WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded $13,736,000 in federal funding for the I-94 Blowing and Drifting Snow Control Project in West Central Minnesota. The project will install 24 miles of snow fence across 38 sites to address snow control along nearly 120 miles of I-94 between the cities of Moorhead and Alexandria. The project will reduce snow traps along the economically vital I-94 corridor, enhancing safety, minimizing winter maintenance, and boosting the reliability of the heavily traveled highway.
“I-94 is one of the most heavily used highways in our state but its driving conditions can be impacted during winter storms,” said Klobuchar. “With this federal grant, the Minnesota Department of Transportation will install snow fences to reduce snow traps along the highway and ensure I-94 remains safe for drivers.”
“In Minnesota, we have to keep moving even when there’s snow, and this stretch of I-94 is notoriously unsafe in snowy conditions,” said Smith. “This grant from the Federal Highway Administration will help keep Minnesotans safe on I-94 in snowy conditions.”
The funding was secured through the USDOT Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) Grant program. PROTECT provides funding to ensure surface transportation resilience to natural hazards including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters through support of planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk coastal infrastructure. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides funding for PROTECT.
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