Republicans seek to claw back state money for Rondo land bridge

A Republican-backed measure that would require state funds appropriated for the proposed Rondo land bridge over Interstate 94 to be returned to highway coffers for other projects across the state sparked passionate, and often pointed, debate at the State Capitol this week.

In the end, the bill was tabled, but it could be reconsidered in the future. Sponsored by Rep. Nolan West, R-Blaine, it also sought to block future federal funding for the unique project.

Led by the St. Paul-based group ReConnect Rondo, the project calls for a bridge to be built over I-94 between the Lexington Parkway and Dale Street exits to accommodate parks, homes and businesses.

The idea is to help repair Rondo, a predominantly Black neighborhood in St. Paul that was divided by the interstate’s construction in the 1950s and 1960s.

The $558 million project is expected to be funded with state and federal money, as well as private investment in a financial arrangement similar to those used to build Target Field in Minneapolis and establish a Destination Medical Center initiative in Rochester, among other projects.

Of that amount, $313 million would pay for the bridge structure, $250 million of which is expected to be covered by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was signed by then-President Joe Biden in 2021. The remaining amount — about $63 million— would come from the state, according to Keith Baker, ReConnect Rondo’s executive director.

West’s bill would have also prohibited the project from receiving the federal money, which typically flows through the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the Metropolitan Council, a regional planning body.

Given the state’s impending budget deficit, West argued during a House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee meeting on Monday that money slated for the Rondo project could be put to better use elsewhere in the state.

“It’s not because it’s not a noble project, but looking at our impending budget deficit we have a fiscal responsibility to the state for limiting excess spending where we can,” he said. “That’s a lot of money, for a single community, a single area.”

His comments drew rebuke from Rondo community members and supporters as well as Democrats on the committee.

“We are not living in a silo; one place that is impacted impacts everyone, and when we reconnect Rondo it will have a huge, loving impact on the rest of the world, not just one town, not just one city, not just one community because we are looking at a bigger picture,” said Rasheda Jenkins of ReConnect Rondo, who grew up in the neighborhood.

The project received $6.2 million during the 2021 legislative session, which was used to pay eight consulting firms to help plan the land bridge, Baker said. Of that amount, $500,000 in state money is slated to sunset this summer, but Gov. Tim Walz’s original budget sought to extend the deadline by a year.

John Phelan, economist at the Minnetonka-based conservative nonprofit Center of the American Experiment, called the ReConnect Rondo project a “boondoggle,” and questioned whether federal money will be forthcoming given the U.S. government faces a budget deficit of $2 trillion through 2035.

“If federal funding for the project is pulled, the entire cost of the [Rondo] project will fall on taxpayers across the state,” he said.

But Baker pointed out later that the infrastructure bill won bipartisan support in Congress.

There was no specific discussion among members of the committee about the project’s goals or its economic and societal benefits, said Rep. Larry Kraft, DFL-St. Louis Park.

“If you want to have a real policy debate on the project, that’s fine, let’s talk about it,” he said. ”But this is not a serious bill."

The land bridge is separate from MnDOT’s Rethinking I-94 project assessing the needs of the interstate between St. Paul and Minneapolis.

West said Republicans have also called to cease or claw back funding for light rail projects and the Northern Lights Express passenger rail project between Minneapolis and Duluth, and for discontinuing the Northstar Commuter Rail line between Target Field and Big Lake.