Communities Come Together For Future Planning Of The Paul Bunyan Expressway

Which path to choose, and how to move traffic from the Twin Cities metro to central and northern Minnesota has been an ongoing conversation for decades, and today brought all parties involved to one room. In an effort to bring key communities together, the Bemidji and Leech Lake area chambers worked together to help move the conversation in the right direction.

Over 50 people attended the discussion from communities all over the region. Some of the most vocal were from the town of Walker who could feel either a positive or negative impact from the highway expansion.

Whatever the final decision is, it not only impacts the communities of Walker and Bemidji – it means a lot to communities farther north and their local economies.

For the community development coordinator for the city of Roseau, not having quality roads to their city has been hard on their economy.

By getting an early start on planning, the hope is that when the project becomes reality, everyone will be ready and have a plan in place.

After this morning’s discussion, a new group was formed to look at the expansion of four lane highways into northern Minnesota.