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March 12, 2015 The Honorable Governor Mark Dayton Office of the Governor 130 State Capitol 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55155 Re: Request Funding Improvements for the Rice Street/Interstate 694 Bridge Interchange Dear Governor Dayton: As the mayors of the cities of Shoreview, Little Canada, and Vadnais Heights, we are writing to respectfully ask for your support in providing funds for improvements to the Rice Street Bridge/Interchange at Interstate 694. For years, Ramsey County and the cities of this area have waited patiently for funding to replace this outdated bridge that is insufficient to handle the transportation needs of our residents, commuters, and businesses. With funding approved through the Corridors of Commerce to add freeway lanes between Rice Street and Lexington Avenue, what was once promised as the first priority of the staged improvements along the north 1-694 corridor, the Rice Street Bridge/Interchange will soon be the last major bottleneck. It would also seem most efficient and prudent to undertake the bridge improvements in coordination with the planned lane additions to 1-694 slated to begin in 2016, and lessen further impacts of congestion and construction delays that have been faced by our businesses and residents for so many years. We have heard first-hand from our businesses that the congestion caused by the insufficient capacity, inadequate bridge and interchange ramps, and exacerbated by significant increases in trains at near -by rail crossings, negatively impacts their employees and ability to conduct commerce. The 1-694 corridor (from Arden Hills to the west, through Shoreview, and to Little Canada and Vadnais Heights to the east) encompasses major companies such as Boston Scientific, Land 0' Lakes, Deluxe Corporation, Cummins Power Generation, PaR Systems, and TSI Incorporated, doing world-wide business while employing thousands and contributing millions of dollars to the regional economy. Additionally, the 20 -year delay in funding this project has also negatively impacted private reinvestment and redevelopment near the interchange because of the uncertainty of the timing and scope of the transportation improvements. For example, back in 2005 the City of Shoreview cooperated with Ramsey County and MnDOT through the Metropolitan Council RALF Program for the acquisition of the former County Maintenance site at the southwest quadrant of the interchange in anticipating of future 1