MONTEVIDEO -- Every road in rural Minnesota is worth fighting for, according to officials in Montevideo, who are applauding a decision announced this week by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
In response to efforts by Montevideo and Jennie-O Turkey Store, the department will continue to classify state Highway 7 from Clara City to Montevideo as a principal arterial functional highway.
"We've got to fight for every highway we've got,'' said Steve Jones, Montevideo city manager.
MnDOT had proposed changing the classification of that portion of Highway 7 to a "minor arterial." Montevideo and the public helped provide the input that led the department to keep the principal classification, according to Patrick Weidemann, planning director of MnDOT District 8, Willmar.
"The system worked like it should,'' he said.
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The process is designed to take into account both public input and traffic information. Weidemann said traffic volumes on the highway between Clara City and Montevideo are "borderline'' between the criteria used for either a minor or principal classification.
However, Montevideo officials pointed out that a large proportion of the motorists are using the highway for longer trips. It is not just the standard, local traffic of people going from their driveways to destinations in Montevideo, said Weidemann.
Many of the cars and trucks are on the highway because they are making trips to or from Montevideo and Willmar, the Twin Cities and points beyond.
Highway 7 also carries a volume of truck traffic that is roughly equivalent to that found on the parallel route of U.S. Highway 212, which is already designated an primary intra-regional corridor by MnDOT.
State Sen. Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar, joined Montevideo officials in applauding the MnDOT decision and pointed out that it was a matter of importance to Jennie-O Turkey Store, which has operations in both Willmar and Montevideo. He noted that the company employs approximately 1,800 people in the Kandiyohi County area and more than 365 people in the Montevideo and Dawson areas.
In a news release, Johnson said company officials specifically asked not to downgrade the highway for the safety of their employees as well as for their business traffic.
Weidemann said that a change in classification to a minor arterial road would not have affected funding for Highway 7. The classification matters for how the department manages the roadway, he said.
As a principal classification, MnDOT will manage the roadway to restrict the number of access points and the types of approaches that are allowed, he said.
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Jones said city officials in Montevideo felt it was obvious that a "minor arterial'' classification would ultimately affect decisions made about the roadway. He said city officials in Montevideo don't want to see any roadways in southwestern Minnesota downgraded. They feel the region already lags behind other areas of the state in terms of the number of highways and the lack of four-lane routes.
In addition to the Clara City to Montevideo decision, MnDOT announced it also reconsidered its functional classification recommendation on state Highway 19 and U.S. Highway 59 in Marshall to remain as principal arterials.
For more information about the statewide functional classification system update, contact Patrick Weidemann at (320) 214-3753 or patrick.weidemann@dot.state.mn.us .
