Otter Tail County roads get funding boost from state infrastructure package

Drivers in Otter Tail County are getting a more practical payoff from the state’s $700 million infrastructure package: money for roads and bridges that carry farm equipment, school buses, commuters and emergency vehicles every day. One of the clearest local examples is the Bluff Creek bridge on County State Aid Highway 76 west of Bluffton, which was temporarily closed after routine inspections found deterioration.

The funding traces back to a transportation package authored by Sen. Jordan Rasmusson of Fergus Falls during the 2025 legislative session. The Minnesota Senate approved the bonding package on June 10, 2025, and it set aside about $47 million for the Local Road Improvement Program and $31 million for the Local Bridge Replacement Program. For Otter Tail County, where road condition affects everything from grain hauling to access for rural homes and lake country businesses, that money can determine whether needed work moves ahead sooner or waits another season.

The Local Road Improvement Program has been in place since 2002, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and demand for the 2025 round far outstripped supply. MnDOT said the solicitation drew 233 applications seeking nearly $278 million. That competition underscores why counties have leaned so heavily on outside aid as they try to keep up with aging pavement, bridge wear and the cost of reconstruction.

Otter Tail County’s highway department says it is responsible for 1,067 miles of County State Aid Highways and County Highways, along with 74 bridges. County officials have said the county needs about $16 million more each year just to keep up with road upkeep, and one county transportation report said it has more than 1,000 miles of paved county roads and a $45 million road maintenance-and-construction budget for 2025. Against that backdrop, state aid does more than add projects to the list. It helps keep local road bills from landing entirely on county taxpayers.

The county has already been moving multiple projects forward. On May 19, 2025, Otter Tail County unveiled more than $25 million in road and bridge construction work for the 2025 season, and county project materials said the Bluff Creek bridge bid was to be awarded at the Jan. 6, 2026 board meeting. The latest funding round fits into that larger push, giving county leaders more room to address the backlogged repairs that shape daily travel across Fergus Falls, Perham, Deer Creek and the townships in between.