Over the past year, the Highway 23 Coalition has become more organized. It has adopted Bylaws, elected a Board of Directors, and now boasts 89 members, including 63 businesses and 11 cities, that want improvements to this critical
corridor. In January the Coalition submitted applications to the State of Minnesota for Corridors of Commerce funding for both four-lane gaps between Willmar and Interstate 94. Unfortunately, four highway projects in the Twin Cities were awarded all the Corridors of Commerce funding available.
The good news is that the Highway 23 projects were ranked high for non-Twin Cities projects seeking this funding, and that could bode well for future state funding. The Coalition will continue to fight for the completion of the gaps until this project is completed. Next up: a dozen members of the Coalition will travel later in May to Washington D.C. to meet with our congressional delegation about federal funding for the Highway 23 corridor.