NB mayor argues for bridge funding

By T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter
North Branch Mayor Gloria Karsky and other local officials argued the case at the Legislature last week for funding to update the Hwy. 95 bridge.
A bill carried in the Senate by Sen. Sean Nienow, R-Cambridge, requests $6.8 million in funding to fix the more than three decadeís old bridge.
Rep. Peter Nelson, R-Lindstrom, is carrying the bill in the House.
Karsky told the Senate transportation budget division that the bridge is obsolete and a safety hazard. Vehicles are often backed up at the bridge ramps so badly the backup extends out into the traffic lanes, she said.
ìWe really need some help from the state on this,î she said.
Currently, the bridge project is not included on MnDotís 10-year construction plan, she said.
Rick Arnebeck, of the Department of Transportation, told senators the Hwy. 95 bridge project currently would first compete for funding in 2009.
He said the city of North Branch had invested about $1 million already in the bridge.
Bridge plans call for two traffic lanes in each direction, improved ramps and a sidewalk.
Nelson sounded optimistic about the odds of securing bridge funding, speaking on Monday (April 21).
ìItís still in the loop,î said Nelson, adding the final verdict on the funding for this session hasnít yet been made.
ìYou know Iíll be leaning with what influence I have on MnDot or the (transportation) commissioner,î said Nelson.
Nelson believes the bridge might qualify for either metro and rural transportation funding.
Nienow has doubts about the bridge securing dollars this session. ìIf I were going to bet a dollar, I wouldnít bet that we do,î he said.
Itís possible, he said. Often, securing funding takes two or three attempts and at least the city has made its first attempt, he said.
Nienow said he sensed that transportation budget division chairman Sen. Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar, by hearing transportation funding requests was building the case for a gas tax increase.

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