Photo by Deb Gau Guests including members of the Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee listened to presentations Tuesday evening at the campus of SMSU. The state legislators were hearing pitches for public works and infrastructure projects in southwest Minnesota.

MARSHALL — Minnesota lawmakers were on the road in southwest Minnesota this week listening to pitches for some of the public projects seeking state bonding dollars in 2022.

At a stop in Marshall on Tuesday, the projects included upgrades to a railroad line in Redwood and Renville counties, a runway and lighting replacement at the Redwood Falls municipal airport, and some much-needed expansions to the city of Tyler’s sanitary sewer.

Members of the House Capital Investment Committee will be considering the requests for when they return to St. Paul in January, said committee chairman Rep. Fue Lee, DFL-Minneapolis.

“I’m going to be advocating for a very robust bonding bill,” Lee said.

Recent forecasts show the state will be able to bond for about $3.3 billion, he said.

Lee said the state has received a total of $5.4 billion in bonding requests this year.

Legislators still have a way to go as they travel the state hearing bonding requests. The stop in Marshall was part of the third of five total tours around Minnesota, Lee said.

On Tuesday evening, legislators toured the campus of Southwest Minnesota State University, and heard a total of four presentations for area capital projects:

• The Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority is requesting $15 million in bonding to help continue improvements to its rail line in Redwood, Renville and Sibley counties. MVRRA wants to upgrade the track to be able to handle rail cars weighing up to 286,000 pounds. Representatives said the project has also received private investment from area cooperatives and businesses, including Farmers Co-op Elevator in Echo, Meadowland at Delhi, StepSaver at Morton and Central Region Cooperative at Fairfax.

• The city of Redwood Falls is requesting $2.25 million to help replace the runway and lighting at its municipal airport. The estimated total project cost for the airport improvements is about $5.58 million.

• The city of Tyler is requesting about $7.29 million to reconstruct 2.3 miles of sanitary sewer main. The current sewer system is undersized for the community, and has had recurring problems with backups during rainy weather.

• SMSU is also looking at some extensive building renovations, university representatives said Tuesday. The university is seeking $1.156 million in bond funding to pay for the design work for a new Wellness and Human Performance Center, said Facilities Director Tony Nubile. The project would renovate about 41,000 square feet of space in the Bellows Academic Center, and create a link to space in the Physical Education building. The classroom and laboratory space created in the project would support SMSU’s exercise science and physical education programs.

Nubile said SMSU’s top priorities for Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement (HEAPR) funding also included $3.92 million for the first phase of planned renovations to the Physical Education building locker rooms, and $6.74 million for updates to Charter Hall. Charter Hall is one of the most frequently used classroom buildings on the campus, with two large lecture halls.