2026-2029 Transportation Improvement Program
Current TIP for the Duluth, MN, Metropolitan Planning Area

Amendment #4 Details

The City of Duluth has requested an Amendment to the 2026-2029 Duluth Area TIP. It will be presented for approval at the December 10, 2025 MIC Policy Board meeting. The meeting is open to the public and comments will be taken.

Amendment #4: Increase of $800,000 to the Project Total for the MN 61 Reduced Conflict Intersection project at CSAH33/McQuade Road and changing Type of Work to “traffic control devices/safety.”

MnDOT has requested a total project cost increase of $800,000 for the MN 61 at CSAH33/McQuade Rd Reduced Conflict Intersection Project due to a greater than anticipated cost to repair the Talmadge River culvert.

The project total is increasing from $388,890 to $1,188,890. The federal funding amount will increase from $316,658 to $968,018 and the state match will increase from $72,232 to $220,872. MnDOT District 1 has a budget carryover from a project outside the MIC area from FY2025 and will use a portion of that surplus to cover the cost increase.

Additionally, MIC staff has requested that the Type of Work be changed from “Pavement Resurface And Rehabilitation” to “Traffic Control Devices/Safety” to more accurately reflect the project work and to match another project line in the TIP associated with the same project (State Project ID # 6926-58).

Amendment #4 Details

Based on the criteria adopted in the 2021 MIC Public Involvement Plan, these changes to programmed projects require a formal TIP Amendment, including the opportunity for public comment and approval by the MIC Policy Board. The TIP will remain fiscally constrained within the revenues that can reasonably be expected to be available.

Amendment #3 Details

Amendment #3: Revised project descriptions for the Campus Connector trail project to remove the construction of a pedestrian bridge over Tischer Creek, with no change to the project’s funding or total cost.

The City of Duluth has requested that the words “and construct Tischer Creek pedestrian bridge, New BR#R0950” be removed from the project descriptions for the 2026 Campus Connector Trail project. This change affects three related project listings:118-156-012CRP, 118-115-009, and 118155-009CRP.

Because the original bridge location is in a flood-prone area, the city determined that construction costs would be prohibitively high. Segment 4 of the Campus Connector Trail will still be built—but instead of crossing over Tischer Creek, the route will now follow West St. Marie Street to the corner of University Drive, with no change to the project’s funding or total cost.

Amendment #3 Details

Based on the criteria adopted in the 2021 MIC Public Involvement Plan, these changes to programmed projects require a formal TIP Amendment, including the opportunity for public comment and approval by the MIC Policy Board. The TIP will remain fiscally constrained within the revenues that can reasonably be expected to be available.

Amendment #2 Details

The City of Duluth has requested an Amendment to the 2026-2029 Duluth Area TIP. It will be presented for approval at the December 10, 2025 MIC Policy Board meeting. The meeting is open to the public and comments will be taken.

Amendment #2: Revised project description to remove EV charging stations from the West Superior Street RAISE project, with no change to the project’s funding or total cost.

The City of Duluth has requested an update to the project description for the 2026 West Superior Street project funded by a federal RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) grant. The phrase “and EV charging stations” is being removed from the project description.

This change is based on a review by the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) grants task force that considered recent executive orders and rules about what types of projects are eligible for funding. As a result, EV charging stations are no longer eligible to be included as a part of this project.

Amendment #2 Details

Based on the criteria adopted in the 2021 MIC Public Involvement Plan, these changes to programmed projects require a formal TIP Amendment, including the opportunity for public comment and approval by the MIC Policy Board. The TIP will remain fiscally constrained within the revenues that can reasonably be expected to be available.

Amendment #1 Details

St. Louis County has requested an Amendment to the 2026-2029 Duluth Area TIP. It will be presented for approval at the December 10, 2025 MIC Policy Board meeting. The meeting is open to the public and comments will be taken.

Amendment #1: Removing Project 069-070-070 from the Duluth Area TIP and reallocating a portion of the programmed 2026 HSIP funds to Project 069-070-069.

St. Louis County has requested the removal of Project 069-070-070, a countywide edgeline striping project, from the Duluth Area TIP. The work planned for this project was already completed through other projects in 2024 and 2025.

The project had programmed $488,700 in federal safety (HSIP) funding for this project in 2026 and the funds are proposed to be re-allocated to other projects inside and outside of the MIC area, for similar types of work.

Amendment #1 Details

Based on the criteria adopted in the 2021 MIC Public Involvement Plan, these changes to programmed projects require a formal TIP Amendment, including the opportunity for public comment and approval by the MIC Policy Board. The TIP will remain fiscally constrained within the revenues that can reasonably be expected to be available.

MIC staff approved the City of Duluth’s request to add information about the city’s awarded Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) grant to the current Duluth Area TIP document.

As part of finalizing the grant agreement between the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) the City of Duluth was advised to request that this grant for the Duluth I-35 Community Access Revitalization Study be added to the current Duluth Area TIP. The added information includes the project name, award amount, non-federal fund amount, estimated total project cost, a general project description, statement of work, and an overview on the RCP grant program.

Pages 100-101 have been added in the appendix section of the TIP document to provide this information.

Details about Administrative Modification #1

Based on the criteria adopted in the 2021 MIC Public Involvement Plan, this project change does not require a formal TIP Amendment. The TIP will remain fiscally constrained within the revenues that can reasonably be expected to be available.

The 2026-2029 TIP received MnDOT, FTA and FHWA approvals, replacing the 2025-2028 version as the current TIP for the Duluth Area.

The MIC Policy Board voted to adopt the final 2026-2029 Duluth Area Transportation Improvement Program.*  This document:

• Lists all transportation projects that will receive federal funding for the next four years, including:
  • Roadway improvements
  • Public transit upgrades
  • Bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure
  • Bridge repairs or replacements
• Details the federal, state, and local funding sources for each project.
• Aligns with the MIC’s long-range transportation plan and is fiscally constrained (i.e., only includes projects with committed funding).

* Until this TIP is approved by MnDOT and the FHWA, the 2025-2028 Duluth Area TIP remains the current version.

The public comment period for the Draft 2026-2029 Duluth Area TIP is now closed.

Comments received on the Draft TIP through August 13 will be incorporated into the final document as appropriate, and documented in the Appendix along with the MIC’s responses. 

The final TIP document, will be presented for review and approval by the MIC Policy Board at its 6:00 pm meeting on September 17, 2025. The meeting is open to the public and comments will be taken.

The Draft 2026-2029 Duluth Area Transportation Improvement Program was approved by the MIC Policy Board for release for the required 30-day comment period and has been made publicly available since July 14. It lists all projects proposed for 2026-2029 and will be open for public review and input through 8/13/2025.

The final 2026-2029 Duluth TIP will be presented to the MIC Policy Board for final approval at its meeting on September 17, 2025, at 6:00pm.  This meeting will be open to the public and comments will be taken.

To comment:

• Contact TIP Coordinator Eli Norlander (see phone & email, above right)
• Attend the MIC Policy Board meeting on September 17, 2025, at 6:00pm (in-person or virtually via MS Teams). This meeting will be open to the public and comments will be taken.

The Draft 2026-2029 Duluth Area Transportation Improvement Program was approved by the MIC Policy Board for release for the required 30-day public comment period. It lists all projects proposed for 2026-2029 and will be open for public review and input through 8/13/2025.  

The 2026-2029 Duluth TIP will be presented to the MIC Policy Board for final approval at its meeting on September 17, 2025, at 6:00pm.  This meeting will be open to the public and comments will be taken.

To comment:

• Contact TIP Coordinator Eli Norlander (see phone & email, above right)
• Attend a virtual input session (via MS Teams).  Click to join a meeting at the following dates and times:

Thursday, July 24: 10-11 am

Thursday, July 24: 5-6 pm

Thursday, July 29: 12-1 pm

• Attend the MIC Policy Board meeting on September 17, 2025, at 6:00pm (in-person or virtually via MS Teams). This meeting will be open to the public and comments will be taken.

At the February meeting of the MIC Policy Board, the new 2029 projects proposed by area jurisdictions to receive federal STBGP (Surface Transportation Block Grant Program) funding were unanimously approved for inclusion in the Draft 2026-2029 Duluth Area TIP.

View 2029 STBGP Projects presentation

At the February 19, 2025 meeting of the MIC Policy Board, new projects proposed to receive STBGP (Surface Transportation Block Grant Program) funding will be presented for approval for inclusion in the Draft 2026-2029 Duluth Area TIP.

(View project applications and staff evaluations in previous post)

The meeting is open to the public and comments will be taken.

Applications for 2029 MIC area projects proposed to receive federal STBG funding were received from two jurisdictions:

City of Duluth – 4th Street Reconstruction from Mesaba Ave to 6th Ave East
View project application and MIC staff evaluation

St. Louis County – Howard Gnesen Road Rehabilitation from Martin Rd to Normanna Rd
View project application and MIC staff evaluation

Both projects will be presented for approval for inclusion in the Draft 2026-2029 Duluth Area TIP at the February 19, 2025 MIC Policy Board meeting.
The meeting is open to the public and comments will be taken.

Project applications were distributed to jurisdictions and agencies eligible to receive 2029 federal STBGP funds for projects in the greater Duluth planning area— St. Louis County, cities with a population over 5,000 (Duluth and Hermantown), the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and the Duluth Transit Authority (DTA).

2029 Duluth area project submittals are due January 10, 2025.

A pre-application meeting was held with local jurisdictions and MnDOT staff to review the MIC’s revised Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP) Project application. Discussion focused on jurisdictions’ potential 2029 projects, timelines for the development of the 2026-2029 Duluth Area TIP, and available Carbon Reduction Program (CRP) funds for eligible projects in the MIC area.