The 2017 road construction season is ready to begin, with more than 200 road and bridge jobs in the pipeline totaling one billion dollars.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation unveiled its massive list of projects for the year earlier today, though many of those major repairs and reconstructions are already underway.

In greater Minnesota, some of the construction projects include the resurfacing of Highway 197 in Bemidji and Highway 2 in Bemidji and Deer River.

Large-scale projects include Highway 371 through Nisswa, Pequot Lakes and Jenkins, Highway 371b/South Sixth Street in Brainerd, and Highway 84 from Pine River to Longville.

MnDOT says that the latest 20-year plan forecasts an $18 million budget shortfall in anticipated revenue that MnDOT needs to operate competitively.

In addition to road construction, MnDOT also announced 57 additional airport, port and railroad projects that total $47 million. Those projects are outside of the state road construction program.

By — Mal Meyer