HIGHWAY 371 EXPANSION UPDATE

MnDOT project manager Tim Bray told the Pequot Lakes City Council this week that work on expanding Highway 371 could begin in seven years, either 2015 or 2016 and he expects money to be tight. Bray said MnDOT decided to complete the Environmental Impact Statement in-house rather than hire an outside firm and mapping of the bypass route is nearly complete. Bray said the EIS won't compare the bypass with the through-town option but rather with a no-build option, primarily because the through-town route has already been studied. Bray told the Lake Country Echo that approval from the city won't be asked for until its received from state and federal government agencies. He said he did't expect any major hurdles to the project.