By Jeanne Aamodt

Traffic congestion on state roadways in the Twin Cities metro area has increased for the first time in four years, according to the Metropolitan Freeway System 2007 Congestion Report.

The report, which relies on traffic data collected by sensors in the roadways, indicates that there were 305 miles of congested freeway in the Twin Cities area in 2007. A congested mile is a mile of traffic moving slower than 45 miles per hour. Congested miles are up from 267 in 2006, 277 miles in 2005 and 280 miles in 2004.

Mn/DOT attributes much of the increase to the Aug. 1, 2007 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis as well as the traffic impacts of construction projects on heavily traveled interstates.

"The collapse of the I-35W bridge had impacts on congestion in its immediate area and across much of the Twin Cities freeway network,” said Bernie Arseneau, state traffic engineer. “However, it would have been much worse without the state’s response to restore traffic.”

Arseneau explained that Mn/DOT immediately completed several temporary projects to help minimize the effect of the collapse on congestion. They include:

• Converting Hwy 280 in St. Paul and Lauderdale into a freeway
• Converting shoulders to traffic lanes on I-94 between Hwy 280 and I-35W in Minneapolis
• Adding an auxiliary lane on southbound Hwy 100 in Golden Valley and adding a lane to the northbound exit to eastbound I-694 in Brooklyn Center
• Adding an eastbound lane on I-694 at Hwy 47 in Fridley
• Converting I-35W entrances and exits to two lanes at Fourth Avenue in Minneapolis

Significant congestion relief is anticipated with the completion of the new I-35W bridge and with major capacity improvement projects, Arseneau said. These include the “Unweave the Weave” project at the interchange of the I-35E and I-694 (September 2008) and the Crosstown project at I-35W and Hwy 62 (December 2010).

Arseneau said that Mn/DOT plans to manage congestion on additional fronts with the Urban Partnership Agreement, a joint proposal by Mn/DOT and the Metropolitan Council to improve transit use and traffic speed on I-35W and Hwy 77 from Minneapolis to the southern suburbs. The proposal includes bus rapid transit, park–and-ride lots, a high-occupancy toll lane similar to I-394’s MnPASS lane and the promotion of telecommuting.

More information on the UPA and other transportation projects is available on Mn/DOT's Web site at www.mndot.gov. A copy of the 2007 Congestion Report is available at www.dot.state.mn.us/hottopics/CongestionReport2007.pdf.

Khanh Le, a program administrator with Investment Management, died March 1. She was 47.

Le joined Mn/DOT in October 2007. She became ill in December. She was on sick leave until she succumbed to her illness, a connective tissue disease, and pneumonia.

Funeral services were held March 2 in Minneapolis.

Le was a member of Investment Management’s Program Development Section. Before joining Mn/DOT, she worked in the private sector. Le also volunteered to help members of the Vietnamese community in St. Paul prepare their taxes.

She earned associate’s degrees in graphic design and accounting from the Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount. Le was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration before her death.  

A native of Saigon, Vietnam, Le immigrated to the United States in 1993. Before leaving Vietnam, she owned an apparel and jewelry store.

Le lived with her family in Eagan.

Her survivors include her spouse, a son and several brothers and sisters.

Van Vu, Audit, a fellow Vietnamese immigrant, said Le was “warm, friendly, personable and would help anyone in any way that she could.”  

Le’s supervisor, Shawn Chambers, said her brief tenure with the department was ample time to demonstrate her character and ability.

“Khanh was very proud to be a U.S. citizen and was a shining example of what hard work and determination can achieve. She will be missed by those of us who knew her.”

Merry Daher, State Aid, has been approved as a recipient under the state’s vacation donation program, which allows employees to remain on the payroll and maintain insurance coverage after they have depleted their own vacation and sick leave.

Daher has been providing care for her husband, who is battling metastatic renal cell carcinoma.  

State employees may donate up to 12 hours of vacation per fiscal year to the program to benefit one or more people.

Don Obernolte, Office of Technical Support, who is recovering from injuries received in a tree-cutting accident, is also a recipient under the state’s vacation donation program

For more information:

• Employee Self Service Web site—to donate vacation hours, enroll as a recipient or view a list of all state employees eligible for the program. Click “Other Payroll” and then “Leave Donations.”

From commercial vehicle operations and casino signing to maps and roadway data, Mn/DOT’s Web site offers quick links to dozens of transportation-related topics.

It’s as easy as ABC. Or, more precisely, A to Z.

The A to Z Web page site is continuously updated, so if you can’t find the topic you are looking for, send a note to webmaster@dot.state.mn.us and we’ll add it.

ASAP.

Five department projects completed in 2007 earned awards for excellence from the Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota.

The rating panel included representatives from the association and Mn/DOT.

Criteria used by panel members include pavement smoothness, joint construction, strength, new equipment and/or methods required by the contract and general appearance.

Awards were given in 13 categories.

Mn/DOT project winners include those in the following categories:

District 6 earned an award in the rural divided highway category for reconstruction of Hwy 52 in Oronoco. Project engineer was Terry Ward.

Expanding Hwy 241 to a four-lane roadway in St. Michael earned honors in the state roads category for District 3. Rick Beckes served as project supervisor.

The Willmar District was cited for excellence in the urban paving category for construction of Hwy 7 and Hwy 15 in Hutchinson. Kelly Brunkhorst served as project engineer.

Pavement rehabilitation on sections of Interstate 35 and I-535 earned a top award for District 1. Project supervisor was Jim Sorenson.

District 4 earned recognition in the overlays category for a concrete overlay on Hwy 10 from Hawley to Boyer Lake, which was rated the best project of its kind in Minnesota. Jesse Miller and Trudy Kordosky served as project engineers.

“The primary purpose of the ratings and the awards is to encourage and stimulate high quality workmanship in every project we do,” said Maria Masten, assistant concrete engineer with the Office of Materials and a member of the rating panel.

Two district teams and one individual received 2008 Environmental Leadership Awards for their efforts in mitigating the effects of deicing materials on the environment and transportation infrastructure.

The awards were presented Feb. 5 in Brooklyn Center at the seventh annual Road Salt Symposium.

The Metro District Liquid Integration Team was recognized for efforts in converting from a high-volume sand-salt operation to one that integrates liquid deicers in lower volumes. Team members are Norm Ashfeld, Bill Utecht, Mark Fishbach, Al Lightfoot, Pat Faltersack and Joel Dixon.

The District 6 Leadership Team—Nelrae Succio, Jeff Vlaminck, Mark Panek, Greg Paulson, Steve Kirsch, Judy Schmidt and Steve Lund—were honored for their outstanding financial and system support in equipping the district’s 25 truck stations and reloading sites with double-wall brine storage tanks as well as supporting research efforts for finding more environmentally friendly products.

Andrew Kubista, salt solutions coordinator in the Office of Maintenance, received an award for “his aptitude and persistence in reducing application rates” when using deicers or abrasives during winter maintenance operations. Kubista’s training efforts during the past two years have helped reduce the department’s use of salt by 33 percent and sand by 43 percent.

The Freshwater Society, Fortin Consulting, Inc., and the Center for Transportation Studies’ Local Technical Assistance Program sponsored the annual event.