David Williams, Land Management, uses the video relay system to communicate with a co-worker. Photo by David Gonzalez

When David Williams, Land Management, needs to talk with his supervisor about a complex work issue, he doesn’t stroll over to his office for a face-to-face conversation. Instead, he picks up the phone and communicates using sign language.

Williams, who is deaf, uses the Video Relay Service for many of his conversations.

A video camera mounted on a monitor on his desk is trained at Williams’ chair. When he wants to use the service, he calls the VRS phone number. A sign language interpreter, also equipped with a camera and monitor, logs into Williams’ profile. The interpreter calls whomever Williams needs to have a conversation with, reads Williams’ sign language and translates it into spoken English for the person on the other end.

The interpreter listens to the response through a headset, and translates into sign language for Williams.

The service allows employees who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to communicate more directly with supervisors and co-workers, make medical appointments and take care of other business. It replaces a relay system that relied on the interpreter and hearing-impaired or deaf employee using a TTY machine that required them to type responses back and forth.

VRS, like the older relay system, is free to users and is funded by Federal Communications Commission charges on monthly phone bills.

“I like VRS a lot better,” said Mike Lalla, Willliams’ supervisor in the Photogrammetrics Unit. “It’s more instantaneous than the older TTY-based communication. There were a lot of pauses with that.”

“With VRS there is no typing – conversation is much more free-flowing,” agreed interpreter number 25, one of the sign language interpreters scattered throughout the country who handles VRS calls.

When a client wants to make a call, they call a central VRS number and the first available interpreter comes on line to assist.

Because the interpreter can see and hear clients, body language, facial expressions and tone of voice can also be conveyed.

Williams says the VRS system is a huge improvement over using a TTY.

“Sign language is my native language,” he said. “VRS makes communication much easier. I can talk to my supervisor and get immediate answers. It has eliminated many communication barriers.

”I have also used it when I needed to communicate with Desktop Support to solve problems with my computer,” he said.

Five VRS systems have been installed in Mn/DOT, says Bruce Lattu, disability programs coordinator, Affirmative Action Office.  

VRS is not for every situation, says Lattu. If you need an interpreter for a meeting or face-to-face conversation, you must still use a paid sign language interpreter.  

Mn/DOT has a contract for interpretation services; for more information, contact Janet Miller, 651/296-1897. For other disability related accommodations, contact Lattu at 651/296-9742.

By Kay Korsgaard

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A request for $60 million to complete funding for the Northstar commuter rail line is part of the overall $897 million capital bonding proposal the governor announced Jan. 17.      

Other transportation-related bonding requests in the proposal include:

• $30 million for local bridge replacement and repair
• $18 million in trunk highway bonding for construction of a new district headquarters in Mankato to improve highway construction and maintenance   
• $10.2 million for replacement of the structural support system of the granite panels on the exterior of the Transportation Building in St. Paul
• $10 million to assist cities, counties and townships with local road improvements
• $8.3 million for construction of park-and-ride and passenger facilities on Interstate 35W
• $6.9 million in trunk highway bonding for construction of a new Mn/DOT truck station in Chaska
• $5 million to continue work on the Cedar Avenue transitway
• $2.5 million for the Central Corridor transitway

"The proposals in the governor's bonding package would benefit transportation in Minnesota greatly, by both increasing Mn/DOT staff efficiency with the construction of new buildings and enhancing the mobility of the motoring public," said Lt. Gov./Commissioner Carol Molnau.

The bonding package includes funding for five key quality-of-life areas:

• Investments in Education ($289.3 million)
• Water, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources ($209.3 million)
• Jobs, Housing and Transportation ($203.8 million)
• Safer and Healthier Communities ($150.7 million)
• Effective Government and Public Services ($41.3 million)

For full details on the bill, visit http://www.finance.state.mn.us. Click here for more information about commuter rail activities.

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All Mn/DOT employees will soon learn how Mn/DOT and the nation will approach domestic emergencies via training on the National Incident Management System.

NIMS is the approach that all levels of government will use to prepare and respond to emergency situations, from hurricanes to terrorist actions. It will ensure that all levels of emergency responders use a common operating language and set of procedures.

The training is part of a Homeland Security directive by President George W. Bush to ensure that NIMS quickly becomes the national standard.

“Mn/DOT will play a role in most state emergency operations,” said Sonia Morphew Pitt, director of Mn/DOT’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

“NIMS will provide a standard set of operating guidelines that will allow emergency responders, both governmental and non-governmental, to communicate and work together during domestic incidents without confusion.”

Pitt said this introductory class covers the six components of NIMS: command and management; preparedness; resource management; communications and information management; supporting technologies, and ongoing management and maintenance.  

Mn/DOT employees who have a greater level of responsibility in emergency response situations will receive additional training in the future.

“The federal government sees the implementation of NIMS as multi-year process,” she said. “And, it will be a process that adjusts to refinements made in the system. This will be a standard part of Mn/DOT’s ongoing training in the coming years.”

The federal government has mandated that employees who have any role in emergency response or who support those with a role in emergency response take the class. Because it is difficult to determine who may or may not have such a role, Mn/DOT has decided that all employees, except for student workers and temporary employees, will take the class.

Pitt said that Mn/DOT must meet this training requirement by October 2006 in order to receive federal preparedness funding for 2007, as well as be eligible for any reimbursement funds in a state or federally declared disaster.

Mn/DOT is offering the training in two formats. The classroom-instructor setting will be available statewide. Contact your employee development specialist for class times, dates and locations. The training is also available online at http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/IS/is700.asp. For more information, contact Susan Walto, Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, at 651/296-7183 or susan.walto@dot.state.mn.us.

By Kevin Gutknecht

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Project staff members pause during the operation that installed a new deck and other improvements on the Hwy 101 bridge over the Crow River between Rogers and Otsego. Photo by Marty Roach

Leaders of three Mn/DOT construction projects completed in 2005 earned honors for work zone safety initiatives. Crews that garnered awards are from District 4, District 8 and the Metro District.

The awards for Detroit Lakes/District 4 and the Metro District will be presented March 16 in Duluth during the Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota’s annual meeting.

District 4 will be recognized for working with the contractor’s design-build team to construct a new interchange that connects Hwy 10 and Hwy 32 near Hawley.

Trudy Kordosky, project manager, said using the design-build process and having multiple contractors required constant coordination and the ability to adjust quickly to frequent changes during the construction period.

“The contractor was responsible for design and construction, so we had to communicate clearly and frequently about hauling operations, road and lane closures other aspects of the project,” she said.

“We had weekly meetings with the contractors, monthly public meetings and set up a toll-free project hotline to respond to questions about the project.”

Metro District staff will be recognized for using several innovations while making improvements to three bridges that cross the Crow River on Interstate 94 and Hwy 101 near Rogers.

Project staff used Highway Advisory Radio to alert motorists before the project began. Once it was under way, the staff used the dynamic merge system to funnel traffic from three lanes to the open lanes. They also used portable traffic volume sensors to calculate travel times in the project area. Robert Rabine, project supervisor, said motorists received frequent travel time updates from several portable message signs to help them decide whether they would stay on I-94 or take alternate routes.

There were no major crashes or injuries during the project, Rabine said, and traffic tie-ups were substantially reduced.

Contract workers excavate old pavement during reconstruction of the Hwy 10/Hwy 32 interchange near Hawley. Photo by Scott Oines

District 8 earned honors from the Minnesota Asphalt Paving Association for using several innovations while rebuilding Hwy 23 to a four-lane roadway between Willmar and New London . The award was presented in December.

Jim Christensen, project manager, said the project was among the first to use water-filled median barriers. The barriers provided a more cushioned impact. He said the barriers are lower than standard concrete barriers making it easier for motorists to see traffic in the construction area.

The district, Christensen said, also employed a portable speed limit sign that registered vehicle speeds and warned motorists to slow down in the project area.

Project staff met weekly with community leaders in Spicer and other communities to hear their concerns and update them on the project’s progress. Reports on the project’s status were publicized by the district’s public affairs coordinator and updated frequently on the project’s Web site.

“Because we had so many cross-overs between the new and old alignments, we used barriers, barricades ands signs widely to guide drivers through the project area,” he said.

The paving associations and Mn/DOT’s construction and traffic safety staff select the award recipients.  

By Craig Wilkins

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Gary Workman, director of the Metro District Traffic and Maintenance Operations Office, also will serve as acting Metro District engineer, Bob Winter, District Operations Division director said.

Workman fills the position vacated by Pat Hughes, who retired in early January after more than 43 years of service to Mn/DOT.

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The public now can access state licenses from a single online source and state agencies will pay substantially less for computer and office supplies as a result of the efforts of some of the statewide Drive to Excellence teams.

These accomplishments and others are highlighted in the first annual Drive to Excellence Annual Report to the Governor, dated Dec. 15, 2005.

Read more about what’s happening with the state’s Drive to Excellence by going to the initiative’s January newsletter. For additional information, visit the Drive to Excellence Web site.

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