Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau

After two hours of hearing testimony and discussing policy decisions, the Senate Transportation Committee March 30 voted 8-7 not to recommend confirming Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau as Mn/DOT’s commissioner.

"Today’s vote was a sad display of partisanship and a huge disservice to Minnesotans," Gov. Tim Pawlenty said in a written statement following the committee’s action.

"Carol Molnau is exceptionally well prepared to serve as Commissioner of Transportation. As House Transportation Committee chair and as commissioner, she has twice led landmark efforts resulting in the largest infusions of transportation dollars in state history.

"In just fourteen months as commissioner, Carol Molnau has proven her leadership in transportation time and time again. We passed and began implementing the largest road, bridge and transit package in history. Last year was the biggest construction season in history—and it's only getting bigger," he said.

Whether or not the lieutenant governor will remain transportation commissioner is up to the members of the full Senate, which could meet on the issue yet this legislative session. Molnau will continue serving as commissioner unless a majority of senators decides not to confirm her appointment.

"As I told the Senate committee during my confirmation hearing, I am so proud of the work all of you do for the citizens of Minnesota," Molnau said today in a letter to employees.

"I want you to know what an honor and privilege it is to serve as commissioner of transportation. It is because of your professionalism and dedication to the citizens of Minnesota that my job is so rewarding and I look forward to our future working together," she added.

Additional information:

• Lt. Gov. Molnau’s opening statement before the Senate committee

• Full text of the governor’s statement
• Lt. Gov. Molnau’s letter to Mn/DOT employees
• Lt. Gov. Molnau’s biography

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Tom Jacobson, district landscape specialist, interviews with KARE-TV reporter Ken Speake about the incident. Photo by John Bray

Within a year or two, a mature stand of 64 red pine trees in the I-35 median near Banning Junction in Pine County will die, the result of their being "girdled" by vandals.

While plowing the freeway in early March, a Duluth/District1 employee discovered damage to the trees. The trees were planted in the 1970s following completion of the roadway that links the Twin Cities and Duluth.

Tom Jacobson, district landscape specialist, said girdling—cutting a band of bark about a half-inch deep around the trees’ circumferences—will stop their flow of nutrients and eventually cause death. The nearly perfectly straight red pines range from 5 to 14 inches in diameter.

Illegal cutting of trees on state right of way is not uncommon and is usually related to their blocking of sightlines to a business or other property. In this instance, however, that seems unlikely because the area is relatively undeveloped.

Jacobson said he has seen other cases of tree vandalism, but they usually involve someone cutting a few trees and removing them.

John Bray, special assistant to the district engineer at Duluth, said law enforcement officials attribute the motive to simple vandalism, clearing the view to a nearby billboard or convenience store or eventually harvesting the trees to build a cabin or other structure.

Bray said, however, that wanton vandalism is not likely because of the time involved and the precision of the girdling and because there is a high demand for red pine for building purposes. It’s feasible, he said, that the vandals expect to purchase the trees after they are cut down and sold by a contractor.

Sixty-four red pine trees in the I-35 median in Pine County will die within a year or two because of damage inflicted on them by vandals. The mature trees are valued at $20,000. Photo by John Bray

Pine County authorities may seek felony charges because the damaged trees are valued at $20,000.

Jacobson said the district will replant the area with a mixture of tree species and landscape quality plants.

"Our first priority, though, is directed at the removal of the damaged trees to minimize further damage to the stand of red pines," Jacobson said.

By Craig Wilkins

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A regular harbinger of spring—flooded roads—resulted in Bemidji/District 2’s closing parts of Hwy 220 and Hwy 317 in Marshall County.

The flooding on Hwy 317 closes the bridge over the Red River of the North that connects Hwy 220 with I-29 in North Dakota.

Hwy 220 is closed between Marshall County Roads 4 and 5.

The highway sections were closed on March 29 and remain closed until further notice. Both are located on the western side of the county along the state’s border with North Dakota.

Steve Hufnagle, area maintenance supervisor at Thief River Falls, said his crews barricaded those parts of the highways due to water over the road.

Extensive flooding has already occurred in northeastern North Dakota. Weather officials attribute much of the flooding due to rapid melting of the heavy snow pack that accumulated this winter.

For information on statewide road conditions, dial 511 or log onto www.511mn.org.

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The West Bush Lake Road Bridge over I-494 in Bloomington was removed last week as part of a three-year project to improve I-494 between Hwy 5 and Hwy 100 in the Twin Cities. Photo by Dave Gonzalez

The trolls were scrambling last week when the West Bush Lake Road Bridge over I-494 in Bloomington was removed.

The bridge removal is part of a three-year project to add a third lane and improve interchanges on I-494 between Hwy 5 and Hwy 100 in the Twin Cities west metro area. A new West Bush Lake Road bridge is expected to open later this year.

The project began in 2003 and is expected to be completed in 2005. This is just the first stage of a larger, multi-year project to reconstruct 18 miles of I-494 between Interstate 394 in Minnetonka to the Minnesota River in Bloomington.

Visit the Metro Division I-494 Web site at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/i494/index.html for more information.

By Donna Lindberg

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The Twin Cities waterway system opened for business March 20, when the first towboat, the M/V Reggie G., entered St. Paul via the Mississippi with a tow of 12 barge loads of cement.

"To arrive this early, the M/V Reggie G. had to batter her way through miles of 15-18 inch ice on Lake Pepin," said Dick Lambert, Ports and Waterways Section. "Most tows would not attempt this, but the Reggie G. has 5,600 horsepower and the crew is experienced at breaking ice."

According to the Corps of Engineers, the earliest tow arrival in St. Paul was on March 4 in 1984 and 2000. The latest arrival on record was May 11, 2001, due to flood waters. The average opening date is March 20.

"The Minnesota barge and towing industry is hoping that 2004 tonnage will increase over last year," said Lambert. "In 2003 Minnesota shipped 7.5 million tons of grain on the Mississippi River to New Orleans for export. Normally we ship over nine million tons of grain, which is the state's main river export."

Other exports include potash, asphalt, scrap iron and petroleum. The river system also brings sand and gravel, fertilizer, salt, cement, coal and caustic soda to Minnesota.

Each barge carries 1,500 to 1,650 tons of freight—15 times more freight than a rail car and 60 times more freight than a truck. One gallon of fuel can move one ton of freight 514 miles on the river.

Minnesota has five ports on the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers—Minneapolis, St. Paul, Savage, Red Wing and Winona.

For more information on waterway navigation, check out the Web site at: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/boat.html.

By Donna Lindberg

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Art Bolland catches up with his e-mail and other office duties upon his return to work. Photo by Sandy East

Art Bolland, Willmar/District 8 materials engineer, earned the Gerald R. Rohrbach Award for his contributions in the field of pavement design and performance at this year’s Minnesota Pavement Conference.

The conference, now in its eighth year, focuses on the technical aspects of pavement research, design and performance.

The award is presented in the memory of Gerald "Gerry" Rohrbach, who served as Mn/DOT’s director of Materials and Road Research until his retirement in 2002. He died of cancer later that year.

Scot Bolland of Maple Grove, Bolland’s son, accepted the award for his father because Bolland was hospitalized during his recent three-month battle with pancreatitis.

Bolland returned to work on a part-time basis on March 24.

His career with Mn/DOT started in 1966, including 30 years with District 8. Bolland held several posts with the department including serving as director of Materials and Road Research.

Receiving the award was humbling, Bolland said, because it is usually given to prominent researchers in the field.

"This is the first time they’ve given the award to someone from a district office and, by extension, to my cohorts—the front-line people out there crawling around on the roads, trying to fix them and tracking their performance," he said.

Among those who contacted him, he said, was Dave Newcomb, a former University of Minnesota pavement researcher who now serves as vice president of the National Asphalt Paving Association in Virginia.

On his first day back at work since December, Bolland said he was also grateful for the support he received from co-workers at District 8, the Maplewood Lab and other offices and from thousands of others who contacted him via a Web site operated by Caring Bridge, an organization that connects people who have serious illnesses with friends, family and people who have similar conditions.

"The Caring Bridge Web site made it possible for me to post my condition, report my progress and stay in touch with lots of people without having to tell my story over again thousands of times," he said.

By Craig Wilkins

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Technical expertise demonstrated in concrete paving projects earned recognition for Mn/DOT, other government agencies and contractors from the Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota.

The association presented the awards March 18 in Rochester during its annual recognition event. Representatives from the association, local governmental units and Mn/DOT chose the award winners.

Other government units receiving awards included Olmsted County, Owatonna, St. Paul, Austin and the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Awards for technical excellence were given in several categories including divided urban and rural highways, state highways and county and township roads. Award criteria include ride smoothness, joint construction, project complexity and appearance, said Joel Williams, contract administration, Construction, and a member of the judging panel.

The Metro District earned two paving awards. The district was cited for its work rebuilding Hwy 100 between Duluth Street and Glenwood Avenue in Golden Valley and for restoring concrete pavement on Hwy 77 between Hwy 62 and I-494.

Duluth/District 1 was honored for its work on Hwy 194 (Mesaba Avenue) in Duluth while the Mankato District earned an award for rebuilding Hwy 60 between Heron Lake and Windom.

The Brainerd District earned recognition for a concrete overlay project on Hwy 10 between Motley and Staples; the Willmar District earned honors for reconstructing a 1.5-mile section of Hwy 212 in Olivia.

The Metro District was also cited for managing traffic successfully on heavily traveled Hwy 100 while it was under reconstruction in Golden Valley.

By Craig Wilkins

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Practices such as anti-icing and pre-wetting helped Mn/DOT earn environmental stewardship awards from the Freshwater Society for reducing the amount of salt and sand used for winter highway maintenance.

The society and a consulting firm, The Fortin Co., honored the department for implementing the Salt Solutions program and other efforts that use de-icing chemicals more effectively. Cited for their efforts were Wendy Frederickson, Salt Solutions coordinator; Kathy Schaefer, Community Transportation Assistance Program coordinator, Maintenance Operations Research, and four members of Duluth/District 1’s maintenance staff.

The awards cite the recipients’ outstanding work to lessen the environmental impacts associated with winter highway maintenance, said Jeanne Prok, the society’s program director.

Frederickson was cited for her role as the department’s Salt Solutions coordinator; Schaefer was recognized for providing related training to city, county and staff from other government units.

Prok said measures such as "dialing down" application rates for salt and cutting the use of sand benefited the state’s environment during the winter.

Duluth/District 1 pioneered developing and using techniques that enable individual snowplow operators to determine the most effective salt application rates based on factors such as air and ground temperatures, precipitation and current road conditions.

The district also equipped most of its snowplows for pre-wetting and trained operators to use ground-oriented sanders and related equipment to determine the optimal rates for salt and other chemical applications. District 1’s Salt Solutions coordinators Holly Johnson, Virginia, and Steve Baublitz, Duluth, earned recognition for their efforts. Greg Pierzina, maintenance supervisor at Virginia, and Tim Sheehy, district maintenance superintendent, received honors for implementing pre-wetting, anti-icing and other practices to reduce salt use.

Sheehy said the district has cut the amount of chlorides used per storm, including the cold and snowy 2003-04 winter. The district has also reduced sand use to lower runoff into drains and waterways, airborne dust levels and spring clean-up costs.

District 1, Sheehy said, will continue its efforts.

"We’ll continue to implement anti-icing throughout the district, improve our tools such as liquid de-icers and equipment, train our operators in best practices continue to reduce sand and chemical use while maintaining acceptable levels of service for the public," he said.

By Craig Wilkins

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Jim Povich stands above the papier-mâché sculpture he and his wife, Jude, created for Mn/DOT's newly remodeled St. Cloud/District 3 office and Conference Center. Photo by Dave Gonzalez

Two brightly colored forms, suspended in mid-flight, greet visitors to Mn/DOT's newly remodeled St. Cloud/District 3 office and Conference Center. The papier-mâché pair are the work of artists and sculptors, Jim Povich and his wife, Jude.

The couple started working on the trapeze artists after earlier attempts by St. Cloud employees to get artwork brought into the building was left up in the air. Initially, budget woes brought a group of employees together to find a creative solution to the lack of funding for artwork in the St. Cloud building.

After an attempt by the Art Committee to solicit artwork from employees produced only a handful of submissions, the group went back to the drawing board. In the meantime, the State Arts Board had its funding restored; and the group decided to work with the Arts Board. That was months ago.

"Visitors were starting to comment on the sterile and stark look of the building; I got tired of waiting to hear from State Arts Board," said Povich, who took matters into his own hands—literally.

How did the idea for TRAPEZE ARTISTS take flight? Years ago, Povich remembered seeing plaster trapeze artists hanging in the Butler Square Building during a visit to the warehouse district near the Target Center.

"I thought our three-story lobby was perfect to create that type of art. We thought it would be a weekend project," said Povich, who admits he and Jude had never done that type of art project before. "Actually, the project took two months of nights and weekends to complete—100 hours in the end requiring considerable drying time," he added.

EDITOR’S NOTE: You can read the entire Povich article in District 3’s January 2004 newsletter. To read other district newsletters and learn about local news and features, click on the links provided on Mn/DOT Newsline’s navigation bar.

By Cathy Clark, district public affairs coordinator

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