MN HF1434

Changes the Corridors of Commerce program to require the commissioner establish mandatory project eligibility requirements including consistency with statewide multimodal transportation plan, location on interregional corridors, project classification, a maximum of three years until construction commencement, and maximum allowable project costs.

Mandates annual acceptance of candidate project recommendations from area transportation partnerships and requires project evaluation using objective criteria including return on investment, commerce and economic competitiveness impacts, freight movement efficiency, traffic safety improvements, connections to regional trade centers, and community support.

Requires annual electronic legislative reports by November 1 detailing program summaries, project selection processes, all evaluation criteria and methodologies, funded projects, and comprehensive lists of evaluated and candidate projects with eligibility, classification, evaluation results, and disposition for each project.

Establishes a new process for trunk highway capacity expansion and major highway projects (defined as $15 million in metropolitan districts or $5 million in nonmetropolitan districts) requiring standard objective procedures, fiscal consideration documentation, public communication in plain language, and integration with alternative project selection programs.

Requires the commissioner maintain an Internet website with major highway project information including project descriptions, cost histories, prioritization rationale, delays, cost changes exceeding $500,000, and environmental mitigation costs for representative projects from metropolitan and greater Minnesota districts.