The Wakota Bridge stretches over the Mississippi River on I-494 between Newport and South St. Paul. Replacement of the bridge is one of the Moving Minnesota projects that will be let by June 2002.

The Moving Minnesota projects funded by the 2000 Legislature are on track to be delivered by the June 30, 2003 statutory deadline.

The work involves $459 million in projects above and beyond Mn/DOT’s regular transportation program, which is about $500 million annually. The funding is a part of the larger 10-year Moving Minnesota investment strategy that provides advantages for transit, bottleneck removal and improvements to highway corridors connecting the regional centers across the state.

According to corridor manager Dick Bautch, this one-time money accelerated 45 projects by a combined total of 113 years, saving taxpayers millions of dollars in inflation-adjusted costs. He encourages Mn/DOT employees to visit Moving Minnesota online. The site has just been updated with project-by-project reviews; IRC, bottleneck and construction site maps; and information on the department’s progress in letting contracts and committing funds for right-of-way acquisition.

The following projects provide a snapshot on accomplishments to date and lettings to look for in the coming months.

Construction contracts let (examples):

• Hwy 14 reconstruction near Owatonna

• Hwy 60 widening west of Heron Lake

• I-94 bridge replacements in the Twin Cities

• I-94 and County 61 interchange in Maple Grove

• Hwy 169 interchange between Princeton and Zimmerman

Construction contracts to be let by June 2002 (examples):

• Wakota Bridge Mississippi River crossing between Newport and South St. Paul

• Hwy 23 widening in Stearns County

• Hwy 169/19 interchange south of Belle Plaine

• New Hwy 371/Business Hwy 371 interchange near Brainerd

Projects completed:

• Hwy 371/Hwy 200 intersection southeast of Walker (this is a Moving Minnesota partnership project involving the Leech Lake Tribe)

• Hwy 10 Advantages for Transit, Northstar Commuter Bus Service

For more information on the Moving Minnesota projects, contact Bautch at 507/389-3259, or visit the Moving Minnesota Web site.

By Jeanne Aamodt

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As state agencies ante up to cover Minnesota’s projected $1.95 billion budget shortfall this biennium, they each must answer the tough question: which programs or services do we cut?

Under the governor’s supplemental budget proposal, Mn/DOT faces a $2.5 million cut in its base budget for fiscal year 2003 to support debt service payments. Functions within the department that may feel the pinch include general management and services, and to a much lesser degree, central engineering services and state road operations, according to the recommendations submitted to the Senior Management Team Jan. 29.

"Mn/DOT’s potential cuts are focused on operational and administrative costs," said Kevin Gray, chief financial officer. For example, the department can save dollars by reducing its rental space commitments and carefully scrutinizing its investments in telecommunications and technology, he said.

"Our need to trim the budget doesn’t reduce our need to deliver the transportation program," he added. "We remain committed to cut our budget through streamlining our processes and shifting resources to higher priority areas."

Gray said Mn/DOT is fortunate because it has already been streamlining its processes, including last July's launching of "Shaping Our Future," a plan to realign staff and reallocate funds in response to customer demands for more benefits from the money invested in transportation.

Because the governor considers transportation critical to the state and regional economy, his supplemental budget proposal does not include dropping construction projects from the program.

"The governor remains committed to transportation and to the department’s Moving Minnesota agenda—creating advantages for transit, removing traffic bottlenecks and developing interregional corridors," Gray said.

For more information, click on:

• Governor’s supplemental budget proposal

• Jan. 16 Mn/DOT Newsline budget article

• Shaping Our Future

• Status of bills and legislative committee schedules

• Mn/DOT's legislative summaries

• Mn/DOT's Government Relations Web site

If you have questions about the budget or Mn/DOT’s Shaping Our Future efforts, send an e-mail to: change@dot.state.mn.us.

By Chris Joyce

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The Office of Land Management has gained considerable ground in the race to acquire 2,500 parcels of land by February 2003 for the Moving Minnesota projects, but still needs more strategic staffing to finish the task, according to Dick Stehr, Program Support Group acting director.

"They’ve made a lot of progress in the last two to three months, and I think they are on the right track," Stehr told the Senior Management Team on Jan. 29. He indicated that the number of parcel packages that OLM is processing has more than doubled: they received 158 parcel packages in December and 266 more by Jan. 28.

The race, however, will heat up over the next six months when Mn/DOT will need to process and acquire almost 2,000 more parcels. Stehr noted that the heaviest acquisition work needs to occur in February and March so that Mn/DOT can meet the letting schedules for 2003.

"Streamlining strategies and strategic staffing helps us to deal with the fluctuations in work flow," Stehr said. "But the next month or two will be critical in catching up with the backlog."

Added Al Pint, right of way change manager: "The workload will be delivered with staff reassignments, use of consultants and experienced right of way personnel working with OLM on mobility assignment. Metro and many of the districts have agreed to handle some of the needed right of way acquisition activities, such as platting and description writing, to help deliver this huge workload."

According to Karl Rasmussen, OLM director, "Our short term strategy is to maximize all of the resources available among our staff, the districts, our consultants, and our temporary staff to acquire about 2,500 parcels of land in six months. That’s the equivalent of doing three years of our normal workload within six months."

Another shift in workloads will come shortly with expansion of the list of appraisal vendors, Pint said, adding that the Request for Proposals has gone out and that staff in OLM, Metro and the districts can expect more assistance from certified private appraisers soon.

"However, as the wave of needed parcels gets pushed into February and March, the time to deliver the right of way for next winter’s and spring’s lettings gets shorter," Pint said. "Design changes that affect needed right of way must be kept to a minimum once the right of way limits are determined and submitted to OLM for acquisition."

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T. Mychael Rambo will tell the history of the black experience in the United States with songs, poetry and stories on Feb. 4, marking the start of Mn/DOT’s observance of Black History Month. Graphic design by Denise Hals

Writer and performer T. Mychael Rambo will tell the history of the black experience in the United States with songs, poetry and stories on Monday, Feb. 4, at 11:30 a.m. in the first floor lobby of the Transportation Building. His presentation marks the start of Mn/DOT’s observance of Black History Month.

Tracy Lawrence, a transportation generalist at the Arden Hills Truck Station, will serve as master of ceremonies and address her experience as a black woman in Minnesota.

Margo LaBau, Mn/DOT’s chief of staff, will also speak during the event.

Rambo, who serves as an artist-in-residence at several schools, will blend the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., music and storytelling to convey insights about the power of language and the contributions of African-Americans to the nation’s political, social and artistic fabric.

The one-hour event will also include foods from the United States and West African cultures.

The Management Operations Group and the Program Support Group are sponsors of the celebration.

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A spate of GroupWise notes sent recently to a wide distribution included information that was not appropriate to share with the large number of employees who received it, prompting this reminder from Mike Garza, director, Office of Information Resource Management: use good judgment when sending e-mail messages.

While e-mail is a great communications tool, GroupWise messages— whether used for business or personal purpose—are government data and the security of these messages cannot be guaranteed, Garza said. The state of Minnesota can monitor Mn/DOT’s GroupWise system for business or legal reasons, according to department and state policies.

Click here for more information about e-mail do’s and don’ts and to review Mn/DOT’s telecommunications and e-mail policies. To view other commissioner and top staff memos, click here.

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Spared during construction of the Hwy 61 expressway between Duluth and Two Harbors in the 1960s, the "Honking Tree" stands as a memorial to Charles Hensley, a highway inspector at Duluth. Area residents often honk their horns as they passed the tree to inform neighbors they’ve arrived home safely. Photo by Paul Walvatne

A towering white pine along Hwy 61 near Two Harbors spared from destruction during rebuilding Hwy 61 in the 1960s earned nomination for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Trees.

The tree’s notoriety stems from the late 1960s when Mn/DOT was grading and clear cutting land to build the four-lane Hwy 61 expressway between Two Harbors and Duluth. But one highway inspector, the late Charles J. Hensley, had grown fond of the tall white pine and often ate lunch beneath its branches.

Hensley persuaded the construction crew to spare the pine, which eventually became known as "Charlie’s Tree" or the "Honking Tree," a reference to some Two Harbors residents’ practice of sounding their car horns when passing by the tree to alert neighbors they had returned safely from Duluth.

Hensley died in 1967, but area residents still recall his attachment to the tree. Environmental Services forester Paul Walvatne estimates the tree to be more than 100 years old.

Walvatne and John Bray, special assistant to Duluth District Engineer Mike Robinson, submitted the "Honking Tree" for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Trees.

American Forests, a conservation organization, maintains the historic tree register.

By Craig Wilkins

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The registration deadline for this year's transportation conference is Jan. 30. Graphic design by Kim Lanahan-Lahti

The final touches are underway for this year’s transportation conference—which promises to deliver a few surprises.

"We have some dynamite keynote speakers," said Sue Stein, conference co-chair, "including Ken Schmidt with a presentation on the near-demise of Harley Davidson, and Amanda Gore, an electric speaker from ‘Down Under.’"

The Moving Minnesota 2002 conference will take place Feb. 12-13 at the Radisson South hotel in Bloomington. Registration deadline is Jan. 30.

Click onto Mn/DOT’s Transportation Conference Web site for more information about the conference.

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"I just love the new look!" wrote one employee after visiting i-HUB—Mn/DOT’s new internal Web site.

"On initial use I am impressed," wrote another. "I am a non-techie and have difficulty thinking the way techies think. So far I have been able to use this site with little frustration."

"Love the photos of employees," said another.

But for other employees it’s like somebody rearranged their sock drawer.

"All of the things that used to be a link on the home page are buried two or three links deep now," lamented one user.

"This new format is not very intuitive or easy for viewing," wrote another. "We don't need anything flashy on an internal site—just an easy-to-read page with links that are obvious."

"Reviews have definitely been mixed," notes Kay Korsgaard, a member of the Office of Communications and Public Relations’ Web Team.

Part of the difficulty employees are having is adjusting to change. The site looks and feels very different from what employees are used to seeing, she said.

"The old site was a simple list of commonly visited links," Korsgaard explains. "There were no graphics and there was very little organization—but for many users, the links they needed were right there on the home page."

But as the requests for links on the home page began to exceed the available space, the Web Team needed to better organize the site and offer more opportunities for links to the resources and tools that are on the intranet.

The team drafted a new site and tested it with a variety of users to see if it did a better job of meeting their needs. The group made some initial changes and released the revised site last week.

"I-HUB removes most direct links from the home page, and is organized into categories such as "About Mn/DOT" and "Tools and Resources," Korsgaard said. "In most cases employees do need an additional click to get to where they want to go—and that takes getting used to. Ultimately, the new structure will allow us much more room to grow and add more links to sites that can be reached with a minimum number of clicks."

With 5,000 potential users—each with a different level of Web experience and a different set of needs—the Web Team faces a lot of challenges.

"We need your help," Korsgaard said. "We’ve made several tweaks to the site already, based on employee feedback. In the coming weeks and months we will continue to review your comments and work to improve the site."

Visit the site at http://iHUB and take a quick tour. Then click on the feedback button in the lower left hand corner and let the Web Team know what you think.

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