Moving Goods & People

A Corridor Supporting Key Businesses

  • 40% of Minnesota’s employment is within 10 miles of the US 169 corridor.
  • Supports 60% of Minnesota’s Fortune 500 businesses.
  • Serves 1 million employees in the corridor.

A Corridor Supporting Higher Education

  • Serves about 45,000 students and faculty at post-secondary education facilities.
  • Connects Southwestern Minnesota residents to post-secondary educational opportunities including Minnesota State University-Mankato and Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN.

A Corridor that Moves Freight

  • US 169 is part of a major intermodal corridor connecting to the Ports of Savage via TH 13, where trucks and rail bring grain into ports to be loaded onto river barges or shipped out by rail. The Ports of Savage is a nationally prominent port for the shipment of grain and other commodities to the rest of the world. In 2012, two million tons of commodities and products (aggregate, salt, fertilizers, etc.) were shipped through the Ports of Savage to the rest of the world. Over the past decade, this has been six percent of all inland grain traffic originating in the United States.
  • Southwest Minnesota Freight traffic has the potential to grow 200 percent by 2030 if the current agricultural trends continue, which is double the statewide rate.

A Corridor that Supports Agriculture

  • US 169 is a vital state corridor on the National Highway System, facilitating important grain and agricultural commodity movements between southwestern Minnesota, the Ports of Savage, and the Twin Cities.
  • The corridor is important for the movement of products such as wheat, corn, soybeans, hogs, milling & food processing, and non-metallic minerals (high grade silica sand in Le Sueur County).

A Corridor that Transports Energy

  • Supports Ethanol and Biodiesel Fuel Plants, which add to Minnesota’s economy and require regular truck shipments utilizing US 169. Southern Minnesota is a leader in Minnesota’s ethanol output.
  • The corridor supports wind energy production and expansion. Southern Minnesota experiences climatic patterns that are supportive of wind turbine installations and electric generation. Truck traffic in the corridor could increase due to wind turbine manufacturing plants or regional retail distribution centers related to wind turbine components.

A Vision for a Key Commuter Corridor

  • The corridor supports intercity transit connections. Land to Air operates an intercity transit service connecting to Mankato, St. Peter, Le Sueur, Belle Plaine, Jordan, Shakopee, and Minneapolis.
  • The Union Pacific Railroad, which is a parallel to US 169, provides a potential future Commuter Rail line from Mankato to Minneapolis.