Emmer Secures $12.2M in Federal Funding for Major Central Minnesota Road Projects

(KNSI) – U.S. Representative Tom Emmer is touting his success securing $12.2 million in federal funding for three critical road projects.

The projects are part of the 2026 infrastructure bill that has passed both chambers of Congress and now awaits the president’s signature.
The funding will support improvements to Town Line Road, Heatherwood Road, and Highway 24, addressing safety concerns, reducing congestion, and supporting economic development across the region.

St. Cloud is set to receive $7 million to help with work on Heatherwood Road. The $11.5 million project will extend the roadway, including replacement of a currently out-of-service bridge and installation of new water and sewer infrastructure to previously unserved properties. The new corridor will connect two major interchanges in one of St. Cloud’s growing industrial parks.

The project will provide a smooth path for more than 8,000 business-generated vehicle and freight trips per day. Existing businesses in the corridor employ over 3,000 workers with plans for continued expansion. The extension will also complete a regional trail along the corridor.
Highway 24 in Clearwater will get $3.7 million in federal funds to help with the $32.7 million project.

According to a press release, the project will eliminate hazardous left-turn access points and reconstruct intersections. The roadway currently carries 16,200 vehicles per day, including 1,650 freight vehicles, with frequent congestion. The congressman says Highway 24 serves as an important freight corridor for Minnesota, transporting agricultural goods and products to and from the Twin Cities, the St. Cloud Area, and North and South Dakota via Interstate 94.

A reconstruction project on Town Line Road will receive $1.5 million. The money will help rebuild 30th Avenue/75th Avenue (Town Line Road) between Stearns County Road 4 and the south limits of St. Stephen, spanning LeSauk, St. Wendel and Brockway Townships and the city of Sartell. The $10 million total project will widen the road from 20 feet to 32 feet, add 6-foot paved shoulders, right turn lanes and bypass lanes, and improve structural capacity from 5-ton to 10-ton axle weight.

Engineers say traffic volumes along this corridor have nearly doubled since 2017, largely due to the construction of the Sartell-St. Stephen School District’s new high school along the 35th Street North corridor. The roadway serves commuter, agricultural and school traffic, including parents, teen drivers and school buses.

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