Independence leaders push $4 million to fix dangerous stretch of U.S. Highway 12

Representative Robbins introduced House File 3523, a request for $4,000,000 in bonding to reconstruct a roughly five-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 12 through the city of Independence.

Mayor Spencer of Independence and Matt DeRose, director of public safety for West Hennepin Public Safety, described the corridor as outdated and dangerous. DeRose said temporary lane delineators installed in 2019 have become semi-permanent and are frequently struck, and he urged geometric fixes such as center medians, wider shoulders and turn lanes. "There's an opportunity in front of us here to prevent further tragedies that we know are likely to occur in the absence of significant safety improvements," DeRose said.

Members raised questions about whether federal funding could be sought and whether greenhouse-gas studies or B3 energy requirements would affect project cost. Mayor Spencer said MnDOT would produce required greenhouse-gas calculations and that the city had discussed mitigation with MnDOT; the committee members noted greenhouse-gas assessments could materially raise project costs depending on methodology.

No formal vote was recorded and committee discussion moved on to other agenda items.