Council unanimously approves MnDOT agreement for Highway 1171 trail

Jason Fisher, International Falls' city engineer, told the council the city was awarded an active-transportation grant for the trail that runs along Highway 1171 from 14th Avenue to 11th Street. "We were awarded this active transportation grant for the trail that goes along Highway 1171 from 14th Avenue to 11th Street," Fisher said, and explained the city needed to sign the agreement with MnDOT before spending any grant money.

Fisher said the city waited for bid results to determine the grant amount and that the signed agreement would spell out how the grant is handled. Councilor Buller moved to approve the resolution and Councilor Wagner seconded; after brief comments and questions about construction stakes and trail connections, the council approved the resolution unanimously.

Why it matters: the project will extend a city trail network and connect to the existing trail toward the lake, providing a continuous active-transportation corridor. Staff will now execute the MnDOT agreement and proceed to contract and construction planning consistent with the agreement terms and grant conditions.

The council did not discuss a detailed construction schedule or final contract amounts at the meeting; those items will follow award-details from MnDOT and local bid results.