Better late than never for 169 by Opinion/Editorial Appearing in Ely Echo on 2007-06-09. Despite Governor Tim Pawlenty, the Hwy. 169 work between Ely and Virginia is still on track. Some may consider that to be only looking at the silver lining, but maybe some perspective is in order here. Think about where we would be if it wasn't for the dedicated work of the Hwy. 169 Task Force. We certainly wouldn't be sitting with nearly $20 million in federal funds and construction scheduled to start four years from now. People like Rudy Semeja, Bill Erzar, Mike Forsman and Roger Skraba wouldn't take no for an answer and pushed MNDOT to take a look at the winding, hilly section of road. They met repeatedly, lobbied and were able to get the project from beyond the back burner to at least on the list of highway construction projects on MNDOT's schedule. Remember, when the Task Force began its work in the late 1990s, MNDOT projected that reconstruction of 169 would take place as much as 15 years into the future. But flat state funding for transportation, especially in rural Minnesota, would undoubtedly have pushed that timeline back even more. Thanks to the 169 Task Force and Rep. Jim Oberstar, federal funding has forced MNDOT's hand now at least it's on the front burner. Pawlenty and his administration have made it clear they don't appreciate having Oberstar tell them how to spend highway dollars. Instead of working with Washington, MNDOT has been dragged into this project begrudgingly. But they wouldn't be this close if it wasn't for the hard work of the Task Force. And let's remember how far this stretch of highway is from the metropolitan area. Our traffic counts pale in comparison and we're just fortunate that we have Oberstar in a new position of power. Instead of bemoaning the inability of the state legislature to get a gas tax increase past Pawlenty, let's be thankful that we will one day get to see major improvements done on Hwy. 169 between Ely and Virginia. And let's be thankful for the citizens and elected representatives who made that possible.

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