County restates high-speed rail opposition

Dodge County Commissioners this month restated their opposition to the westerly alignment of a proposed high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities.
The commissioners reacted to a final scoping document prepared by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Olmsted Regional Rail Authority, which indicated two primary routes for the rail, on which trains could travel at up to 220 mph.
MnDOT suspended development of the final draft of a Tiered Environmental Impact statement in January for monetary reasons (MnDOT spent around $3 million on an Alternative Analysis Study).
County commissioner Jim Elmquist said the commissioners oppose a rail route that would cut through the county, not the rail project itself.
“This thing is not necessarily defined as dead. It’s still sitting on a shelf,” he said. “It could be a long time before it comes back. But if it does, we’ve stated our position.”