District Freight Planning Home
District 7 Freight Plan
The Minnesota Department of Transportation’s District 7 is developing a regional freight plan to analyze long term freight needs of the region’s transportation system. This includes highways, roads, railroads, waterways and air cargo. The plan will provide a clear understanding of the District’s freight system, characteristics of local industry system usage, and freight needs and issues.
- Plan one pager (PDF)
- Draft District 7 Freight Plan (PDF)
Tell us what you think!
Visit our online engagement page to review freight recommendations and take our survey.
Working Papers
- Communications Plan
- Existing Document and Process Synthesis
- Freight System Profile – Economy, Inventory, Demand, and Performance
- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis
- Investment Priorities
About District 7
District 7 serves south central Minnesota, which includes 13 counties: Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Nobles, Rock, Sibley, Waseca, and Watonwan. The Mankato/North Mankato Metropolitan Planning Organization (MAPO) also provides planning for portions of the area.
The south-central region including District 7 has a strong manufacturing and agricultural presence. Interstate 90, US Highway 169 and Minnesota Highway 60 provide key truck routes connecting the region to South Dakota, the Twin Cities area, and important connections to Owatonna in the east. Rail connections provide the backbone of grain and heavy commodity movements. In addition, the area is host to large printing and electrical equipment manufacturers, food processing and production technology.