U.S. Highway 14

[mulad]

Looks like U.S. 14 in southern MN is getting a new freeway section opened between Owatonna and Waseca. Boy, the highway has had that weird jog at Owatonna for as long as I can remember -- The road just ended at I-35. I guess it's good that's being extended, but it's a bypass of sorts, with all the good and bad that entails. There will be a ribbon-cutting on Tuesday: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d7/newsrels/ ... hwy14.html

Someone sketched out the route on OpenStreetMap: http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=44.07 ... 2&layers=M

[Le Sueur]

Thanks for putting this up mulad. I passed through Owatonna tonight coming back from Iowa and was wondering when this stretch was going to open.

Looks like the last two lane stretch East of there may get funding in the next 10-15 years:

Expansion of TH 14 from two to four lanes between Dodge Center and Owatonna would complete the last four-lane section from Rochester to Mankato. Partial funding has been identified in the Long-Range Highway Investment Plan (2019-28).

Found these Interesting
SouthEast MN Plan('09-28):
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/sta ... 20Plan.pdf
Statewide MN Plan('09-28):
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/sta ... ummary.pdf

Lot's of fuel for political discussions in transportation funding in the statewide plan, but mostly just good reading.

[mattaudio]

Related to this project, the geometry of the old west Hwy 14 interchange at 35 is bad. It squeezes ramps in to fit over the DM&E RR. There's a lot of traffic here too getting around the town. Whenever this section of 35 is rehabbed, it might make sense to put in lanes between the ramps, CR45 to Bridge Street, Bridge Street to 14, etc. Or maybe six lanes between 14 and 26th St.

[mattaudio]

I drove through this interchange a couple days ago. One thing that I thought was strange is that the signage at the CR45 exit still called it US-14 West / Waseca. Guessing that will get changed soon.

[mattaudio]

Drove past again... the old Hwy 14 is now Steele County 2, and it is still County 48 to the east of the interchange.

[mattaudio]

This will be four-laned from Owatonna to Dodge Center as a result of Dayton/Zelle's announcement today.
Here's the most recent preferred alternative, which stays south of DM&E for the entire stretch:
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d6/projects/ ... g-2010.pdf

Interesting to note that this will be fully access controlled, as was the recent section from Owatonna to Waseca. Older sections east of Dodge Center and west of Waseca were four-laned but not access controlled. There's been a safety problem on 14, and lots of advocacy from the region, but I don't get what four laning has to do with it. The solution is to a) reduce conflicts and access points and b) reduce dangerous passing maneuvers. Four laning reduces head on risk, but at huge expense.

[woofner]

Agreed. Volumes are very low on 14, much less than 10k per day for pretty much the whole thing outside Mankato (for comparison, Lyndale between Lake & 40th, which was just slimmed from 4 to 2 lanes, has 12k cars a day). Better to remove access points and build passing lanes and medians than to go full four lane. Not surprised MnDot has a different opinion though.

[orangevening]

I grew up on a farm just outside Owatonna (we took county road 48 in to town) so this brings back memories..I was in the last class of graduating "Indians" at the high school. Crazy how much that town has changed, although it seems the change has slowed down with the economy.

[Mdcastle]

There are a few things going on here- to a point people get what the want. People from the city want narrower roads and people from the suburbs and country want wider roads. Also, at some point you look beyond AADT into building a cohesive system. 10,000 AADT is where you normally consider building more lanes, but all the interstates in red have less than that
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=21 ... 8947&msa=0
Minnesota's trying to build an expressway system to supplement the interstates. Although MN 60 east of Mankato makes no sense to expand from a traffic perspective (and Mn/DOTs only doing it because a state law is requiring them too) it makes sense from a system perspective.

Overall, I like the layout, and it's obvious Mn/DOT is learning from their mistakes and starting to build more heavily traveled 4 lane roads as freeways rather than expressways. The only thing I don't like is I would have preferred one of the options that retained the investment in the bridge over County H. Also, of the Dodge Center to Owatonna segment, only three miles from US 218 to where the new alignment starts at the railroad crossing is funded by this.

One project on US 14 that applied but didn't make the cut was completing US 14 and US 169 cloverleaf, but that would benefit US 169 more.

[mattaudio]

I thought there was something funky with the numbers ($16-20 million) and I was right. This project will only widen 14 to four lanes along the existing alignment from Bixby Rd to CR 43, an extension of two miles.
http://www.southernminn.com/owatonna_pe ... e1460.html

The full cost to Dodge Center would be over $200 million.

Not sure an extra 2 miles of four lane will make a difference in this location, at least not until the entire corridor is upgraded.

[uptowncarag]

This is such a waste of money. Highway 14 does not have any traffic. The route from Owatonna to Mankato is dead. Highway 60 from Mankato to Faribault has more traffic. If you are driving south on I-35 and want to head east to Mankato you would take Hwy 60 from Faribault, you would not drive down to Owatonna and then head east on 14.

[mattaudio]

I think I now remember reading some "Owatonna Beltway" document on the Steele County website, and my guess is that this expansion is part of some plan by Owatonna to get the growth ponzi scheme rolling once again. County 43 is a rural paved county road that passes Owatonna to the east. But it's still a solid two miles from any substantial development.

Just think if Owatonna put $16-20 million into their downtown instead.

[orangevening]

This is such a waste of money. Highway 14 does not have any traffic. The route from Owatonna to Mankato is dead. Highway 60 from Mankato to Faribault has more traffic. If you are driving south on I-35 and want to head east to Mankato you would take Hwy 60 from Faribault, you would not drive down to Owatonna and then head east on 14.

I believe you mean west to Mankato (or east to Rochester). You have a point, but I think the main reason this was built was for safety. I remember reading somewhere this hey had a lot of accidents.

[Mdcastle]

Actually, right where MN 60 and US 14 split, MN 60 has 5900 AADT and US 14 has 9200, so the later is clearly the more major road and where the freeway should go, both due to traffic volumes and to develop the Rochester-Mankato expressway (and in hindsight I think it would have been better to build I-90 there). I imagine most people driving to Mankato from here use US 169 (and a MN 41 interchange was another project that lost out).

[uptowncarag]

Actually, right where MN 60 and US 14 split, MN 60 has 5900 AADT and US 14 has 9200, so the later is clearly the more major road and where the freeway should go, both due to traffic volumes and to develop the Rochester-Mankato expressway (and in hindsight I think it would have been better to build I-90 there). I imagine most people driving to Mankato from here use US 169 (and a MN 41 interchange was another project that lost out).

A Mankato to Rochester expressway is not necessary.

[mattaudio]

The Bypass of Commerce by Nate Hood
http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2013 ... merce.html

The Corridors of Commerce project is just another example of this misapplication of limited transportation dollars. The most glaring example is the Highway 14 Nicollet Bypass.

[Mdcastle]

Sounds like if they had their way all the interstates would go down to two lanes and have a 20 mph speed limit in each of the small towns, you know, because people's time is worthless compared to the value of "strong towns" or something. Even in Europe the high speed long distance motorways bypass small towns.

[mattaudio]

In Europe, the motorways are of national significance. We have those as well. Interstate 90 is only 40 miles south of US 14.

[cowboyjones]

Honestly, coming from the rural north, I'm glad that my town and the towns near mine didn't have these bypasses. Bypasses always create car-oriented development, whereas in towns without bypasses you have development that is both car and pedestrian friendly. You can just walk to anyplace in a town, completely safely. And it is nonsensical to make it 4-lane for a mile and then bring it back down to a 2-lane.

[Silophant]

Actually, right where MN 60 and US 14 split, MN 60 has 5900 AADT and US 14 has 9200, so the later is clearly the more major road and where the freeway should go, both due to traffic volumes and to develop the Rochester-Mankato expressway (and in hindsight I think it would have been better to build I-90 there). I imagine most people driving to Mankato from here use US 169 (and a MN 41 interchange was another project that lost out).

A Mankato to Rochester expressway is not necessary.

Why not? They're the two economic centers of southern Minnesota, and need good transportation between them. I'd prefer a rail connection, tbh, but that's not happening in the forseeable future.