NEW ULM - The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) formally announced that it will hold a press conference today about safety improvements to Highway 14 at the MnDOT Regional Office in Mankato.
Gov. Mark Dayton, U.S. Congressman Tim Walz, state Sen. Kathy Sheran, state Rep. Terry Morrow and MnDOT Commissioner Tom Sorel will participate. A handful of Mankato MnDOT officials will also attend.
A source with direct knowledge on the meeting, who asked to not to be identified, stated that the meeting will reveal plans to build the long-sought, four-lane expansion for Highway 14 between Nicollet and North Mankato. The source said the expansion would be completed in approximately four to six years. MnDOT's safety audit of that stretch of Highway 14 showed it had three-times the fatal crash rate for similar state highways.
The source also said the press conference would announce immediate safety improvements to Highway 14 in the future. The source stated the improvements would be completed prior to the four-lane expansion.
MnDOT officials have declined to confirm or comment on the source's statements.
The press conference starts at 9 a.m. today at MnDOT's Mankato regional office, located at 2151 Bassett Drive.