) The Minnesota Senate’s Transportation Committee this week considered my bill S.F. 3050, which would appropriate money for reconstruction and improvements along the 8 miles of the Trunk Highway 73 near the city of Cromwell.

Highway 73 is considered one of the least safe road segments in northern Minnesota but is essential as it serves as an avenue of commerce in our district. The state has neglected repair and improvement projects for far too long.

This is a project the state was moving to fund at the end of the 1970s because the highway was already in poor condition. Now nearly 40 years later and the project still isn’t done. This stretch of road suffers from all sorts of safety concerns that have only gotten worse as traffic on this road has increased.

Money was appropriated in the 1970s but because of overages with construction on the Silver Cliffs tunnel on Lake Superior’s Hwy. 61 the money was sent there. Then in 2002, construction was going to start again, but the Piedmont Avenue rebuild in Duluth also went over budget, and the project lost its $7 million allocation. 

Highway 73 has continually been sidelined in the past, but it’s time we finally get this done to protect motorists and help our community.

We had great support from local leaders at the hearing to discuss the project. I was happy to be joined by Dan Reed, a representative of the Carlton County Association of Township Officers to the Carlton County Board of Commissioners, Jeff Dotseth of Moose Lake, who is an area economic growth advocate, Ken Koivisto an Eagle Township Road Supervisor, and Mike Peterson a Cromwell Fire and Ambulance member and business owner. All of them laid out compelling testimony to the committee on the demand for the project.

As we move into the final month of the session, I will continue to work to get this critical transportation project across the finish line.