Commuters in southeastern Minnesota have increased since 1990. Because of this roads are being used more often and public transportation use is up. This trend is creating a demand for better road conditions and more transportation options. In the third of this three-part series, the Austin Daily Herald takes a look at how commuting is affecting the way people get around.

The number of commuters in greater Minnesota has risen since 1990 and people are having to drive longer distances to work, according to 2000 Census results.

And while rural roads are being more often, less money is being allocated to repair them.

But poor road conditions do not guarantee the road will be fixed. Roads with high accident rates and traffic volume are given priority over ones that only are in poor shape.

"With the whole economy, funding is adequate to inadequate," Jergenson said. "But because low-volume roads cannot justify using this money to fix them up, it creates a service dilemma for us. That's why MnDot continues to ask for long-term funding."

That means even though the roads are being used more often, MnDot can't come up with the funds to repair them.

"More people are demanding that are roads be in good shape," Jergenson said.

The county also lacks enough funding to repair all roads. Mower County works with about $3 million a year for road repair, said Michal Hansen, Mower County highway engineer. Repaving a road costs about $175,000 a mile and $80,000 a mile to black top a road.

"We're really short on money," Hansen said of their allotment.

A number of nearby roads that commuters use cannot be repaired soon because of bad conditions alone. Jergenson lists Minnesota Highway 56 North and U.S. 218 as roads that are in need of repair but cannot be repaired because of lack of funding.

So what determines what roads will get fixed and which ones won't?

The federal government doles out money to Minnesota for transportation costs. Minnesota is divided into eight transportation districts. Mower County is one of 11 counties in District 6.

To determine what roads need repairs or renovations, a committee of MnDot employees and directors assess roads based on three main categories: advantages to transit, traffic congestion, especially specific area that are bottlenecks, and whether the road connects major regional trade centers.

MnDot also receives state dollars and those committees look at traffic volume, accident rates and conditions of the road. If the road is in bad shape, but has little traffic and few accidents, it is not a priority to fix.

"It creates a serious dilemma for us," Jergenson said.

Because more people are commuting, it puts more pressure on MnDot to offer better service.

"We need to be aware of (commuting) so that we can provide a good, solid transportation system," Jergenson said.

The county looks at the average daily traffic numbers to gauge the highway's use. About 500 to 2,000 cars travel on most county roads. Busier roads, such as Minnesota Highway 14 by LeRoy sees 1,500 to 1,800 a day. The county just regraded the road because of the heavy traffic.

But traffic volume alone isn't the only factor for the county.

"We regrade or repave roads with the future in mind," Hansen said. "Although it might not be heavy at this time."

The county also tries to repair roads in all part of the county.

"We try to, if possible, keep the money equally spent based on commissioner districts," Hansen said.

Cari Quam can be reached at 434-2235 or by e-mail at cari.quam@austindailyherald.com