FINAL 2012-15 STIP

I. INTRODUCTIONThe Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) was established and operates in order to provide a balancedtransportation system including aeronautics, highways, motor carriers, ports, public transit, railroads and pipelines. MnDOT isthe principal agency in the state for development, implementation, administration, consolidation, and coordination of statetransportation policies, plans, and programs. These policies, plans, and programs are developed in cooperation with the publicand a variety of transportation partners, including the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council, the six Metropolitan PlanningOrganizations (MPOs) established in areas with populations exceeding 50,000, the nine Regional Development Commissions(RDCs), county, city, and Indian tribal governments throughout the state.The MnDOT vision is to be a global leader in transportation. MnDOT is committed to upholding public needs andcollaboration with internal and external partners to create a safe, efficient and sustainable transportation system for the future.Fundamental to this vision is the need to preserve and maintain the state’s physical transportation assets – highways, bridges,airports, water ports, freight, bus, rail, intermodal facilities, and bikeways.A number of factors are shaping the development of MnDOT policies and programs. These include safety, the integration oftransportation modes, service and investment preservation, customer focus, economic development, technology, environmentalpartnerships, and federal actions. This document addresses these factors and provides a multimodal focus. This document andthe investment levels summarized in Figure 1 do not include the expenditures for infrastructure maintenance. In addition,unless federal funding is a part of the investment, the investments in this document and Figure 1 do not include improvementsmade by local levels of government. Total government investment in transportation infrastructure could be two to three timesthe investment level included in this document. The investment in transportation infrastructure improvements included in thisdocument is summarized in Figure 1.I-2