By Kevin Gutknecht

Mn/DOT has given its Freeway Incident Response Safety Team trucks a new look.

Motorists may be familiar with the bright yellow full-size pickups patrolling the Twin Cities metro area. The new look features high-visibility blue reflective marking over the sides and hood of the vehicles.

“We want the new look for FIRST to mean increased safety and visibility for the motorists and for the FIRST drivers themselves,” said Janelle Anderson, incident management engineer, Regional Transportation Management Center.

The FIRST program helps reduce freeway congestion and secondary crashes by locating, responding to, assisting and removing stalled vehicles, crashes, debris and other incidents from freeway lanes and shoulders. Begun in 1987 as the Highway Helper program, FIRST recently expanded to cover more than 250 miles of the Twin Cities metro area freeway system.

Nationwide, freeway service patrols similar to FIRST have grown substantially over the past few years. More than 70 freeway service patrol programs currently operate around the U.S., with 45 programs starting since 1992.

FIRST averages 17,500 responses to incidents per year, including 10,500 for directly assisting stalled motorists, providing traffic control for 3,300 crashes and clearing 550 vehicles out of the lanes.

FIRST operates from 3:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.           

Among the dozens of construction projects completed this fall in Greater Minnesota, two are new bridges.

District 7 opened the new Hwy 25 bridge at Belle Plaine Nov. 22. The bridge spanning the Minnesota River provides an improved, safer crossing.    

The new structure is seven feet higher and 130 feet longer than the old bridge. It includes two 12-foot driving lanes, 10-foot shoulders and a 10-foot bike and pedestrian trail.

Cost for the bridge is about $6.8 million.

Future work includes rebuilding the entrances to the Minnesota Valley Trail and a boat landing.

Officials from District 8, the city of Hutchinson and other area leaders celebrated opening the new Hwy 15 ( Main Street ) bridge over the South Fork of the Crow River Nov. 21. Construction of the new, four-lane bridge completes part of the first stage of a $20.8 million, 2.4 mile-reconstruction project that includes Hwy 7, Hwy 15 and Hwy 22 in Hutchinson.

District officials expect to complete the reconstruction project next year.

By Donna Lindberg

Pushing a string of barges containing petroleum products, the towboat M/V Melvin R. Todd left St. Paul Nov. 27 and headed down the Mississippi River, ending the 2006 shipping season.

On Friday, Nov. 24, with help from the tow M/V Kathy Ellen, the last four loads of corn and two loads of scrap metal left Lock #2 at Hastings.

The tow operators usually end the season around Thanksgiving to avoid encountering ice build-up on the river.

“Grain tonnage this year from the Twin Cities will be less than last year, and last year was not a good year,” said Dick Lambert, Ports and Waterways Section director. “However, northbound tonnages of salt, fertilizer, aggregates and cement have been strong again and will exceed the grain tonnage for the second straight year.”

Lambert said that low grain tonnage is very unusual for Minnesota, as the state is an exporter of agricultural products. He attributes the drop to high rates for ocean-going freighters sparked by rapid growth of freight shipments to China to fuel that nation’s rapidly growing economy.

Rather than move commodities overseas via the Gulf of Mexico for trans-shipment by ocean freighters to Asian markets, Lambert said many shippers chose to send commodity shipments by rail to Pacific Northwest seacoast ports. That tactic, he said, was less expensive than shipping grain from the Port of New Orleans.

“Variations in world commodity markets and shipping rates affect the entire Upper Midwest,” Lambert said. “This year’s drop in grain shipments on the Mississippi and the subsequent shift to western ports shows that we are indeed part of a world economy.”

Each year, river barges move about 13 million tons of freight on the Mississippi River through Minnesota. Inbound products include aggregates such as sand and gravel, fertilizers, salt, cement, coal and caustic soda, a chemical used in many manufacturing processes. Grain, the primary commodity shipped out of the state, averages about nine million tons per year. Other products shipped from Minnesota include potash, asphalt, scrap iron and petroleum.

The end of the 2006 Minnesota river navigation season clears the way for the removal of the old eastbound portion of the Interstate 494 Wakota bridge over the Mississippi that will begin Dec. 1 and continue through February 2007.

Lock #2 in Hastings will also shut down for winter maintenance and repairs.

With the new legislative session, which begins Jan. 3, 2007, comes some new faces as well as familiar ones in new positions—a result of the November election.

In the Senate, there will be 44 DFL members and 23 Republican members. Sen. Larry Pogemiller of Minneapolis was elected Senate Majority leader. The House will have 85 DFL members and 49 Republican members. The House DFL Caucus elected Rep. Margaret Kelliher of Minneapolis as Speaker of the House.

Both legislative leaders have expressed a desire to work with Gov. Tim Pawlenty to address health care, education and transportation issues.

In addition, Rep. Bernie Lieder will chair the House Transportation Policy and Finance Committee and Sen. Steve Murphy will chair the Senate Transportation Budget and Policy Division. Rep. Frank Hornstein will chair the House Transportation and Transit Policy Subcommittee and Rep. Rod Dibble will chair the Senate Transit Subdivision.

It is likely that additional funding for transportation will be discussed, said Betsy Parker, Government Affairs director.

The Legislature also must enact a law to implement the split of the additional Motor Vehicle Sales Tax funding between highways and transit as a result of the passage of the MVST constitutional amendment in November. This legislation will be discussed in the Tax Committees as well as the Transportation Committees.

Mn/DOT will seek changes in some laws that govern the agency’s operations, including Mn/DOT’s right to enter land to do geotechnical investigations, culvert inspections, electronic bidding, rail bank width, turnbacks, classifying certain Mn/DOT data as not public, towing authority for FIRST truck drivers and rail rehabilitation loan programs.

By Craig Wilkins

Researchers, students and Mn/DOT staff reviewed progress on several projects under study by the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Northland Advanced Transportation Systems Research Laboratory Nov. 17.

Staff from St. Louis County, the city of Duluth and the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus also participated in the event known as “Research Day.”  

They met at the Duluth/District 1 headquarters in formal meetings and casual hallway conversations to discuss current research projects.

Presentations included those on the SafeLane installation on a Hwy 169 bridge in Hibbing. UMD researchers are monitoring that project to determine how well anti-icing chemicals bonded with the pavement surface to reduce icing this winter.

The test is a joint effort by Cargill, the SafeLane manufacturer, and Mn/DOT.

Other presentations explored using wireless networks to eliminate having to bring power to every traffic data collection site and developing a snowplow dump box impact warning system.

The warning system’s purpose is to prevent snowplows with their boxes in the raised position from colliding with bridges.

The collisions can shear the dump box from the plow, causing a loss of hydraulic power and possible frame damage as well. Additional hazards include injury to operators and the box falling onto the road surface and becoming a traffic hazard.

The system would identify bridge heights statewide, then download the data into on-board controllers that would ensure the box is lowered when approaching a bridge.

District 1 and the laboratory staff established Research Day in 2001 to exchange ideas and foster better understanding among managers, researchers and field staff.  

“The projects we reviewed this year show greater potential for future development than those in past years,” said Rob Ege, district traffic engineer and an event organizer. “We look forward to working with the UMD research staff in the future.”

By Craig Wilkins

Building the interstate highway system created a learning laboratory of sorts where employees used their training, intuition and innovation to meet the daily challenges involved in its construction.

Early in the system’s development, Mn/DOT learned to create new pavement designs to meet the volume of heavy trucks using the interstates and to better withstand the region’s extreme temperature range, as well as making other technical improvements.

They also began to understand the need to manage traffic by using intelligent transportation system technology and to adapt route planning in concert with city, country and regional officials.

Engineers and managers learned to partner with resources such as the University of Minnesota’s Civil and Mechanical Engineering Department and the federal Strategic Highway Research Program.

Increasing competition for federal dollars as the system expanded also taught managers how to obtain the funds needed to build pavements suitable to the region and widen Mn/DOT’s use of ITS technology.

Deputy Commissioner Doug Differt said Mn/DOT employees have continued to learn and to innovate since the earliest days of the interstate program.

For more information about what lessons Mn/DOT learned during the first 50 years of building the interstate system, visit www.dot.state.mn.us/interstate50/.

By Donna Lindberg              

Editor’s note: With this issue, Newsline begins a new series that will feature Mn/DOT employees on-the-job. Do you or a co-worker have an interesting job to share with readers? Use the “Submissions” button on the left navigation bar, or click here to send us your ideas, and we’ll contact you for more information.

On a recent mid-November day, a Metro District bridge maintenance crew was out on the Hwy 49 Smith Avenue High Bridge to inspect the bridge deck. Measuring 2,760 feet long, the High Bridge has 11 spans and stands 200 feet above the Mississippi River at the bridge’s south end.

To perform the inspection work, Mike Anderson and Scott Tyson, senior transportation generalists from the Mendota Resident Maintenance Office, use a Reach-All truck with a flexible arm and a bucket at the end. The truck is also called a “snooper” because it allows crews to inspect the hard-to-reach underside of bridges. During inspection, the bridge workers found some concrete deterioration that required minor repairs.

Newsline talked to Anderson about his job:

Mike, what is it like to get into that snooper bucket every day and dangle in thin air when the temperature is 30 degrees and the wind is blowing 25 mile per hour?

The cold days are not very fun when we’re out there without a break from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., but we don’t go out if it’s too cold or too windy. It pushes the machine around too much. I dress in layers with a hooded sweatshirt. We always wear gloves we can work in. And the snooper bucket has canvas skirting around it and small heaters keep our feet warm. But I’m pretty thankful to get out of that bucket at the end of day.

You obviously don’t have a fear of heights, but beyond that, doesn’t it make you a little nervous?  

No, I actually built bridges in a past job. We didn’t use snoopers for that work, just scaffolds tied off with cables. The snooper is really very handy for this kind of work because you can move the machine where you need it.

What kind of equipment do you wear to keep you safe?

We wear a hard hat, of course, and safety glasses, a harness with lanyards that go between the legs and a life jacket when we’re above water. We also wear hearing protection if we are using noisy equipment. The snooper itself is really pretty safe. After an accident a few years ago, a foot release peddle was added as extra protection in case the hand levers jam or malfunction.

Besides weather and possible hazards, what do you like or dislike about this job?

I like being up on a bridge, but we move around a lot from job to job. There’s a lot of variety. From one day to the next, we repair and inspect bridges, repair sound-walls, erect buildings, put up pole sheds and do actual construction work.

Do you have any special training or experience in bridge work?

I worked for Lunda Construction for five years before joining Mn/DOT in 2000. I worked on projects such as the Bloomington ferry bridge, the Interstate 94 St. Paul commons area and on a Hwy 100 overlay project. Before that, I worked in various jobs in the building trades. I like working for the state. The work is interesting and varied and the paid vacation, holidays and other benefits are great.

What is the most difficult bridge you’ve worked on and why?

The Hastings bridge was the most difficult to repair and the old Wakota bridge was one of the scariest because we had to work under traffic.

How did you get selected to work in the snooper?

Actually, the low man usually goes in the bucket, especially on the coldest days. But, I don’t mind it. In fact, I usually volunteer to work in the snooper. It keeps me busy and the time goes fast.

Why do you work with a partner?

The accident I referred to previously pinned a guy in the bucket. Now, two men are required to work together in case of emergency. There’s plenty of room in the bucket for two people.

Is this what you wanted to do when you were a kid?

I always wanted to do construction work. I enjoy building and fixing things. I’m doing what I enjoy.

Mn/DOT received recognition from the Governor’s Council on Geographic Information at the Minnesota GIS/LIS Annual Meeting and Conference in October.

The Certificate of Commendation was for a multi-agency effort to scan and make available on the Internet more than 3,600 of Minnesota’s original Public Land Survey plat maps. Jay Krafthefer, Office of Land Management, was Mn/DOT’s representative on the team and accepted the certificate on the department’s behalf.

“These plat maps, created from 1848 to 1907, are the basic legal records for all real estate in Minnesota,” Krafthefer said. “Because of their age, the maps were deteriorating quickly, and we needed to find a way to preserve them and make the information easily accessible to surveyors and others.”

More than 5,000 copies of the plat maps are viewed online or downloaded each month, he said.

The other agencies recognized in the effort are the Office of the Secretary of State, Minnesota Association of County Surveyors, the Department of Administration’s Land Management Information Center and the Minnesota Historical Society.

According to Rick Morey, Land Management assistant director, this project is leading to further interagency efforts to preserve other Public Land Survey records in Minnesota.

For more information on the project and the award, go to http://www.gis.state.mn.us/Commendations/06commaward.htm  and read the section on "Preserving GLO Plat Maps."    

More information about the online plat maps can be found at: www.lmic.state.mn.us/glo/.

By Donna Lindberg

Mn/DOT won big in 2006 by securing 10 out of 60 national awards from the Federal Highway Administration for projects, facilities and processes that were the best in highway design.

“These prestigious awards recognize innovative approaches to design in the development of ‘context sensitive’ highway solutions,” said Scott Bradley, Mn/DOT’s context sensitive design designated champion.

“Winning entries have to demonstrate that their project is compatible with the environment, has visual appeal, includes safety and traffic operations features, improves functional efficiency, is an example of quality construction and provides a pleasing user experience.”        

Biennial Excellence in Highway Design awards go to individual and partnership projects nationwide that fall into 11 categories.

This year, Minnesota’s top Excellent Awards went to the Hwy 38 reconstruction project in District 1 and to the Metro District Interstate 394 MnPASS high occupancy toll lane project.

Merit Award Winners were the Hwy 23 reconstruction project in District 8, the Hwy 371 Brainerd Lakes Area Welcome Center and Rest Area in District 3 and the department’s Visual Quality Management project development process used to obtain context sensitive design solutions on projects.

Honorable Mention Awards went to the Hwy 100 reconstruction in the Metro District, the Hwy 53 Piedmont Avenue reconstruction project in District 1/Duluth, the I-35W/66th St. interchange/gateway construction project in the Metro District, the Hwy 61 Lester River bridge reconstruction in District 1/Duluth, and the Loring bikeway and bridge construction in partnership with the City of Minneapolis and community organizations.

In both 2002 and 2004, Mn/DOT and local government partners won eight of the awards.

The awards were presented at the AASHTO annual meeting in Portland, Oregon in November.

For a complete list, go to http://www.dot.state.mn.us/newsrels/06/11/20winsexchwydesign.html.

Click here to view the FHWA brochure listing the winners.

State agencies have set aside the week of Dec. 11-15 to recognize the knowledge, skill and professionalism of employees for their service to the citizens of Minnesota each day.  

With about 4,800 employees in our agency, Mn/DOT has plenty of models of exemplary workers. Perhaps you work with someone who consistently goes above and beyond her job duties to deliver quality service, or you know an unsung worker who quietly performs his job and on whom you can always rely?

Newsline wants to hear about them. Send us the name of the person along with a brief description (100 words or fewer) of why you think your co-worker or manager or work group deserves recognition. We’ll publish as many as we can in the Dec. 13 issue of Newsline. Deadline for entries is Friday, Dec. 8. Send your submissions to Newsline@dot.state.mn.us.