Area Transportation Partnerships

The Southeast Minnesota ATP was established to bring together the transportation improvement recommendations of the MPOs, Transit Operators, MnDOT, cities, and counties into an integrated list of transportation investments in the form of the Area Transportation Improvement Program (ATIP). Southeast Minnesota ATP will also review and comment on the draft STIP, establish criteria for project selection, work with the MPOs to incorporate projects from their TIP, participate with the District in the development and/or review of policies and procedures for managing the program, and developing/reviewing priority lists for programs that are not included in the target. The ATP provides technical advice to the District Engineer who represents the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation.

The ATP shall follow STIP funding guidance for each category of projects and shall integrate the priority lists into the four-year ATIP. The ATP-6 shall annually solicit candidate projects in the following categories:

• Transportation Alternatives (TA)
• STP – Small Cities
• STP – Counties
• STP – ROCOG

Southeast Minnesota ATP’s ATIP and Amendment and Administrative Modification Policy provides guidance on when formal action is required to amend its ATIP and when such action is not warranted. The approved policy takes into account guidance developed by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the MnDOT Office of Transportation System Management (OTSM) for processing amendments and administrative modifications to the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The policy clarifies Southeast Minnesota ATP’s ATIP amendment requirements, serves to streamline the ATIP amendment decision-making process, and minimizes potential delays to projects that would otherwise require formal action by Southeast Minnesota ATP.

Southeast Minnesota ATP meetings are open to the public.

In-person meetings are held at the MnDOT District 6 Headquarters Building (2900 48th Street NW, Rochester, MN). For virtual meeting links, please see the meeting agenda. Agendas will be posted a minimum of three days before the scheduled meeting date.

• View meeting notes, agendas and documents

Schedule

Meetings occur the second Friday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon.

• Oct. 13, 2023 - Cancelled
• Nov. 9, 2023 - (Meeting Thursday due to Veterans Day) - In-person and virtual
• Dec. 8, 2023 - Cancelled
• Jan. 12, 2024 - In-person and virtual
• Feb. 9, 2024 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) (Transportation Alternatives Presentations) - In-person and Virtual
• March 8, 2024 - In-person and virtual
• April 12, 2024 - In-person and virtual
• May 10, 2024 - In-person and virtual

Accessibility

To request an ASL or foreign language interpreter, call 651-366-4720. To request other reasonable accommodations, call the Minnesota Relay Service toll-free at 1-800-627-3529 (TYY, Voice or ASCII) or 711, or email your request to adarequest.dot@state.mn.us.

• September - January: Solicit projects
• February: Develop regional lists
• March - April: Develop Draft ATIP
• May: Public Review and Comment
• June: Draft STIP review and comment
• July - August: STIP Approval by Commissioner
• September - October: STIP Approval by Federal Transportation Authorities

Voting members

• Greg Paulson, Assistant District Engineer Program Delivery, MnDOT (Chair)
• Fausto Cabral, Assistant District Engineer State Aid, MnDOT
• Kurt Wayne, Planning Director, MnDOT
• Peter Fletcher, Director, LAPC MPO
• Jarrett Hubbard, Principal Planner, ROCOG MPO
• Ia Xiong, Transit & Parking Systems Manager, Large Urban Transit System
• Kirk Kuchera, Transit Manager - SMART, Small Cities/Rural Transit System
• Cristina M. Mlejnek, Project Manager, Prairie Island Indian Community
• David Kramer, Winona County Engineer
• Jay Owens, Red Wing City Engineer
• Phil Wacholz, Freeborn County Engineer
• Steven Lang, Austin City Engineer

Alternates

• Mark DuChene, Faribault City Engineer
• Sean Murphy, Owatonna City Engineer
• Ben Johnson, Olmsted County Engineer
• Jackie Eastwood, LAPC Transportation Planner
• Charlie Reiter, Principal Transportation Planner, Olmsted County

We review operating procedures yearly at the September or October meeting for any improvements or updates needed to procedures or policies. If updates are needed a sub-committee will be created for recommending updates.

• Southeast Minnesota ATP operating procedures (PDF)

Intended for projects that make transportation systems more resilient to climate-related hazards

• Information on climate resiliency – MN Resilience Improvement Plan (RIP)

PROTECT are Federal funds – easier to apply to existing, Federalized projects
All public road systems across the SE Minnesota ATP6 area are eligible
Funding availability – up to 80% of eligible items cost:

• Federal FY 2027 - $300,000
• Federal FY 2028 - $600,000
• Funds are intended for advance construction (AC) for projects in 2026 or 2027

Interested parties must submit an application to MnDOT D6 by April 30, 2024 – MnDOT D6 State Aid Engineer Fausto Cabral
Questions? Contact either Fausto Cabral (507) 251-1930 or Kurt Wayne (507) 273-7052
Application: PROTECT ATP6 Application FY26-27

Intended for projects that reduce carbon emissions:

• by providing low/no carbon options for non-motorized users or transit
• by promoting full electrification of vehicles/fleets
• by using less carbon in systems management or in construction
• Carbon Reduction Program eligibility at-a-glance

Additional information about the program – MnDOT CRP website
CRP are Federal funds – easier to apply to existing, Federalized projects
Rochester and La Crescent are ineligible for these specific CRP funds, all other agencies in Southeast Minnesota are eligible

• Project must be within the ATP 6 boundaries

Funding availability – up to 80% of eligible items cost:

• FY 2025 – $1,220,000
• FY 2026 - $1,490,000

Interested parties must submit an application to MnDOT D6 by April 30, 2024

• Applicants must review the Carbon Emission Tool (CET) first, then schedule a time to fill out the tool information with MnDOT D6 Planning – Kurt Wayne
• Please email a completed application and CET by April 30th to Kurt Wayne

Questions? Contact MnDOT D6 Planning – Kurt Wayne (507) 273-7052
Application: Carbon Reduction Program ATP6 Application FY25-26
CET: Carbon Emission Tool (CET)

Southeast Minnesota ATP considers the transportation priorities of the area’s partnerships:

• Rochester Olmsted Council of Governments
• La Crosse Area Planning Commission
• MnDOT District 6

How the STIP is tied into the CHIP

The STIP is created by drawing projects from the Capital Highway Investment Plan (CHIP), the 10-year plan of which the first four years are the STIP and years 5-10 are the work plan years.

• View the CHIP