Highway engineer talks rumble strips, funding for local roads

There was a meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, April 9. The following discussion and action items occurred during this week’s meeting.

To start the meeting, Cook County Highway Engineer Krysten Foster shared a number of updates with the commissioners regarding 2019 projects. In addition, Foster discussed the potential for changes in taxes being discussed at the Capitol in St. Paul. In particular, Foster discussed the proposed 20-cent per gallon gas tax increase under consideration. Foster pointed that if the gas tax moves forward, it would change how counties in Minnesota receive funding for state-aid highways through an existing sales tax on auto parts sold in the state. With that in mind, any increase in the gas tax would likely result in a minimal net gain for local roads, Foster said.

In addition to sharing possible funding scenarios, Foster presented a resolution to the county board encouraging the Minnesota Legislature to pass and the governor to sign a bill that brings adequate funding to Minnesota’s statewide transportation system.

Foster pointed out that the resolution she presented to the county board encouraging state officials to provide adequate funding for Minnesota’s roads did not necessarily support a gas-tax increase. 

The commissioners approved the resolution on a 5-0 vote.

Foster also shared an update on the Mineral Center Road project on the east end of the county. After a request from the highway engineer, the commissioners voted to approve a paving plan and specifics for the Mineral Center Road project in 2019.

After Foster shared updates specific to the Cook County Highway Department, representatives from the Northeast Minnesota Area Transportation Partnership shared an update on projects scheduled for the region in 2019. Projects include installing rumble strips along sections of Highway 61 in Cook County. That work is currently scheduled to start in August.

When it comes to rumble strips on Highway 61 in Cook County, there was public outcry in 2013 and 2014 regarding noise the safety measures make when a vehicle passes over them. Click here for more information on this story from 2014.

The Northeast Minnesota Area Transportation Partnership is a group convened by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission to prioritize the use of federal transportation funding and guide regional transportation planning efforts in northeast Minnesota.