Welcome to Mankato

The Environmental Assessment for the project has been completed by DM&E Railroad under auspices of the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Design is in preliminary form.

The Mankato Railroad Corridor Mitigation Plan in an outgrowth of a community partnership agreement negotiated with Mankato and the DM&E Railroad in the early 2000s. The agreement, originally executed and later withdrawn, provided for safe crossings, noise mitigation, and rail, vehicle, and pedestrian accommodations on the shared corridor between the Union Pacific and the DM&E Railroad through the City of Mankato. It addressed safety improvements at each crossing, fencing for rail company security, and residential sound mitigation at two residential locations and, to a degree, at the City's downtown commercial center.

Commencing at an expanded rail yard at the City's north city limits, the concept involved a gated crossing to be enhanced by a future grade separation when warrants are met. As part of the railyard expansion, an additional span to the TH 14 Interregional Corridor Bridge, this accommodates 4 lanes of vehicles, along with a separate bike trail/pedestrian corridor, also requiring an extra span. Track modifications through the industrial center include switching issues and noise mitigation through the near north side to a residential area, followed by whistle-free crossings into the City's Riverfront Park and coordination with the Mankato flood control system through the Central Business District, followed by an enhanced grade separation at Sibley Parkway, a pedestrian underpass at West Sibley Street, bridge improvements at Sibley Park, and track signalization crossing at the south city limits.

The two rail lines cross in Mankato and the United Pacific owns the 5.6 mile corridor. This corridor does not have automated switching and dedicated through line. The result is an inefficient rail corridor causing distribution by switching delays results; need to mitigate noise, traffic delays, and safety concerns. We believe that these inefficiencies will be addressed in the State rail plan (currently being updated).

The project continues to be a safety project, with additional benefits of congestion relief, security, and sound mitigation.

Details of the plan are found in the following document:
Railroad-Mitigation-March2009.pdf (Large File -- PDF 33M)

Civic Center Auditorium Expansion and Arena Remodel State Bonding Request
The city of Mankato submitted a request for state bonding funds through the capital budget request to be considered this Legislative Session.  The request is for the purpose of design, construction, furnishing and equipping the civic center auditorium expansion and arena remodel.  The total project cost is $29 million.  Funding sources are 50 percent state and 50 percent local (local option sales tax).  This project will not move forward until state funding is secured. 

Regional Trail Bonding Request
The cities of Mankato, North Mankato and St. Peter, and the counties of Blue Earth and Nicollet have submitted a state bonding request for the planning, environmental review and design of the Minnesota River Trail between Mankato/North Mankato and St. Peter. This is part of a long-standing plan to develop a trail system from Fort Snelling to Ortonville and is specifically mentioned in Minnesota Statutes. Over the years, local communities have taken leadership roles in effectuating the plan through proactive trail development. With this connection, a critical link in the trail system would be realized and the next phase--with connection to LeSueur--would also become much more feasible with the momentum provided by this project. The bonding request is for $400,000, which is 100 percent of the estimated cost associated with designating the preferred route, planning, environmental review and design. It is anticipated that once this is accomplished, the project would be in the “pipeline” for future bonding requests for construction. It is also possible that once the planning/design is complete, partners could apply for legacy grant funds for construction.