MnDOT Hopeful Highway 197 Project in Bemidji Will Resume Next Year

Minnesota Department of Transportation officials believe a federal RAISE grant, which funded portions of Bemidji’s State Highway 197 project, could be reinstated by the end of the year, which would allow the project to resume.

The $18 million RAISE grant, which covered significant portions of the project for both MnDOT and the City of Bemidji, was frozen this past March by the Trump Administration. Matt Upgren, MnDOT Project Manager, told the Bemidji City Council at their meeting this week that he believes the grant could be reinstated by the end of the year, allowing MnDOT’s portion of the work to resume.

“That RAISE grant was paused for a period of time, which impacted both of our construction schedules,” said Upgren. “We went back to the drawing board, sat down, and talked about how we could adapt our project schedule to accommodate that so that we’re not working immediately adjacent to one another.”

In 2026, MnDOT plans to focus construction on the west side of Highway 197 while the City of Bemidji wraps up their construction on Middle School Drive and Hannah Avenue. Then, MnDOT plans on finishing the rest of the project by the end of 2027. Each construction period is planned to last from May through October.

“We’ll be completing some temporary widening on this segment of roadway to ensure adequate turn lane capacity, and also we’re including a temporary signal near L&M Fleet,” Upgren elaborated. “There will, however, be two short-term closures with detours for Highway 71 traffic at the 71 intersection. At a certain point, we’re going to need to pour concrete across that intersection, which will take some cure time. Each closure would be limited to two to three weeks, and there’d be two of them.”

MnDOT’s portion of the project was originally slated to begin earlier this year, with only one construction season. MnDOT now estimates that they will be able to resume their portion of the project in 2026 and wrap things up in 2027.

However, some council members were concerned about possibly having two construction seasons affecting local businesses.

“I’m worried that those businesses in that area, [the] city project and MnDOT’s project, it’s going to be very confusing to get around from—to go from, let’s say, Simonson’s Center over to Menards,” said Ward 2 Councilor Josh Peterson. “It’s going to impact those businesses significantly now, not for just one year but two.”

Mayor Jorge Prince asked if there were any possibilities for night construction to lower the now three-year construction period between both the city and MnDOT projects.

“We haven’t been doing that here,” Upgren replied. “It’s a craftsmanship and a safety thing for both our employees and the contractors. You know, we understand nobody likes road construction. We hate that we have to do it to the business owners in this area. But it’s just the fact of it, and we look at what we have here with this staging plan as a viable and achievable project.”

If the RAISE grant is not reinstated, MnDOT would not move forward with the Highway 197 project until alternative funds are found.