The Bemidji City Council voted to not go ahead with the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s State Highway 197 Paul Bunyan Drive Corridor Study on Monday.

Before the final vote, council members heard from the community about their stance on phase one of the implementation plan for the Truck Highway 196 corridor study.

It would have applied three roundabouts from Gillett Avenue to Hannah Avenue. A motion stating that the city concurs with MnDOT’s phase one implementation plan for the Truck Highway 197 corridor study failed 4 to 3.

“So I’m sad about the fact that folks were not willing to think about the broader context on how this could have improved this corridor,” Mayor Rita Albrecht said.

MnDOT says the alternative will now be to work on preservation projects.

By — Malaak Khattab

News Reporter