ST. PAUL – On Tuesday, House Republicans unveiled a major component in their budget for the 2018-2019 biennium, proposing major new investments in road and bridge infrastructure throughout the state.
The House Republican bill dedicates $12.5 million over each of the next two years to the popular small cities funding program which allocates dollars to cities with fewer than 5,000 residents for local road improvements. It also creates a special fund specifically for bridge projects. In total, the proposal would invest $6 billion in Minnesota’s transportation infrastructure over the next 10 years.
Also included in the bill is legislation from Rep. Sandy Layman, R-Cohasset. Her language from HF976 would provide $1 million to the city of Grand Rapids to plan and engineer a freight rail line near the city.
“I’m pleased to see my legislation included in the House Republican proposal,” said Layman. “This funding is important as we work toward increasing freight rail routes in the Grand Rapids area to maintain a healthy, competitive economy.”
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