MnDOT caught between Trump’s war on ‘woke’ and community concerns

The Trump administration is moving to strike considerations of climate change and racial and gender equity in major transportation projects, an increasingly tough spot for the Minnesota Department of Transportation as it pursues federally backed construction in communities that have demanded those policies.

MnDOT’s change of course comes as the Trump administration has gone to war against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and other policies it decries as “woke.” During his joint address to Congress in March, President Donald Trump declared, “Our country will be woke no longer.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has authorized a series of actions to advance Trump’s agenda to “rescind woke policies from the previous administration,” and ensure departmental policies align with Trump administration priorities, a spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) said in an email to the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Trump’s executive order says agencies “shall not use methodologies that are arbitrary or ideologically motivated,” an email from FHWA to the Star Tribune said. Those methodologies include criteria relating to climate change, greenhouse gases, energy impacts, racial and gender equity, transportation equity, emissions, environmental sustainability and environmental justice, according to an email from the FHWA to MnDOT.

Federal funding is projected to account for about 26% of MnDOT spending in fiscal year 2025, according to Minnesota Management and Budget. MnDOT’s spending is projected to be $4.2 billion.

The policy predicament came into view in early April during a Brooklyn Park City Council workshop session as MnDOT officials gave a presentation on rebuilding Hwy. 252 in the north metro.

Officials explained that environmental justice and equity criteria could no longer be considered, as a result of directives from Washington.

“All agencies shall adhere to only the relevant legislated requirements for environmental considerations, and any considerations beyond these requirements are eliminated,” the Trump administration executive order said.

MnDOT said it still is studying how the agency will be affected by the executive order, and what that means for current and future environmental impact studies the agency carries out ahead of large projects such as Hwy. 252 and “Rethinking I-94,″ the plan to redo the freeway between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The removal of environmental justice and equity criteria is not sitting well with residents.

“They need to be there,” said Tom Kouri, a member of the Hwy. 252 Safety Task Force, a group of residents raising concerns about safety and other adverse effects that expanding the highway may have on the population of Brooklyn Center. “These things need to be a priority.”

In a letter to MnDOT, Kouri suggested the agency restart its environmental impact study for the project.

Environmental justice and equity, which takes into account the impact construction projects could have on minority and low-income populations, were an essential part of MnDOT’s decisionmaking process as the agency narrowed down options to remake the traffic-riddled and dangerous highway. With those criteria eliminated, “that invalidates a lot of the study,” Kouri said in an interview.

In a message to departments of transportation across the country, Duffy warned cities and states seeking federal funding for road, bridge and rail projects to comply with federal laws, including recent executive orders signed by Trump, or risk not getting the money.

“Federal grants come with a clear obligation to adhere to federal laws,” Duffy said last week. “It shouldn’t be controversial — enforce our immigration rules, end anti-American DEI policies, and protect free speech. These values reflect the priorities of the American people, and I will take action to ensure compliance.”

At a Cabinet meeting Wednesday at the White House, Duffy added, “If you don’t follow the law ... if you’re having DEI policies, we’re not gonna fund your projects.”

For more than 40 years, agencies such as MnDOT have been required to identify and address impacts that programs and projects might have on minority, low-income and underserved communities. Brooklyn Center, with about 32,000 residents, is one of the poorest in the metro area with about 11.5% of its residents living in poverty. It’s also one of the most diverse, with 69% of residents reporting being a race other than white, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

MnDOT did not make anybody available to answer questions, but in a statement said its mission to connect and serve all people through a safe, equitable and sustainable transportation system has not changed.

“We remain committed to working alongside our local partners to build a multimodal transportation system that maximizes the health of people, the environment and our economy,” the agency said in a statement.

MnDOT has been studying ways to improve the troubled Hwy. 252 for more than a decade. The four-lane highway carrying more than 50,000 vehicles a day is one of the most dangerous in the state in terms of crashes. There are about 400 crashes and one fatality a year on the 4-mile segment of highway, project manager Amber Blanchard said during a Brooklyn Park City Council workshop session in early April.

MnDOT has eliminated plans to turn Hwy. 252 into an expressway with at-grade crossings, and is now exploring whether to build a four- or six-lane freeway with overpasses.

Kouri agrees that something needs to be done with Hwy. 252, but he worries that current plans don’t bring any benefit to Brooklyn Center and will double traffic volumes by 2040. He would like to see MnDOT revisit some of its criteria regarding noise and air pollution before coming up with a final design.

Blanchard, at the Brooklyn Park meeting, said MnDOT isn’t entirely throwing out environmental justice criteria and that issues such as health, equity and livability are still being addressed.

MnDOT won’t select a preferred road design until 2026. The design will have to be reviewed by FHWA. MnDOT hopes to start construction in 2028.