Iron Range highway victim of end of session rush

Minnesota’s Transportation Commissioner, Iron Range legislators and others are urging Gov. Mark Dayton and legislative leaders to add a transportation project to the agenda in the upcoming special session.

The Legislature adjourned Monday night without providing $150 million to complete a major rerouting of Highway 53 on the Iron Range. Officials worry that any delays could increase costs and potentially derail the project altogether.

The Highway 53 project has been on a poor planning streak since 1960. Back then, the state agreed to move the highway if the owners of the mineral rights underneath the asphalt ever wanted to mine there.

In 2010, Cliffs Natural Resources said it did, so the state agreed to reroute the highway and started the $240 million project without full funding. Officials had hoped the Legislature would fund the project entirely this session but time ran out on an attempt to pass a bonding bill.

“And although I think there’s wide and bipartisan agreement that this is a critical project, we literally ran out of time,” said Minnesota Transportation Commissioner Charlie Zelle.

The funding problem arose when legislative leaders took a multi-billion dollar, multi-year transportation bill off the table, said Zelle.

Instead they agreed to pass a status quo transportation funding bill. But they made that bill a Senate file, and then had to remove the Highway 53 project because legislation that borrows money has to originate in the House.

Now, Zelle is scrambling because steel orders and construction contracts have to be completed in a few weeks.

“The cost of not doing it would be very expensive, not just for the communities but for the cost of the project.”

Zelle said the construction delays alone could add $10 million to $15 million to the cost of the project. He said there could also be added costs if they have to extend the lease with Cliffs Natural Resources to use the existing highway.

Both Zelle and Dayton say the Highway 53 funding has to be passed when Dayton calls lawmakers back for a special session to deal with the budget.

Despite that pledge, Virginia Mayor Larry Cuffe is nervous.

“It really is devastating news if they don’t resolve it in the special session,” Cuffe said.

Cuffe said his city has a vested interest in ensuring the project continues because other alternatives would avoid downtown Virginia and bypass Eveleth. The Legislature should have acted on the project sooner instead of waiting until the end of session traffic jam, Cuffe said.

“They waited way too long in order to solve this issue and when they had a time constraint that created problems,” he said

Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt said his caucus supported the Highway 53 project and worked to pass it on Monday night. And Daudt says he’s still open to authorizing the funds.

“We had a bonding bill that would have done some flood relief, the Capitol restoration, those sorts of things," Daudt said.  "A small, basic bonding bill that addresses the immediate needs we think is prudent.”

A bonding bill needs a 60 percent supermajority to pass the House. Republicans need 9 Democrats to vote with them to pass a bill. Democrats held out for a larger bill during the regular session. Mix in talks over vetoed budget bills and things could get dicey in the special session.

Rep. Jason Metsa, DFL- Virginia, said he hopes everyone understands what's at stake.

“I would urge everyone to not make it political. Mining and our other issues up here are already political enough. Let’s let the highway be the highway,” he said.

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