Acting Commissioner Doug Weiszhaar, left, presents Gov. Jesse Ventura with a rail tie commemorating the governor's strong support of light rail transit. Ventura and Lt. Gov. Mae Schunck, right, visited the Transportation Building in St. Paul on Oct. 31 to thank Mn/DOT employees for their dedication during the past four years. Photo by Craig Wilkins

The face of political leadership in Minnesota changed overnight—and with it, quite possibly, the future of transportation in Minnesota. Come January, we will have a new governor, new majority leaders in the Legislature and a new man representing us in the U.S. Senate.

The question on all our minds is: How will this affect us at Mn/DOT?

The short answer is that we’ll have to wait and see. Every gubernatorial election brings changes to state agencies, and Mn/DOT employees will adjust to the new challenges—whatever they may be—just as we always have.

Governor-elect Tim Pawlenty and running mate Carol Molnau, in their leadership roles in the Minnesota House, have demonstrated a keen interest in transportation. Therefore, it is likely that transportation issues will continue to be a high priority, although the focus or approach to solutions themselves may change. For more information, see Pawlenty’s stance on transportation issues.

Mn/DOT’s funding future

Besides the election and its implications, another issue of great importance to state employees is the budget. For FY 2004-05, the Department of Finance projects a $3 billion shortfall for the General Fund. In the past, Mn/DOT has not been as severely affected by the cuts as other agencies because our funds come primarily from the Trunk Highway Fund; only one percent comes from the General Fund.

This time around, however, Mn/DOT will feel the constraint of the projected financial shortfall.

On Oct. 15, Mn/DOT presented recommendations to the Department of Finance on how to cut our budget by 10 percent, and we outlined the impacts of those cuts—including the reduction of nearly $72 million in the construction program.

For both FY 2004 and FY 2005, we will be asked to eliminate $1.3 million from our operations budget as part of the 10 percent budget cuts.

To complicate matters further, the Legislature may decide to return Motor Vehicle Sales Tax funds (about $200 million per year) to the General Fund. This is money Mn/DOT receives from the Trunk Highway Fund to cover revenue lost as a result of the reduced license tab fee legislation enacted a few years ago.

Despite the bleak budget situation we face, Mn/DOT has taken steps to minimize the impact. We’ve streamlined and prioritized our work and eliminated services that didn’t fit with our core business activities. We’ve adjusted how we operate through change management and other staffing changes.

As we move forward, we need to continue to streamline and find ways to make our operations more efficient. I know that people will ask about layoffs, and I continue to stress that layoffs will be a last resort. However, Mn/DOT will not be immune from staff cuts.

I recognize the coming months will be filled with uncertainty but our vision remains steady—we need to deliver on Minnesota’s transportation needs and provide transportation choices. We need to preserve our existing roads and highways.

I’m the first to say it is going to be difficult to get there, but I know Mn/DOT, and I know the pride and innovation of the employees who work here. We’ve been doing the right thing for the past four years. Let’s keep moving forward.

—Doug Weiszhaar, acting commissioner

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Minnesota’s first set of roundabouts takes form at the interchange connecting Steele County Road 12 and I-35 near the Medford Outlet Mall. Photo by Brian Jergenson

Mn/DOT opened its first set of roundabouts on the I-35/Steele County Road 12 interchange near Medford on Nov. 1. Designers chose the roundabout design for the interchange because of increasing traffic levels near the Medford Outlet and the need for a new bridge over I-35.

Roundabouts are updated versions of the traffic circle and can improve traffic flow while reducing the number of crashes. The design also encourages lower driving speeds, giving drivers more reaction time and decreasing the severity of crash injuries.

Roundabouts follow the yield-at-entry rule. Drivers approaching a roundabout wait for a gap to enter. Cars enter and move throughout the roundabout in a counterclockwise direction using only right turns until they exit, said Steve Kirsch, district state aid engineer. There are no stoplights or stop signs within the circle.

The roundabout project is part of a $3.1 improvement that includes a new bridge over I-35 as well as new ramps, frontage roads, bike paths, lights and landscaping. The roundabouts are next to the Medford Outlet Mall in Medford, about halfway between Faribault and Owatonna on I-35.

There are about 300 roundabouts in the United States and more than 35,000 worldwide.

By Craig Wilkins

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From left, Paul Huston, design-build project manager, Technical Support, conducts the Hwy 52 bid letting session as project co-managers Jon Chiglo and Terry Ward (seated) take notes. Tony LaMusga, Pre-Letting Unit (standing) assists. Photo by Brian Jergenson

More than 150 contractors, consultants and Mn/DOT officials crammed into the Transportation Building cafeteria on Nov. 1 to learn the bid-letting results for the department’s first design-build, best value road construction project to rebuild Hwy 52 through Rochester.

The apparent winning bid award went to Zumbro River Constructors with an adjusted price of $232 million. (Details of the firm’s technical proposal will be released when the project is awarded.) Construction could begin as early as spring 2003.

Unlike previous bid lettings, each design-build team’s technical proposals were displayed first. Then the ROC 52 Technical Review Committee opened each of the teams’ design-build price proposals. About 20 minutes later, the proposals from each design-build team were posted on a screen so participants could see the bids for the base price for the project as well as alternative technical concept prices.

"The design-build, best-value method gave Mn/DOT a tool to accelerate the start of this major improvement by one year and compress the reconstruction schedule from 11 years to five or less," said Doug Weiszhaar, acting commissioner.

For more information about the Highway 52 project, check out the ROC 52 Web site at http://projects.dot.state.mn.us/hdr/052.

By Brian Jergenson

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Breaking free at last, the tunnel boring machine chewed its way through the ground to finish the second of two LRT tunnels underneath the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Airports Commission staff

After more than four months of dark, underground toil, a huge tunnel boring machine surfaced near the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport ’s Humphrey Terminal on Oct. 26 to complete digging the second of two Hiawatha light rail transit line tunnels underneath the airport.

The 7,400-long tunnels, each 18 feet, 10 inches in diameter, will allow LRT trains to travel between downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of America in Bloomington. Work began on the first tunnel about a year ago.

The boring machine surfaced in late April and was then dismantled and returned to the north side of the airport. Crews began digging the second tunnel in June 2002.

The German-made boring machine is now being disassembled and transported to a storage yard in Litchfield where it could be refurbished to prepare for another tunnel project elsewhere in North America.

Meanwhile, workers will begin building 10 passages connecting the two tunnels, which are about 20 feet apart. The passages will provide emergency connections between the tubes. Next summer, workers will install rails and related systems, first in the southbound tunnel, then in the northbound one.

When service begins in about two years, trains will provide a free rail link between the Humphrey and Lindbergh terminals, replacing current shuttle bus service at the airport. The LRT line is scheduled to begin operating in April 2004.

Residents anxious for the start of light rail transit service in the Twin Cities will have an opportunity to "kick the tires" this month in downtown Minneapolis. A mock-up, which is half the actual front half of an LRT car, is on display until end of November in front of the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility, 401 Fourth Ave. S., in downtown Minneapolis.

The display will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to give the public a chance to walk inside, test the seats, see the operator's cabin and learn about the line’s operation.

By Kent Barnard

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Gov. Jesse Ventura thanks Mn/DOT employees for their hard work in making "Minnesota a leader in transportation." He and Lt. Gov. Mae Schunck visited the Transportation Building in St. Paul on Oct. 31. Photo by Craig Wilkins

During a farewell visit to Mn/DOT employees in St. Paul, Gov. Jesse Ventura expressed his thanks to the agency for its work and to former Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg for his advocacy of transportation-related issues.

"Thanks to you in transportation and your very hard work," he said, "Minnesota is a leader in transportation and a much better place. Without Mn/DOT, the state would not have as good an economy as it does."

Ventura praised Mn/DOT accomplishments including increasing public involvement in its activities, Moving Minnesota initiatives such as accelerating project completion and building the Hiawatha LRT line.

Tinklenberg, he said, served admirably because of his expertise and his passionate commitment to transportation.

"I believe the Hiawatha LRT that we championed will be a major legacy for the department," he said. "We’ll look back in 10 or 20 years and ask how could we not have done it.

"When people think of New York they ask where would it be without its subways, and when they think of Chicago they ask where would be without its trains," Ventura said. "Like it or not, the Twin Cities area is a major metropolis and we need multi-modal approaches to deal with increasing congestion."

Citing the LRT line as one of his administration’s major legacies, Ventura said, "People will look back in 10 or 15 or 20 years and ask how we could not have done it."

Ventura also said that Tinklenberg understood the strong connection between transportation and the state’s economy and the need for a strong transportation to increase Minnesota’s competitiveness in a global economy.

"Competition used to mean competing with Wisconsin, Iowa or the Dakotas," Ventura said, "but now we’re neighbors. Now we have to compete with the entire world, which means we must have an effective transportation to move our goods and services."

By Craig Wilkins

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Connie Donaldson, director of the LeSueur Heartland Express, accepts the transit professional of the year award from Donna Allan, Transit director. Photo by Sue Stein

Sponsors of the annual Minnesota Transit Conference honored individuals and agencies for their commitment to transit at its annual meeting held Oct. 29-30 in Minneapolis. Honorees include Gov. Jesse Ventura and the Metropolitan Council’s Metro Mobility service.

Ventura earned honors for his commitment to transit such as the Hiawatha light rail transit line and the Northstar Commuter Coach service.

The Metropolitan Council was recognized for the service Metro Mobility provides to people who have disabilities.

Other awards went to Connie Donaldson, director of the LeSueur Heartland Express transit service who was named transit professional of the year, and to John Dillery, Metro Transit, for distinguished career service.

The Metropolitan Council, the Minnesota Public Transit Association and Mn/DOT sponsor the annual conference. The event drew more than 250 transit professionals, government officials, pubic interest groups and transit maintenance and operations employees participated in the conference.

Speaking at the event, Doug Weiszhaar, acting commissioner, said, "Transit provides another transportation choice for citizens so they can get to work, school or doctor’s appointments.

By Sue Stein

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Acting Mn/DOT Commissioner Doug Weiszhaar commended planners and construction crews for meeting a very tight schedule at the dedication of the new Penn Avenue bridge over I-494 between Richfield and Bloomington. Photo by Kim Lanahan-Lahti

A new and uniquely designed "X-shaped" bridge opened to traffic Oct. 31 at one of the most congested "hot spots" in the Twin Cities metro area: the Penn Avenue bridge that crosses I-494 between the cities of Bloomington and Richfield just south of Minneapolis.

At the re-opening ceremonies, acting Commissioner Doug Weiszhaar praised the work of engineers and construction workers who delivered the bridge in just 10 months. Mn/DOT partnered with the city of Richfield to deliver the bridge on an accelerated schedule and finished five years earlier than Mn/DOT’s current budget would have allowed.

"The city of Richfield, the contractors and Mn/DOT's construction managers all deserve a lot of credit for keeping this project on a very tight schedule," Weiszhaar said. "With record rainfalls and low temperatures, it’s been a challenging season for construction in Minnesota."

Meeting tight deadlines on this fast-track schedule allowed Richfield and Mn/DOT to open the bridge just weeks before the holiday season draws shoppers to the Southtown Shopping Center and a Target store nearby. The Oct. 31 reopening also beat a December opening of Best Buy’s new corporate headquarters, which will add 5,500 commuters to the traffic mix.

Balancing commercial needs with traffic management at this real estate hot spot is tricky. The old Penn Avenue bridge carried 22,000 vehicles a day during non-holiday months before it closed in January 2002. Bridge traffic had then overflowed onto the streets of Bloomington and Richfield during rush hours and blocked motorists trying to exit from I-494 as well.

Traffic on the new bridge will flow through a "single-point diamond interchange"—an "X" shaped crossing —with traffic signals at the center of the "X." The eight lanes constituting "spokes" of the "X" can hold more vehicles than the old six-lane bridge, which should reduce spillover onto nearby city streets.

By Marsha Storck

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Jeff Butson Staff photo

Jeff Butson, maintenance supervisor at Hutchinson, was promoted to serve as Willmar/District 8’s maintenance superintendent. He succeeds Jack Gilb, who will retire in January.

In his new position, Butson will direct the district’s maintenance activities, including operations, inventory and building maintenance. He will also represent maintenance on the district’s operations team.

Butson said the district will increase its use of anti-icing this winter as the supervisors and staff become more familiar with its application.

Butson began his career as a highway technician with the Mankato District following graduation from the Mankato Technical College with an associate’s degree in civil technology. He was appointed as supervisor at Hutchinson in 1997.

Butson may be reached at 320/214-3686

By Craig Wilkins

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Mankato maintenance crewmembers wear protective gloves while clearing debris resulting from severe flooding in 2001. Photo by Rebecca Arndt

Hard hats. Reflective clothing. Safety harnesses. Steel-toed boots. Coupled with alertness and common sense, Mn/DOT’s arsenal of safety gear can prevent many serious injuries.

But one part of the safety inventory often escaped notice—hand protection.

Mn/DOT issues special gloves, for example, when employees work with corrosive chemicals or performing tasks such as welding. But day-to-day tasks such as clearing debris from highways often caused cuts and other injuries to workers’ hands.

The solution: issuing leather-palmed work gloves. Dale Plemmons, Mankato/District 7 safety administrator, said performing common tasks caused seven preventable hand injuries in 1999.

Following an effort to persuade workers to use gloves, preventable hand injuries dropped to two last year, he said.

Plemmons said he would often show a shredded truck tire bristling with exposed steel fibers to reinforce the dangers faced in picking up roadside debris.

Employees’ regular use of gloves reduced the amount of punctures, lacerations and cuts and abrasions suffered by maintenance crews, bridge workers, construction workers and sign crewmembers. The action included reviewing and summarizing federal and state OSHA regulations, the AFSCME contract and Mn/DOT’s safety and health guidelines to include proper hand protection.

"People are beginning to realize a sense of ownership in the district’s safety program and to make mindful observation of safety and health practices part of their daily routines," Plemmons said.

Glove use to prevent injury from handling road debris now comprises part of the hand protection section of Mn/DOT’s safety guidelines, he said.

The district’s safety efforts earned recognition at Mn/DOT’s annual Bill Yoerg Quality Recognition Day. Mark Moehlenbrock, safety administrator with Brainerd/District 3 and formerly with Mankato, was also recognized for his work on hand safety.

Larry Thompson, safety director, Human Resources, said Mankato’s actions show that safety remains a top priority for Mn/DOT and its employees, whether it’s an office employee sitting in front of a computer or a worker in the field repairing a bridge.

During the past summer, Thompson and Jim Swanson, assistant commissioner and assistant chief engineer, made on-site safety visits to all of the districts, the Metro Division, and the Hiawatha LRT project. Their purpose was to stress the importance of employee safety to field maintenance and construction personnel.

Both met with safety administrators and other key staff about safety concerns in each area.

Maintenance and construction workers, Thompson said, report that their major safety concerns are increasing traffic speeds and volume when working out on the roads.

"Employees feel like motorists are not respecting workers in work zones," he said.

During their visits, Swanson and Thompson found that employees are taking ownership of their safety programs and supporting safety guidelines.

"This shows that Mn/DOT people accept that the safety program is theirs--not someone else’s, not the state’s program or Larry’s program, but everyone’s program," said Thompson.

Each quarter, Human Resources publishes a newsletter, "Safety Net," to share information about safety initiatives and issues with employees. For more information about safety or to see the newsletter, visit the Human Resources site on iHUB or call Thompson at 651/296-1362.

By Shayla Cain and Craig Wilkins

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A dinner sponsored by the Minnesota Transportation Alliance to honor former Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg for his service and leadership at Mn/DOT will be held Thursday, Nov. 14, at the Hilton Minneapolis North at 2200 Freeway Boulevard in Brooklyn Center.

A reception begins at 4 p.m.; dinner follows at 5 p.m. Cost for the event is $35 and covers both the dinner and a gift.

To attend, send a check to the Minnesota Transportation Alliance, 2515 Wabash Ave., St. Paul, Minn., 55114, by Nov. 11. For more information, call 651/659-0804.

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