All rails point to downtown Minneapolis—at least from this particular location near 28th Street and Hwy 55/Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis. Photo by Jurgen Sumann

On Aug. 2 light rail transit marked another milestone when neighborhood advocates and government leaders held the first groundbreaking for an LRT station—38th Street Station—at 38th Street and Hwy 55/Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis.

Dignitaries on hand for the groundbreaking included Mn/DOT Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg, Metropolitan Council Chairman Ted Mondale, Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, and Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, along with neighborhood members of the LRT Community Advisory Committee.

Speeches heralded the birth of modern-day light rail transit in Minnesota, while praising the Hiawatha Avenue neighborhood’s intensive 40-plus years of public involvement on transportation and transit options. Groundbreaking ceremonies included three small children—offspring of advisory committee members—carrying signs that spelled out: “L-R-T.”

“It is exciting to see and hear the sights and sounds of construction as we build this state-of-the-art light rail transit system,” said Tinklenberg. “Minnesotans can be proud of the Hiawatha LRT project. It is a tribute to the positive partnerships that we have forged here. We are doing more than investing in our transportation infrastructure; we’re investing in our future.” 

Ripples of sand will eventually give way to the Hwy 55/Hiawatha Avenue 38th Street light rail transit station, courtesy of construction crews running equipment such as the digger in the distance. Photo by Craig Wilkins

Tinklenberg also presented a brief construction update to the audience of 150 neighbors, agency staff members and local media. He noted the following:

§         Construction began last January and is proceeding on schedule for the LRT line that should begin partial operation in 2003, with full operation in 2004.

§         In some cases—for example, rail delivery—the LRT construction project is ahead of schedule.

§         Drilling and pouring continues this summer on five of the seventeen transit stations, each of which will sport a completely different look designed to reflect the uniqueness of the surrounding neighborhoods. These stations are the Franklin, Lake Street, 46th Street and 50th Street stations, in addition to the 38th Street station. Work will continue at these sites throughout the rest of the year and into 2002.

§         On the northern end, near I-94 and Cedar Avenue South just south of downtown Minneapolis, construction crews are preparing track and relocating utility lines.

§         Metrodome visitors may notice rehabilitation work on the nearby old railroad bridge between 11th and 15th avenues in downtown Minneapolis.

§         The Metropolitan Airports Commission will accept delivery of an enormous tunnel-boring machine later this month. The tunnel-boring machine is being rebuilt in Rotterdam to handle the specific type of rock underneath the airport. It will travel by a multi-modal route: first by boat from Europe to Lake Superior, and then by flatbed truck to the airport’s Richfield-south Minneapolis location via I-35 and I-35W.

It may look like the remains of a castle, but it’s actually the north end of the future LRT flyover bridge over Lake Street on Hwy 55/Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis. Photo by Jurgen Sumann

The Metropolitan Council agency, MetroTransit, will operate the light rail line and Mn/DOT is constructing the $675 million project. Funding comes from the Federal Transit Administration, the Minnesota State Legislature, Metropolitan Airports Commission, Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority and Mn/DOT. 

For more information, visit Mn/DOT’s LRT site for construction updates, station designs, news releases and photos of construction.

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Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles Newsline will publish looking back on Mn/DOT’s first 25 years— remembering the people, issues and cultural forces that have shaped the agency and the milestones Mn/DOT has achieved.

Mn/DOT’s commissioners have demonstrated a variety of leadership styles to lead the department’s evolution from a highway department to a multi-modal agency.

While their styles differed, they all showed a commitment to innovation and service to Minnesota, its residents and their rapidly changing transportation needs.

Jim Harrington served as Mn/DOT’s first commissioner when the department was formed in November 1976. He drives a spike for a railroad improvement project in Winnebago.

When appointed by Gov. Wendell Anderson as Mn/DOT’s first commissioner in 1976, Jim Harrington accepted a daunting task. His job was to meld the former Department of Aeronautics and parts of the Department of Public Service and the State Planning Agency into the much larger and well-established Minnesota Department of Highways.

At that time, Mn/DOT was focused on building the interstate highway system in Minnesota. The new department’s legislative mandate—to create the framework for a multimodal transportation system—was clearly going to take some doing.

Harrington assembled a management staff that included Sherri Alston, as assistant commissioner for public transit, and Peter Fausch, as assistant commissioner for planning and programming. Harrington’s team also included Frank Marzitelli, the former commissioner of highways, as assistant commissioner for operations, and Larry McCabe, the former commissioner of aeronautics, as Mn/DOT’s assistant commissioner for aeronautics.

Commissioner Dick Braun chats with Mn/DOT pilot Bill Grunau.

When Al Quie was elected governor in 1978, he appointed Dick Braun to succeed Harrington. A through-the-ranks Mn/DOT engineer and manager, Braun combined technical expertise, innate leadership and a visionary nature to move the department to a new level of performance.

Under Braun, Mn/DOT began its full transformation from a highway department to a multi-modal agency. The agency also entered the period of automation that would revolutionize the way its work was done. Braun also led Mn/DOT to prominence on at the national level by becoming president of the American Association of State Transportation and Highway Officials. He also catapulted Mn/DOT into national attention by championing initiatives such as the Minnesota Road Research Project and Minnesota Rideshare, and focusing public attention on transportation-related issues.

Braun was re-appointed as commissioner by Gov. Rudy Perpich, testament to his credibility, professionalism and value as a leader. Braun left Mn/DOT in 1986 to direct the newly created Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota.

Commissioner Len Levine takes to the field to observe a truck inspection in southeastern Minnesota in 1989. With him is Pam DeGrote, a motor transportation representative who now works in Duluth.

Perpich named Leonard Levine to succeed Braun. Levine, a former St. Paul City Council member, combined his political skills with Perpich’s to successfully push for an increase in the state’s fuel tax. Their efforts resulted in raising the tax from 17 to 20 cents per gallon, creating millions of dollars in revenue for much-needed transportation improvement projects.

Perpich, Levine and other commissioners took government to the people through the Capitol for a Day program. The outreach effort created a forum where citizens and state officials could discuss their concerns face to face.

Levine also supported initiatives such as high-speed rail and implemented popular innovations such as the Highway Helper program on the Twin Cities’ freeway system.

Under Levine, Mn/DOT’s sharing expertise with other countries gained momentum, including a visit by top transportation officials from the former Soviet Union.

Commissioner John Riley responds to a reporter’s questions during the annual Farm Fest. Riley was at ease at the event—he was known for the prize-winning squash he displayed each year at the Minnesota State Fair.

John Riley succeeded Levine in 1990 with the election of Gov. Arne Carlson. An aide to former U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger, the bright and inventive Riley brought a fresh approach to Mn/DOT. However, before he could begin to make his mark on the department’s operations, Riley died of brain cancer.

Gov. Carlson then appointed Jim Denn in 1991 to succeed Riley. A former official with the Minnesota Trucking Association, Denn brought his working knowledge of transportation’s crucial role to Mn/DOT.

Denn led Mn/DOT through the changes wrought by ISTEA, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. Among its many innovations, ISTEA brought a new emphasis on public participation transportation decision-making such as the Area Transportation Partnerships. The ATPs include business leaders, local officials and others who set priorities for transportation projects.

In January 1999, Commissioner Jim Denn bids farewell to Mn/DOT during an impromptu gathering at the Transportation Building in St. Paul on his last day as commissioner.

The decentralized decision-making also suited Denn’s style and values. During Denn’s seven-year term, for example, Mn/DOT partnered with cities and counties to build joint maintenance facilities at Hutchinson and Hibbing.

Denn’s administration also instituted a market research program to determine who the department’s customers are, what their expectations are and how well Mn/DOT meets them.

Denn’s term was also marked by an emphasis on increasing diversity in the ranks of Mn/DOT employees. Mn/DOT created its Seeds program and initiated other outreach programs such as TRAC and actively recruited graduate engineers who are women or people of color.

Denn’s low-key style and respectful nature earned him widespread affection among employees. When he left office in January 1999, Denn was greeted by hundreds of Central Office employees who spontaneously gathered to say goodbye and wish him well in the future.

Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg, right, with Gov. Jesse Ventura, introduce the Moving Minnesota package to the 2000 Legislature. Photo by Kevin Walker

The election of Gov. Jesse Ventura in 1998 brought the appointment of Mn/DOT’s current commissioner, Elwyn Tinklenberg. With strong backing from the governor, Tinklenberg re-energized Mn/DOT’s commitment to multi-modal transportation and envisioned the long-range strategy to improve the state’s transportation: Moving Minnesota.

Their efforts resulted, for example, in a one-time allocation of $459 million by the 2000 Legislature to support the Moving Minnesota effort.

Tinklenberg’s vision rests on four strategic objectives: increasing travel options for moving people and goods; ensuring that corridors of statewide significance link regional trade centers; streamlining the highway construction and maintenance program delivery; and providing timely and accurate information for Mn/DOT’s customers.

Reviewing 25 years of Mn/DOT history during a celebration held July 30, Tinklenberg said since Mn/DOT’s first commissioner was appointed in 1976, Minnesota has evolved quickly as an economic hub for a multi-state region and become more fully part of the global economy.

Mn/DOT, he said, needs to continue its leadership in finding ways to do things faster and better, continue management innovations, and forge partnerships with cities, counties, consultants and contractors.

“While the challenges ahead are great,” he said, “Mn/DOT, as a great organization, will respond to them the way it always has—creatively, professionally and boldly.”

By Craig Wilkins

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Transportation experts, policy makers, lawmakers and students in Minnesota paved the way this week for what is expected to be a national series of listening sessions on the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st  Century—the federal legislation that outlines funding for transportation across the country. 

Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg served as moderator for the first forum, held Aug. 7 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs in Minneapolis. The sessions are designed to gather input for the upcoming reauthorization of TEA-21 by Congress in 2003. Organizers said the first listening session went well and will serve as a model for future forums that will be scheduled around the country.

Distinguished panel
In addition to Tinklenberg, speakers included the Federal Highway Administration’s Cynthia Burbank; Sean O’Hollaren, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Transportation; U.S. Rep. James Oberstar; U.S. Rep. Martin Olav Sabo; state Sen. Julie Sabo; state Sen. Roy Terwilliger; and Met Council Chairman Ted Mondale.

Minnesota considered a leader
The topic of the session was transportation and the environment. Organizers say the FHWA selected Minnesota to host the forum because of its leadership in considering the environmental impact of transportation. Burbank said Minnesota has won more FHWA environmental awards than any other state.

"While many people think transportation and concern for the environment are opposing ideas, in fact, they go together,” Commissioner Tinklenberg noted. “Mn/DOT’s strategy of Moving Minnesota is consistent with environmental protection. It increases transportation choices, encourages mass transit and works with communities to improve efficiency on interregional corridors. All of these protect the environment and reduce pollution by reducing highway congestion.”   

Interactive
Wireless voting technology used at the session enabled the audience to weigh in with their opinions on a series of 40 questions. One that stimulated discussion asked audience members what they thought is the most important initiative for Minnesota in federal legislation. A majority answered: more funding to better balance the modes of transportation. But when asked how they thought most Minnesotans would vote, a majority answered: reduce congestion. The questions and answers are expected to be available by early September on the HHH Institute of Public Affairs Web site.

By Pat Lund

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Mn/DOT’s Freight Advisory Committee, in partnership with the Center for Transportation Studies, hosted a freight transportation dialogue luncheon at the Radisson Metrodome  Aug. 7. 

Guest speakers included U.S. Rep. James Oberstar; Sean B. O’Hollaren, assistant secretary for governmental affairs for the U.S. Department of Transportation; and Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg.

In their remarks, Tinklenberg and Oberstar called on the U.S. DOT to take a primary leadership role to ensure freight concerns are addressed as part of the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st  Century. They added that others who rely on the movement of freight should also become actively involved in the discussion. Both Tinklenberg and Oberstar acknowledged the importance of transportation to the future economic vitality of the state and the region.

Tinklenberg said he would announce at an event planned for December a series of freight initiatives to be undertaken by Mn/DOT.

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A few miles down, but many more to go: This contractor employee monitors the early stages of creating centerline rumble strips on Hwy 23  west of Spicer. Photo by Sandy East

Straying ‘off course’ while driving can be quite serious, especially on a hilly, winding two-lane highway. But bumpy, ‘coarse’ rumble strips installed in the highway centerline might jar drivers from wandering over the centerline and prevent another kind of ‘bump’—traffic crashes.

That, at least, is the principle behind 50 miles of rumble strips installed last year in the median of the highly congested, two-lane Hwy 23 between Willmar and St. Cloud. Three focus groups in both areas recently told Mn/DOT market researcher Lee Brady that they believe that these strips are working.

“Nearly all of the drivers in our focus groups are convinced that the rumble strips have saved lives, including their own,” Brady said. “They reported feeling more safe as a result, and none of them could remember hearing of a fatality since the rumble strips were installed.”

Reducing fatalities is a primary goal of this project, and “the first year suggests that we’re on the right track,” according to District 3 traffic engineer Gary Dirlam and assistant District 3 traffic engineer Tom Dumont. In recent years, Hwy 23 traffic has increased to about 10,000 vehicles/day with a mixture of age groups, travel purposes and driving speeds—and a potential for increases in traffic crashes.

(By comparison, traffic near Paynesville nearly tripled from 2,650 vehicles a day in 1981 to 6,100 in 2000, while traffic on Hwy 23 from Rockville to I-94 doubled for the same period: from 6,800 in 1981 to 15,400 vehicles a day in 2000.

Before installing centerline rumble strips, Dumont said, “There were five fatal crashes in one four-week period; three of the five fatals involved vehicles crossing the centerline during good weather. All of the fatal crashes involved young to middle-aged people.”

Focus group members “haven’t heard of any fatalities since the rumble strips,” and believe that the experiment is working so far, according to Brady. However, Dirlam said, “It’s too soon to tell.”

“We’re moving in the right direction, but we can’t say for at least three years whether or not this is a trend,” Dirlam added. “We will continue to monitor traffic volumes and crashes for awhile, along with customer feedback. California also installed rumble strips in the medians in 1997, and we’re trying to get their before-and-after study. From looking at 16 years of crashes history, I believe six-year time frames give better trend lines for fatal crashes.”

Although most focus group members felt safer, emergency vehicle operators and State Patrol troopers reported some problems in high-speed conditions. These drivers said they had, however, adjusted their driving techniques to avoid further problems.

Maintenance workers in Districts 3 and 8 met separately with Dirlam and Brady to report some problems with snow and ice removal and suggested modifications to the rumble strips that could help plowing practices.

Dirlam said that the districts are also considering other congestion-relief and safety-improvement changes. A corridor study is underway; District 3 has completed an environmental impact statement for a divided four-lane facility from I-94 to Richmond; and District 8 is pursuing a Paynesville bypass and a four-lane divided highway between Willmar and Spicer.

District 8 public affairs coordinator Sandy East initiated the market research study, which is the first of its kind in the state, Dirlam said.

“Other areas of the state also have the centerline rumble strips, but, now we know how people think of them,” he added.  “We would not have heard of certain difficulties if not for the market research.”

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Thanks to a high-tech monitoring system, MnDOT knows the answer to that question. 

Mn/DOT’s road weather information system consists of 93 sites throughout the state that collect data from atmospheric and pavement sensors and transmit this information to servers in St. Paul, which use the Internet to deliver information to Mn/DOT staff and others.

The $4 million system primarily is used to monitor winter road conditions to aid in more efficient use of chemicals and equipment, according to Curt Pape, RWIS coordinator.

The pavement sensors are contained in a round epoxy coating and resemble a large hockey puck. Installed around the state, the sensors work around the clock measuring pavement temperature and surface conditions, Pape said.

Although snow and ice control are the bread and butter of RWIS, the system has proven useful year around. RWIS can be used to generate records required in herbicide spraying, determine conditions at remote sites and monitor road temperatures in very hot weather. Since the information generated by this system is stored in a database, Mn/DOT will be able to study the data in the future to better predict things such as pavement failures and other temperature-related problems, Pape said.

The concept for RWIS originated in Europe and has now been adopted by several state transportation departments. Although Mn/DOT has been experimenting with this technology since the mid-1980s, it was fully implemented for the first time last winter, Pape said.

“It is exciting to be involved in something that should not only save money but make Mn/DOT more efficient in meeting the public’s needs,” he added.

Testing and adopting new technology such as RWIS is one way MnDOT has become established as an international leader in transportation. This month a Russian delegation had a look at the system. In the past few months, visitors from Norway, Sweden, Japan and China have also checked it out.

As for the question: Is it hot enough to fry an egg? 

No, the temperature of a frying pan must reach about 300 degrees to cook an egg. The hottest spot on Minnesota roads so far this summer is a toss up with several sites reporting 138 degrees on Tuesday, Aug. 7.

By Pat Lund

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You’ve seen the recent statistics—and they’re not pretty.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a record number of people—872—were killed in work zones in 1999.  In addition, the nation recorded an annual average of 39,000 people injured in work zones during the late 1990s.

Locally, the Department of Public Safety reports that there were 2,397 work zone crashes in Minnesota last year, resulting in 11 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries.

“At any given time during the construction season in Minnesota, there are at least 175 ongoing construction projects,” said Mary Meinert, work zone safety coordinator. “Along with this are the many local and municipal road projects, bringing Minnesota’s road construction projects to about 300 at any given point during the season.”

That’s why Mn/DOT is committed to educating drivers and construction workers about safety in work zones, Meinert said.

Last year, the Office of Construction and Maintenance, in partnership with the Office of Traffic and Metro Maintenance, completed an extensive field training for signing and flagging of construction projects. More than 3,000 workers (1,600 from Mn/DOT and 1,200 from the private sector) went through training for personal, equipment and project staging safety, according to Bill Servatius, construction programs coordinator.

Mn/DOT also partnered with the Minnesota State Patrol and St. Cloud State’s Highway Safety Center to train drivers of large construction vehicles (private contractors) about vehicle and roadway safety, according to Dennis Creen, Motor Carrier Services. About 650 drivers and company safety directors participated this year.

“Mn/DOT ‘strongly encourages’ participation in these trainings,” Servatius said. “This is a strong message to the industry: we want our projects to be safe—for everyone.”

The department also supports a work zone safety speaker’s bureau. Each district sends speakers to schools, driver’s education classes and community groups to spread Mn/DOT’s safety messages. More than 12,000 individuals benefited from these outreach efforts last year, Servatius said.

New this summer are the billboards and bus kings with the most recent work zone safety campaign. This was designed as a “pay attention or someone dies” work zone message, Meinert said. This campaign, in partnership with the State Patrol, focuses on Trooper Ted Foss, who was killed in the work zone last summer.

Marketing research done by Mn/DOT indicates that most drivers in work zones are not concerned for their own safety, Meinert said. Their greater fear is hitting a worker.

“Drivers in work zones need to be reminded that by watching out for workers, they are watching out for themselves—and they are at greater risk than the workers, as the numbers indicate,” Meinert said.

For more information about national highway traffic safety, visit the NHTSA Web site.

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