Transportation Economic Development Program

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a letter of interest to apply to the 2025 TED solicitation by July 28. Please submit completed letters of interest to Noah Hansen at noah.hansen@state.mn.us.
The LOI form can be found here: 2025 TED Letter of Interest Form
This short form does not commit an applicant to submitting a full funding application but is intended to initiate a conversation with MnDOT program and district staff about potential project ideas. MnDOT District staff will follow-up with all expressions of interest to discuss the potential project in detail and assist applicants with the process.
We encourage you to also work with local port authorities, economic development authorities, housing and redevelopment authorities and other agencies that specialize in economic development to prepare the following document.

MnDOT District staff will follow up with the applicant to discuss the project, including eligibility, coordination, engineering and funding details of the project.

Interested applicants must then submit a full application, including a resolution from the governing body of the applicant/sponsor supporting the project and committing any necessary funding.

Applications must be submitted electronically to Peter Olson at peter.olson@state.mn.us and Noah Hansen at noah.hansen@state.mn.us. Applicants will receive confirmation of their submission.

Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on September 29.

The application form can be found here: 2025 TED Solicitation Application

Required Attachments:

• A resolution indicating the governing body’s approval of this application and commitment of the match funding identified in the application.
• MnDOT has prepared a model resolution for applicants to use: Appendix A: 2025 TED Model Resolution
• A map showing the project location and the locations of affected businesses
• A project layout or conceptual drawing
• Letters of commitment/support from beneficiaries of TED investment, like new or expanding businesses, that speak to or corroborate new or expected jobs and income included in the application form under Table A: Economic Impacts.

Optional Attachments:

• Evidence of community support
• Documentation indicating project is consistent with all applicable comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, etc.

Eligible projects are then sent to MnDOT staff in the offices of Transportation System Management, Traffic Engineering, and Project Management & Technical Support for review and comment. Metropolitan Planning Organizations and/or Regional Development Organizations may also be asked for feedback in some instances.
Based on the information in the expression of interest and discussions with district and DEED staff and any other feedback during the review process, TED program staff will analyze the applications and assign a preliminary score using the criteria described later in this document.
Please note: MnDOT has made changes to the scoring rubric for the 2025 TED solicitation. Below is a summary of the major changes:

• Point totals have been tweaked for all criteria. Individual criteria now have point maximums, meaning more points are available than can be scored,
• Economic benefits make up a larger portion of points and now includes the crash benefit-cost ratio as well as a retooled look at the characteristics of anticipated economic development,
• Geographic distribution of awards is now incorporated as a 10-point criterion,
• Applicants are directed to identify how the project is consistent or included in specific local, regional, and statewide transportation plans.
• Where applicable, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation strategies will be scored as part of the Project Risk Assessment criterion.

Complete scoring guidance can be found in the full TED solicitation informational packet.

The preliminary scores are reviewed by a selection committee, who may adjust or modify the scores as indicated later in this document based on their professional judgement and insights. Projects must receive at least 50 points to be eligible for funding. The committee makes an initial funding recommendation.

The selection committee funding recommendations are presented to MnDOT’s Transportation Program and Investment Committee (TP&IC). TP&IC then makes a recommendation to the MnDOT and DEED Commissioners.

Both MnDOT and DEED commissioners review and approve the final selection decisions. After which, applicants are notified of the decisions and final scores are posted on the TED website.