MnDOT to City: 'Work Must Stop'

“The project must stop.”

That’s what MnDOT told Minnetonka city officials today regarding work on the .

“In the event of a shutdown, there will be no MnDOT personnel to carry out MnDOT’s duties…under state and federal law and therefore, work on the project must stop for the duration of a shutdown,” Transportation Commissioner Thomas Sorel wrote in a letter to Minnetonka City Manager John Gunyou, which was received today. Governor Mark Dayton and Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) were also sent copies of the letter.

Gunyou reacted to the news with disappointment.

“We continue to believe there are no real financial, engineering or administrative reasons why this important project should not proceed, with or without a state shutdown,” he said in a statement.

The letter comes just hours after , that would suspend road construction throughout the state with a shutdown.

In that judgement Gearin wrote, "Delay completion of present projects, increase costs...do not justify the Court ordering the funding of non-critical core functions." 

Sorel’s letter was in response to regarding possible shutdown of the $15 million city project, which began in April. Gunyou had argued that because the state’s share of the funding for the project has already been appropriated and paid, and because the city of Minnetonka, not MnDOT, is fully administering the construction, the looming government shutdown should not shutdown this project.

In one of those letters, Gunyou also charged that the decision to suspend the project might be more about politics, than about roads.

“This project is now in jeopardy, perhaps the potential victim of political maneuvering seemingly more designed to inflict as much pain as possible during the looming state shutdown,” Gunyou wrote.

Last week, to exercise a clause in their contract with the city, which would rescind previous approval for work along Highway 169, saying continued work on the project post-shutdown could put the driving public at risk. 

Sorel echoed those same sentiments in this most recent exchange, writing, "MnDOT still has a substantial authority and responsibility related to the construction of this project." 

Gunyou predicts that a delay to the project would cost Minnetonka taxpayers an additional $2.75 to $3.10 million dollars—a 20 percent increase on the project, and almost one-third of the city’s annual budget for roads.

Rep. Kirk Stensrud (R-42A) represents the neighborhood that surrounds the Highway 169/Bren Road interchange.

“It’s crazy to consider shutting it down,” he said of the project.

Bonoff, who spent much of the day in a meetings aimed at stopping the impending state shutdown, said she was also let down to hear that the project would be put on hold.

“I’m disappointed but it shows even more why we must find compromise—that we must avert a shutdown,” she said. “That’s why I’m spending my time advocating a resolution.”

Right now, a stalemate over Minnesota's looming $5 billion deficit means the state is headed towards . Because the regular legislative session ended without a budget deal, Dayton and Republican leaders now have less than 48 hours to reach a compromise.

But as the hours tick by, optimism—however slight—does remain for the continuation of this project and for compromise at the statehouse. 

“We remain hopeful that the governor and legislature will reach an agreement to avert a shutdown, and will continue to evaluate our options on a day-by-day basis, with our primary focus on how best to minimize any unnecessary additional expense to our taxpayers,” Gunyou said.

“I don’t think we should call it yet. We’re getting towards the final rounds and there is still a possibility of a deal,” Bonoff told Minnetonka Patch this afternoon. “There is still a way for it not to happen.”