New ‘U’ study offers Minnesota legislators advice on paying for transportation projects

The University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies (CTS) released a report todaythat suggests a new way to pay for infrastructure projects like highway construction.

CTS’s report says state officials should consider financing strategies that "capture" the increased value of land from highway and other infrastructure projects.That’s different fromborrowing and gas taxes,whichare amongMinnesota’sdominant sources of money for transportation. State lawmakers in 2008 commissioned CTS to do the study.

The report notes that freeway interchanges and transit stations can significantly enhance the value of surrounding private land. The report explains financing tools that could be used tocapture increased land value topay forinfrastructure projects.

The report is online at www.cts.umn.edu/research/valuecapture.