Indicator 5 2 : Unrestricted highways

Goal: Rural areas, small cities and urban neighborhoods throughout the state will be economically viable places for people to live and work. Minnesotans value their freedom to choose where to live. Minnesotans in communities throughout the state also want their youth to be able to make a living without moving away. The indicators for this goal deal with economic and transportation issues that affect the viability of urban and rural communities.

Rationale: This indicator recognizes the need for communities to have reliable year-round highways linking them to cities and trade centers across the state.

Year 1980 12,085 1990 12,050 1991 12,054 1992 12,053 1993 12,041 1994 12,026 1995 11,975 1996 11,974 1997 11,914 1998 11,917 1999 11,911 2000 11,905 2001 11,914

Data source: Minnesota Department of Transportation

Year 1980 7,819 1990 9,325 1991 9,485 1992 9,774 1993 9,925 1994 9,999 1995 10,090 1996 10,231 1997 10,302 1998 10,334 1999 10,327 2000 10,504 2001 10,637

Data source: Minnesota Department of Transportation

Year 1980 64.7% 1990 77.4% 1991 78.7% 1992 81.1% 1993 82.4% 1994 83.1% 1995 84.3% 1996 85.4% 1997 86.5% 1998 86.7% 1999 86.7% 2000 88.2% 2001 89.3%

Data source: Minnesota Department of Transportation

About this indicator: The state has made significant progress in improving roads to remove weight restrictions, a 36 percent increase since 1980. Between 1990 and 2001, the number of state-owned and -maintained highway miles changed very little, but the percentage of miles with no spring-time weight restrictions rose from 77 percent to 89 percent.

The transportation of goods on Minnesota's road system is vital to the health of local, regional and state economies. This is especially true for Minnesota communities that are dependent on shipping minerals, timber and agricultural products. This indicator measures the percentage of state trunk highway miles that can handle loads of 10 tons per axle all year. Some restricted roads are not built to withstand loads over seven tons per axle during spring thaws. The greatest concentration of restricted miles is in northeastern Minnesota.

Things to think about: The total number of state highway miles went down slightly from 12,085 in 1980 to 11,914 miles in 2001, primarily because some highways were turned over to counties. Data is not available for county and municipal roads, which are also important to local and regional economies.

Technical notes: Mileage in this indicator is "centerline miles" as defined by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Centerline miles are the actual physical length as measured in only one direction of a road.

Sources:

• Minnesota Department of Transportation, Office of Investment Management, Mileage Analysis of Minnesota's Trunk Highway System by Districts (1980-2001), www.dot.state.mn.us

Related data trends:

• Total centerline miles in the state highway system
• State highway miles with no springtime weight restrictions

Related indicators:

• Counties losing population
• Net gain in businesses
• Regional disparity in unemployment

Other related indicators:

• Cities with year-round airline passenger service (Minnesota Department of Transportation, www.dot.state.mn.us)