Our Work - Paving the Way

County scores well on safety of roads and bridges

Dakota County roadways need to be safe for everyone — commuters, freight traffic and pedestrians. Our transportation team works hard to ensure county roads and bridges are safe and efficient for all users by keeping up with careful inspections and completing well-planned maintenance and construction.

Dakota County maintains about 1,050 lane miles of roadway that stretch from urban areas to rural townships.

Every two years, we work with the Minnesota Department of Transportation to survey all paved county roads. A special vehicle equipped with lasers and cameras collects pavement images of the roadway and measures the pavement condition. We use this information to determine the quality of the ride and the wear and tear on the roadway. With this data, we plan and prioritize road maintenance and repairs.

Funding and road quality

In addition to new road construction, the county annually invests $7.7 million in pavement preservation. Keeping up with this maintenance means less need for more costly reconstruction. About 86 percent of maintenance work is funded by gas tax revenue, which the county receives from state collections. The rest of the cost is covered by local property tax dollars. Those maintenance funds and our efforts are exclusively focused on county roads.

There are no statewide rankings for county road conditions, but Dakota County’s own road quality measurements every two years help keep our roadways in good shape. Our goal is to ensure that 75 percent of county roadways meet a good standard and 95 percent meet a good or fair standard. In 2023, around 98 percent of Dakota County’s pavement quality was in good or fair condition.

Inspecting and repairing bridges

Our work doesn’t end with just the roadway — we also inspect, maintain, build and repair bridges on our roads. Dakota County inspects 164 bridges, including those owned by townships and railroads. While our primary focus is on county-owned bridges, we will also replace township bridges.

Out of 164 total bridges inspected, 133 are in good shape and 30 are in fair condition. One is just below our standard, but that historic bridge is closed to traffic and is scheduled for replacement. It will be turned into a recreational trail crossing of the Cannon River.

We’re committed to keeping county roads in good shape. By using smart tools to understand our roads and bridge conditions better and learning from valuable MnDOT data, we’ll continue to work tirelessly to ensure your driving experience on county roadways is safe and efficient.

For more information about road and bridge maintenance, visit www.dakotacounty.us, click on the Transportation tab.