Walz announces $22M grant for Hwy 14 expansion project

Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday announced Minnesota has received a $22 million grant for an expansion project on Highway 14.

The grant, which was from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program, will help fund the Nicollet to New Ulm Mobility and Safety Improvement Project for Highway 14.

"As a former member of Congress from southern Minnesota, as someone who has driven countless miles on Highway 14, and as someone who has lost a neighbor on this road, this issue is personal to me, and it’s personal to everyone in this area of the state," Walz said in a release. "Highway 14 will not be safe until it is built out to four lanes, I am glad our partners at the U.S. Department of Transportation recognize this. Together, we will get this done, and we will save lives."

The Minnesota Department of Transportation anticipates construction beginning on the stretch of Highway 14 in 2022.

The state also announced it received a $15 million BUILD grant for the Highway 10 Rum River Bridge Replacement and Intersection Improvements project. That work is also expected to begin in 2022.