A federal grant of $9.8 million will help state officials raise frequently flooded portions of Hwy. 169 between St. Peter and Mankato.
The grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration was announced Wednesday. The project will raise three miles of the highway in 2016, said the Mankato Free Press.
State officials already had planned an additional $13 million resurfacing project next year that includes raising two miles of Hwy. 169 between St. Peter and Le Seuer. And MnDOT has a $3 million plan to elevate Hwy. 22 just east of Highway 169 in St. Peter in 2015, the paper said.
The combined projects will help keep 169 open during frequent floods in the area. "We’ve closed the highway seven times in the last 20 years," said Zachary Tess, MnDOT’s project manager.