Mankato would get a $5 million bus garage, $4 million for projects to mitigate the impact of increased rail traffic and a nearly $10 million National Guard maintenance facility if Congressman Tim Walz is successful in getting his funding requests included in upcoming federal spending bills.

Highway 14 and related projects would receive $14 million for new interchanges and for down payments on converting remaining two-lane sections of the highway to four lanes.

St. Peter would see more than $3 million for a scoping study and environmental analysis of the long-discussed idea of building a Highway 169 bypass around downtown.

And there’s money for a variety of projects in Madison Lake, Vernon Center, Garden City, New Ulm, Odin, Sibley County and South Bend Township.

In total, Walz is requesting about $105 million for his district, which stretches from Wisconsin to South Dakota along the southern two to three tiers of counties in Minnesota. And that doesn’t include $35 million that Walz and other lawmakers are seeking for a massive water project that would serve southwestern Minnesota and parts of South Dakota and Iowa.

In releasing the list, Walz said he received an unprecedented number of requests. Despite the nine-digit size of his earmark total, the second-term congressman said he considered all of the projects worthy investments.

“I am pleased to stand up for veterans, farmers, the National Guard, educators, cancer research, Highway 14 and other critical public investment projects,” Walz said in a statement.

Walz cautioned that “only a few of these meritorious projects will ultimately receive funding.”

The projects aimed specifically at the Mankato area include:

Hwy 14 interchanges

There’s $4 million to extend Blue Earth County Road 12 to County Road 17 and other work in preparation for a new interchange on Mankato’s east side. The interchange — which would cost $25 million in all — would serve commercial and residential growth in the area, including a proposed Wal-Mart distribution center.

Another $4 million would go to a similar new interchange at Highway 14 and Nicollet County Road 41 on North Mankato’s northwest side.

The total project, including supporting roads, will cost nearly $30 million, although some local and federal funding has already been authorized.

Four lanes

Walz seeks $3 million for the decades-long effort to turn the accident-prone two-lane Highway 14 between North Mankato and New Ulm into an expressway. An identical earmark is sought for adding lanes in the Dodge Center area east of Owatonna — the last section of two lane between Mankato and Rochester that’s not funded and scheduled for expansion.

Railroad mitigation

A total of $4 million is requested for 15 separate projects on the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern and Union Pacific rail lines through Mankato. The city began planning the safety and noise mitigation work when the DM&E; announced it would run numerous trains through the city under a long-delayed plan to serve the coal-rich Powder River Basin of Wyoming.

There’s also $1 million for improvements to an aging railroad that serves Sibley County.

Transit facility

Mankato would get $5 million for the design and construction of a new transit facility that would serve as a bus garage, maintenance area and office space for the city’s bus system.

Heart health

New Ulm would benefit from a $2 million grant to Allina Hospital and Clinics to help cover the costs of the “Heart of New Ulm” project. The 10-year research and demonstration project aims to eliminate heart attacks in the city through education and prevention programs, according to a summary provided by Walz.

Area towns

Requested funding also includes: nearly $1.2 million to Odin for a new wastewater treatment center, $650,000 for a new sewer collection system for Vernon Center, $1 million to Garden City’s Wellcome Manor substance abuse treatment facility, $2.2 million to South Bend Township to extend water and sewer services to 90 homes and businesses, and more than $500,000 for a new well and water tower in Madison Lake.

The entire list of Walz’s earmarks for the 1st District is at http://walz.house.gov/pdf/FY2010%20Appropriations.pdf.