This is an aerial photograph of Eden Prairie taken in 2004. Do you see the two parallel curvilinear lines that run together to the center of the photo and then abruptly stop? That’s Highway 312. The road stops here….for now.
But, if State Legislators and the Governor don’t come together soon and reach a compromise on the next state government budget, Highway 312 will continue to dead-end at Eden Prairie Road for the foreseeable future.
In 2004, Highway 312 was granted the extraordinary honor of moving, almost, to the head of line for state highway projects. It was advanced ten years on the Minnesota Department of Transportation priority chart and funding was authorized to construct Highway 312 from its current ending in Eden Prairie all the way out to County Road 147 in Carver County.
The funding of the Highway 312 project was a surprise for those of us in city government. Make no mistake about though, it was definitely a good surprise. We certainly have House Majority Leader Erik Paulsen and Lt. Governor Carol Molnau to thank for this surprise. They did the political heavy lifting to make this project happen.
But now all that heavy lifting might be set aside for awhile. If the State government is shutdown on July 1, 2005, as things currently stand today, the Highway 312 project would be shutdown as well. The contract for the project has been awarded. The contractors are ready to get started. But if there is a state government shutdown, there is no authorization to pay this contract, and no authorization to start the project.
The Governor and the Attorney General are locked in a little battle of their own about who is going to Court to try and prevent essential government services from being shutdown on July 1st. There was an article about their dispute in today’s Star Tribune.
The Highway 312 project will be built. The project is not in danger of being shelved or reprioritized. The State received a very good bid for the project from a contractor (Zumbro River Constructors) that is capable of successfully completing this project.
The biggest risk we run with the shutdown of State government and the delay of the Highway 312 project is that it is sure to increase the level of public cynicism towards government in general. And that hurts us too.
