partners. Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible and to my DFL colleagues in the House and Senate who understood the importance of this project to our community and came through for us in a big way. I will continue to work with members of both parties to pursue additional funding in the final days of this session and in future budgets as we work to secure the remaining funds needed to complete this project.”
The $68.75 million allocated in the bill is the complete trunk highway portion required for the intersections at 99th Ave., 105th Ave., and 109th Ave. Additional funding is expected to be awarded in the capital investment bill thanks to an agreement reached this weekend. Collectively, this funding should allow work on the project to get underway.
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