7 Ensure access to freight terminals
Ensure access to freight terminals such as river ports, airports, and intermodal rail yards
7.1 Regional Truck Freight Corridors and Facilities
The efficient movement of freight is vital to the economic competitiveness of the Twin Cities metropolitan region, and truck highway corridors comprise a key component of the regional freight transportation system. A Regional Truck Highway Corridors study was completed in 2017 to identify and prioritize the region’s major highway corridors on which the trucking industry most relies. The study evaluated the metro area’s highway corridors across four primary factors: average annual truck volume, truck percentage of overall traffic, proximity to freight-related economic centers, and proximity to regional freight terminals. The principal and minor arterial highways analyzed in the study were assigned to one of three priority tiers, using a data-driven scoring process. The tiered regional freight corridors shown in Figure 7.1 are used in the biennial Regional Solicitation project selection process for distributing federal transportation funds. The regional truck corridors were updated in 2021 through a MnDOT and county agencies technical review process.