Steel shell pilings await placement for use on the west end of the I-494 river bridge that will carry westbound traffic. Photo by Dave Gonzalez

In Mn/DOT’s verbal shorthand, people call the project the new Wakota bridge. It is, however, a lot more than ‘just a new bridge.’

The $250 million project actually includes a total of 28 bridges, rebuilding sections of I-494 and Hwy 61 in St. Paul and its suburbs as well as ramps and loops connecting a web of local roads.

Included in the project are two new bridge spans across the Mississippi River that will replace the existing single, four-lane span. The new river bridges will be built in stages. Both will have five lanes to carry the rapidly increasing traffic flow from Washington and Dakota counties into St. Paul, Minneapolis and the suburban cities west of the river.

Work on the overall project started in 2002; the construction will be completed in 2007.

Cities located in the project area are St. Paul, South St. Paul, Newport, St. Paul Park, Maplewood and Cottage Grove.

The Wakota project will upgrade Hwy 61 to freeway status from St. Paul Park to Carver Avenue in St. Paul, improve local roads and create pedestrian and bicycle trails along several routes. Interstate 494 will be rebuilt between Concord Street in South St. Paul and Lake Road in Woodbury. In addition, several interchanges on I-494 and Hwy 61 will be rebuilt, eliminating traffic lights and improving the flow of traffic.

Funds for the project come from monies set aside for bottleneck removal in the Twin Cities metro area by the Legislature and from matching federal grants.

Workers assemble concrete forms for the pier table on top of the pier on the east bank of the Mississippi River. Photo by Dave Gonzalez

When completed, the Wakota project will reduce severe commuter congestion in the area and increase safety and traffic capacity in the southeastern quadrant of the Twin Cities metro area.

Both new concrete spans over the river will be built in segments starting with a center pier and extending the bridge outward in a balanced cantilever method.

Work on the bridge that will carry eastbound traffic is under way; construction of the westbound bridge will begin in 2005 following completion of the new bridge and removal of the old four-lane structure.

Facing unique hurdles

Adam Josephson, project manager, Metro District, said the project faces some unique hurdles before its eventual completion.

For example, he said, a glacial trench filled with clay underlies part of the project. In order to obtain sufficient soil strength, engineers mixed cement with existing soil underground by using a huge auger system. The slurry hardened into a mixture that provides enough strength to support a bridge and retaining wall that are part of the Glen Road interchange.

Building the project in the corridor near the Mississippi River also requires moving several high-pressure natural gas lines and electrical transmission lines. Project managers also had to negotiate with three railroads to work near the mainline tracks. A construction staging area for barges and other equipment was created under the new Wakota bridges.

"The scope of the project," he said, "is a challenge."

Ironworkers prepare epoxy-coated reinforcing steel to use in the bridge. Epoxy-coated rebar inhibits corrosion and extends the bridge’s life span. Photo by Dave Gonzalez

All of the work on the project is being done under traffic. To improve safety and keep traffic moving, Mn/DOT has contracted with a towing company to remove stalled cars in the project area quickly.

Project staff meet regularly with business owners and officials from the cities in the project area on maintaining access to businesses and other issues. The project even has its own public access cable TV show. In addition, the Southern Washington County Bulletin carries frequent articles about the project’s progress. The Metro District maintains a project Web site and issues newsletters each spring. A model of the project is currently on display at Newport City Hall.

Mary McFarland, project public affairs coordinator, Metro District, said the extensive outreach efforts are needed to maintain support for the project throughout its six-year construction period.

"Wakota is second in scope only to the I-394 project in the Twin Cities area and it’s being done under traffic," she said. "We need to communicate about the project in as many ways as we can to avoid construction-related delays and provide information about its progress."

By Craig Wilkins

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The U.S. House and Senate voted last week to extend by five months the six-year Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, which expired Sept. 30.

The TEA-21 legislation authorized the federal surface transportation program for state highways, highway safety and transit for 1998-2003. The legislation’s extension to Feb. 29, 2004, helped prevent a shutdown of federal transportation programs, which would have had a serious impact on the economy.

"The extension bill contains $14.7 billion for highways and $3 billion for transit," said Dan Krom, director of federal affairs, Government Relations. "This will help Mn/DOT avoid delaying highway and transit construction projects now underway."

According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, departments of transportation across the nation believe that the five-month extension gives Congress time to write a well-funded, multi-year federal aid authorization bill that will meet infrastructure needs and boost the economy. AASHTO recommends that a new bill should increase highway funding by $41 billion and transit by $10 billion in order to meet priority security, safety, congestion relief, freight, preservation and capacity needs.

A recent AASHTO survey of state DOTs revealed that delayed reauthorization will cause postponements of more than $2 billion in major projects with potential losses of up to 90,000 jobs without a six-year bill. Full survey results are at http://downloads.transportation.org/TEA21Impacts.pdf.

Mn/DOT will be able to deliver the entire state fiscal year 2004 construction program if Congress passes additional extensions after Feb. 29, 2004. However, without passage of a new federal aid authorization bill, the future of transportation funding is uncertain.

"During the 2004 legislative session, Mn/DOT will be working closely with our congressional delegation to encourage them to adopt a reauthorization bill that benefits our state’s transportation system and our citizens," Krom said.

By Donna Lindberg

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The Texas Transportation Institute this week released its annual Urban Mobility Report, again naming Minneapolis-St. Paul among the nation’s top 20 most congested urban areas. According to Tim Henkel, Metro District transportation program manager, the difference this year is that the average one-way commute to work in the Twin Cities now takes 30 minutes during rush hour, compared to 22 minutes during non-peak travel times.

"The study confirms what every commuter knows—the chances of running into congestion are greater now," he said.

In addition to offering the new rankings, the 2003 study now takes into account the effect of congestion remedies in the cities where they are being used. The statistics indicate that public transportation service and bus and carpool lanes, and roadway operating efficiencies (traffic signal coordination, freeway incident management and the use ramp meters) help to reduce delays.

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association’s Transportation Development Foundation and the American Public Transportation Association sponsor the 2003 Urban Mobility Study. The study is available on the TTI Web site at http://mobility.tamu.edu/.

Click here to view how Minnesota fared in the 2002 and 2001 studies.

By Jeanne Aamodt

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Mn/DOT and other government representatives will meet with leaders of the state's Indian tribes on Oct. 15-16 to discuss transportation-related issues.

Officials from Mn/DOT, the FHWA, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Minnesota counties will continue their dialogue with leaders of the state’s Indian tribes on transportation-related issues in October.

The Oct. 15-16 meeting will continue the talks that started last year with officials of the federally recognized tribes in Minnesota. That meeting marked the opening of formal talks to find ways to address common issues and produced a formal agreement for increased cooperation among tribal, state and federal government agencies.

The 2003 meeting will be held at the Fortune Bay Resort and Casino near Tower.

Workshop sessions at the meeting will seek additional ways federal, state, county and tribal governments can advance their mutual goals related to transportation. Sessions will address issues such as acquiring right of way, tribal employment rights ordinances, preserving cultural resources such as burial grounds and examining legal and structural aspects of each level of government.

Linda Aitkin, Mn/DOT liaison to tribal governments, Government Relations, said the next round of talks will cover topics such as acquiring right of way, transit services, highway maintenance, state aid funding, as well as planning and the Area Transportation Partnership process.

Lt. Gov./Commissioner Carol Molnau will lead the Mn/DOT delegation to the conference. Molnau recently began visiting the federally recognized tribes in Minnesota to learn first-hand about the issues they face, especially those related to transportation.

Her visits include those on Sept. 11 with the Lower Sioux Tribal Council in Morton and the Upper Sioux Agency near Granite Falls in Willmar/District 8.

Molnau also spoke on Sept. 30 at the dedication of the new American Indian Heritage Center at Bemidji State University.

By Craig Wilkins

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The Web-based Mn/DOT Learning Center merges employee data from more than six previous systems into a central learning management system to help employees manage their training and development.

The new Mn/DOT Learning Center helps employees manage their own training and development—without leaving their desks.

The Web-based "learning center" merges employee data from more than six previous systems into a central learning management system. This eliminates duplicate efforts and allows employees to view a variety of information, including:

• Training activity/transcripts—A history of an employee’s training activity at Mn/DOT.

• Personnel information—Basic information maintained by human resources on each employee.

• Mn/DOT course catalog—A list of courses Mn/DOT has offered in the past or may offer in the future.

• Mn/DOT class calendar—The classes, workshops or training available departmentwide.

With access to this information, employees can better work with their supervisors to determine their training needs and development opportunities.

The system allows employees to run a report of their training activity. Supervisors can generate reports on what training their employees have attended and administrators can produce a variety of reports on training activity, classes and tuition reimbursement.

As an e-government project, the Learning Center will automate several aspects of training administration, including sending confirmation letters for class enrollment and reimbursing tuition.

In the future, Mn/DOT hopes to use the Learning Center to provide e-learning—training that takes place using the Internet—to track skills needed by Mn/DOT employees and to track Mn/DOT-provided training attended by city, county and consultants.

To access the Mn/DOT Learning Center, visit http://ihub.lms.dot.state.mn.us. Contact your training representative or employee development specialist for more information or to correct any discrepancies in your file.

By Daneeka Marshall-Oquendo and Susan Walto

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Gary Ludwig (left), Trailblazer Transit, presents Jim Anderson, Mn/DOT’s Office of Transit, with the Minnesota Public Transit award for management innovation on Sept. 16. Photo by Traci Vibo

Jim Anderson, senior state program administrator, Transit, received an award for management innovation at the Minnesota Public Transit Conference in Duluth on Sept. 16.

Anderson was recognized for his management of the Cooperative Purchasing Venture - Multiple Award Process, which allows transit systems to purchase vehicles from more than one vendor through a statewide contract. The process has improved customer service, increased competition and resulted in quality buses at lower prices.

"Jim has played a key role in developing the CPV - Multiple Award Process which has improved vehicle procurement for public transit systems," said Donna Allan, director, Transit. "He has displayed excellent managerial skills working with vendors and consumers to get input on vehicle specifications that meet customer needs."

Established in 1982, the MPTA awards program encourages excellence and rewards programs and innovations that improve the lives of many. Anderson was one of five individuals and organizations throughout Minnesota who received awards from MPTA.

By Donna Lindberg

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The Office of Contract Management recently updated its Web site to simplify access to contract information and other documents.

Users of the Office of Contract Management’s recently updated Web site will find a simplified method for obtaining contract information and other documents such as professional/technical, joint powers and information technology forms.

In addition to the new look and features, the office also has added an easy-to-use guide to "delegations of authority" for contract signatures, a Contract Bulletin archive section to review past contract issues and several other handy links to aid users in the contract process.

The Web site can be viewed at http://ihub.eeocm/eeo.html. Contact the Office of Contract Management at 651/297-3589 for more information.

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