EXCERPT: “House Transportation Committee Chairman Paul Torkelson has heard the recent criticism over new Corridors of Commerce standards and could consider future changes if the standards appear to take away needed funding from Greater Minnesota roads. Torkelson said last week he’s waiting for the Minnesota Department of Transportation to finish gathering public feedback before examining the new rules, which were passed by the Legislature earlier this year in response to concerns about transparency in how MnDOT chooses to work on projects . . . The Corridors of Commerce program was set up several years ago to fund road projects connecting regional economic hubs that aren’t necessarily high on MnDOT’s priorities list, such as Highway 14 between New Ulm and Rochester. A 2016 legislative auditor report found MnDOT wasn’t clear enough in how state officials chose road projects, not just in Corridors of Commerce but organization-wide.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2zBFDPE
