About the project

Hwy 14 is an Interregional Corridor between New Ulm and Rochester, with this 24-mile segment connecting the regional centers of New Ulm and Mankato-North Mankato. New Ulm has been identified as a destination point for traffic and is an industrial and trucking center.

Average daily traffic ranged from 5,300 to 8,800 in 2009. Traffic is projected to grow to 16,000 in 2025.

While four-lane expansions have been proposed, a safety audit is being used to help identify next steps for this segment, including identification of:

• Locations where low-cost, proactive safety improvements have been implemented and others that can be implemented now
• Smaller-scale improvements along the corridor that could be implemented within the next few years to enhance safety (e.g., an intersection revision)
• Improvements that require substantial investment, including removing accesses and adding capacity

Preliminary estimates for previous proposals to expand this segment of highway to four lanes range from $150 million - 250 million.

Key issues

• Safety concerns along the corridor, including the intersection of Hwy 14/Hwy 15, skewed intersections with local roads and the presence of numerous public and private accesses.
• Increasing truck and commuter traffic along the corridor.
• The need for the highway to serve both local and regional trips in Courtland and Nicollet.