Town roads, bridges would get funding boost under bill

Town roads can sometimes seem the state’s forgotten thoroughfares, so much so that Minnesota didn’t establish a statute around their definition or funding until just last year. But Rep. Keith Allen (R-Kenyon) sees them as crucially important.

“Township roads are the starting point of Minnesota’s economic drivers,” Allen told the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee Wednesday. “These are the roads people enjoy using to get to a cabin on a lake, their favorite hunting spots, and a way to get to the state park for hiking and camping.

“They’re the beginning point for the transportation of our commodities, such as corn, soybeans, pork, beef, turkeys and forestry products. And, most importantly, for our children to get to school and home again.”

Important, but underfunded, Allen said. That’s why he’s sponsoring HF1463, which would earmark a General Fund appropriation of $25 million each year of the 2026-27 biennium for town roads and another $10 million each year for town bridges.

The bill was laid over for possible omnibus bill inclusion.

“Most of the funding to maintain the road network comes on the back of local property taxpayers,” said Graham Berg-Moberg, in-house counsel for the Minnesota Association of Townships. “Township roads have been suffering from underinvestment for some time, unfortunately. … Transportation funding gaps have gotten serious enough that we’ve recently seen a township actually dissolve, due to inability to meet its obligation.

“We understand that this is a tight budget year,” Berg-Moberg continued. “And we know that folks must carefully prioritize. But we feel that making sure our rural citizens have access to markets, schools and emergency services is absolutely something that the state of Minnesota should prioritize.”

Rep. Brad Tabke (DFL-Shakopee) is uncomfortable with the bill’s proposed shift in funding.

“I take issue with the fact that we’re talking about putting millions of dollars into some roads and also taking back at the same time a significant amount of funding that will help with our state roads and things that we need,” he said. “I just have concerns about how this will affect our ability to take care of our state roads.”

“With the General Fund money, we have to very careful going forward,” said Rep. Erin Koegel (DFL-Spring Lake Park). “We might not have a lot of wiggle room.”