Bob Johnson and Al Schwanke, both transportation generalists with Rochester/District 6 Maintenance, chat with Lt. Gov./Commissioner Carol Molnau at the ROC 52 event on Oct. 1. Photo by David Gonzalez

Several hundred people attended the ROC 52 Celebration on Oct. 1 in Rochester to celebrate a state milestone—the near-completion of the first design-build, best value highway project.

“Construction activities will continue through 2005, but we wanted the community to help us celebrate this milestone before the snow flies,” said Terry Ward, Mn/DOT’s ROC 52 project manager.

Minor work, such as seeding and painting, will continue through spring 2006 but won’t affect traffic, he said. The Hwy 52 project, which runs from the junction of Hwy 63 on the south side of Rochester to 85th Street Northwest, is expected to cost $239 million when it is completed.

The community celebration included displays of the project progress, construction projects for kids, face painting and a clown.

Many community leaders were on hand to praise the speed with which the project is being completed, which was originally envisioned as an 11-year venture.

Speakers included Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Lt. Gov./Commissioner Carol Molnau and Rochester/District 6 Engineer Nelrae Succio, as well as U.S. Congressmen Gil Gutknecht and Mark Kennedy; State Senators David Senjem and Sheila Kiscaden; State Representatives Fran Bradley, Tina Liebling and Randy Demmer; Olmsted County Board Chair Paul Wilson; Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede; City Council Chair Dennis Hanson and Zumbro River Constructors President Herb Morgan.     

Singing at the ROC 52 celebration with Marlene Horsman, administrative specialist in Rochester/District 6, are Kevin Hammell and John Dube. The group, called "Side One," performed several songs, including a rewritten version of "On the Road Again" entitled "On 52 Again." Photo by David Gonzalez

The community was invited to sign a large banner proclaiming, “In this Together, 11 miles in 1,000 days.” The banner will be displayed in the Rochester/District 6 headquarters.

Mn/DOT awarded the ROC 52 design-build, best-value contract to Zumbro River Constructors in December 2002. Since then, other design-build projects have been initiated, including Hwy 212 in Chaska and Eden Prairie, Interstate 494 in Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, Hwy 52 near Oronoco, and the interchange of Hwy 32 and Hwy 10 near Hawley.

• ROC 52 project, www.ROC52.com
• Other Mn/DOT design-build projects, http://www.dot.state.mn.us/designbuild/

By Kristine Hernandez, District 6 public affairs coordinator

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Brady Thorson and Ray Rucinski, both transportation generalists in Bemidji/District 2, put up a new speed limit sign along Hwy 2. Photo by Karen Bedeau

“The HEAT is on,” officials from Mn/DOT and Public Safety announced Sept. 26 in three news conferences across the state.

HEAT (highway enforcement of aggressive traffic) is a new statewide speed management program designed to better control speeding, increase safety on state roadways and remind drivers that the posted speed limit is the speed limit.

HEAT is supported by $2.5 million in federal funding for speed limit enforcement on state roadways for one year—translating into nearly 1,400 hours of additional enforcement per week across the state.

Additionally, the speed limit on 930 miles of state highways will increase from 55 mph to 60 mph.

“The program’s goal is to make Minnesota ’s roadways safer,” said Lt. Gov./ Commissioner Carol Molnau. “The funding means law enforcement will have more resources to rein in drivers who speed. We want to remind motorists that the posted speed limit is the speed limit and that the HEAT is on.

“Engineering shows that the 5 mph speed limit increase on these specific highways will foster consistent speeds and help motorists operate more safely.”

Traffic analysis indicates that drivers currently travel anywhere from 55 mph to more than 65 mph on these highways, a spread that poses a safety hazard.

"Increased enforcement of traffic laws on our roads increases public safety for all," said Michael Campion, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. "Illegal and unsafe speeding is as dangerous and costly as impaired driving and not wearing seat belts. It is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.

Bernie Arseneau, Office of Traffic, Safety and Operations director, Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau and Michael Campion, Public Safety commissioner, stand by a newly erected speed limit sign in Duluth/District 1. Photo by John Bray

"To be effective and with as large a scope as possible, law enforcement at local, county and state levels are working in close coordination in this effort," he said. "Ultimately, motorists need to drive responsibly at the posted speed."

Mn/DOT will study the effect of the increased enforcement and increased speed limit during the next year, according to Bernie Arseneau, Office of Traffic, Safety and Operations director.

"Mn/DOT and DPS are partnering with the University of Minnesota to thoroughly evaluate the program,” he said. “We are measuring before- and after-data on actual speeds of vehicles, number of citations issued and number of serious crashes. In addition, we will conduct market research to determine the effect of the enforcement on the perception of motorists relative to safety and driver behavior."

By Kevin Gutknecht

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Beryl Board, a Metro District maintenance supervisor, takes a moment to relax with one of the dogs at the Louisiana shelter. Photo courtesy of the Humane Society of the United States

Beryl Board’s first day back at work on Oct. 4 was eerily like what she had left behind—working for two weeks as a volunteer animal rescuer in hurricane-ravaged Louisiana.

There was the 17-hour day, water everywhere and a service to provide for the public.

Board is the maintenance supervisor at the Metro District’s Oakdale truck station.

In Louisiana , her experience was working 15- to 20-hour days rescuing pets and reuniting them with their owners in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The rescue operation also had to cope with more adversity when Hurricane Rita struck the Gulf Coast with high winds, heavy rains and storm-created tornadoes.

In the Twin Cities metropolitan area, Board helped support Mn/DOT’s response to an unusual autumn deluge that dropped as much as eight inches of rain on the region in just a few hours.

A record 4.61 inches of rain fell at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport . The previous record was 2.75 inches.

The constant downpour—as much as an inch per hour—flooded ramps, triggered mudslides and forced closing several highways.

Board’s crews joined forces with several others from the Metro District to put up barricades, erect road closed signs and clear out clogged drains.  

Widespread flooding forced closing of parts of Interstate 494, I-35, Hwy 61 and Hwy 169. Only the southbound lanes of I-35 at Hwy 70 south of Pine City remained closed during the morning traffic peak.

Near I-494 and Hwy 61 in Newport, the construction site for the new Wakota Bridge, Board said “a river of water, mud and debris” raged down a ravine near Bailey Road, covering the eastbound lanes of the freeway with muck and ripping out a section of pavement on eastbound I-494.

The torrential rain also caused mudslides in the construction area where the Metro District is rebuilding I-494 in Minnetonka and Eden Prairie . Flooding in that area also required closing the ramp from Valley View Road to I-494.

Kent Barnard, a Metro District public affairs coordinator, explained that construction sites are often most affected by flooding.

“The roads have no shoulders and temporary concrete barriers channel water along the road surface. Add to that the roads aren’t crowned like permanent highways to drain water,” he said. “There’s no place for the water to go.”

Board said a well-coordinated response by the district’s maintenance forces enabled motorists to use nearly all normal commuting routes by the start of the rush hour on Oct. 5.

Interstate 494 between Bailey Road and Concord Street was reopened about 7:30 a.m., said Todd Kramascz, operations supervisor at the Regional Transportation Management Center.

For Board, the short-lived storm and flooding conditions, while serious, pale in comparison with her recent experience in Louisiana .

“Here, I have a job and a car and a bed to sleep in,” she said.

She drove her Jeep and trailer 29 straight hours to Gonzalez, La., where the Humane Society of the United States operates one of its animal shelters. Locally, Board is a volunteer with Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota.

During her long days and nights at the shelter, Board said she helped with caring for and placing thousands of dogs, cats, horses and other animals in other shelters or with their owners.

Her most difficult time, Board said, was on rescue missions in New Orleans where she experienced the destruction left by Katrina first-hand.

Board said actually seeing New Orleans was much worse than she expected, but she was buoyed by the spirit and generosity of the people there and elsewhere. One man who lost nearly everything gave her a double-bitted axe to go along with the crowbar she used to enter homes where pets were believed to be stranded.

“This has been a life-changing experience for me,” she said. Board recalled one incident when a woman saw the animal rescue sign on her Jeep at a gas station.

“The woman asked, ‘Can I give you a hug, I have nothing else to give,’’ Board said. “You can’t help but be changed by that.”  

By Craig Wilkins

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Jerry Anderson, maintenance supervisor, Spring Lake Park truck station, surveys the work of Mn/DOT crews called on to help clear debris caused by the wind storms that blew through dozens of Twin Cities metro area communities on Sept. 21. Marv Brown, heavy equipment operator, runs the front-end loader in a northern Columbia Heights neighborhood. Photo by R. Kent Barnard

The straight-line winds and tornadoes that roared through the Twin Cities the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 21, left a path of debris and damaged and destroyed homes. The destruction prompted the governor to issue an executive order one week later, asking Mn/DOT to provide equipment and staff to assist local units of government in gathering and disposing of downed trees and other waste.

Crews and equipment from Mn/DOT’s truck stations in Camden, Eden Prairie, Golden Valley, Hastings, Maple Grove and Spring Lake Park responded.

Workers from the six maintenance shops have spent the last two weeks wielding front end loaders and maneuvering dump trucks through the narrow streets of communities like Andover, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Columbia Heights, Fridley and New Brighton.

Debris collected from front yards, boulevards and streets were scooped up and delivered to area brush dump sites for further disposal.                                                                               

The work was expected to wrap up by Friday, Oct. 7.

By R. Kent Barnard, Metro District public affairs coordinator

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Bridge engineers from around the United States inspect the pre-fab bridge components at Center City. Photo by David Gonzalez

Near Upper Red Lake in Lake of the Woods County, a contractor’s crew works intently to complete a uniquely designed new bridge to carry Hwy 72 over the Tamarac River.

In Center City, about 40 miles north of the Twin Cities metro area, another contractor using the same design nears completion of a bridge on Hwy 8.

Instead of the standard cast-in-place process, the design uses beams that are made off site, and then delivered to the site where they can be lifted into place like a giant set of Legos.

Both new bridges employ pre-fabricated, interlocking concrete beams that form the deck for each bridge.

The beams are made in the shape of an inverted “T.” When installed, they create a form for pouring the concrete to create the bridge deck.

Hagen said the beams, six feet wide and 16 inches deep, are made with steel reinforcing bars placed in the concrete. The bars extend from the beam edges and overlap at the joint between adjacent beams.

When the concrete deck is poured, these bars tie the system together.

The bridges are the first in the United States to use the design concept, which originated in France .

Contract employees lower a pre-fab bridge beam into place on the Hwy 72 bridge in District 2. Photo by David Gonzalez

In early September, nearly 150 bridge designers, contractors and engineers met in the Twin Cities to review the design, then visited the site to see first-hand how it’s working on the Center City project.

Kevin Hagen, a bridge design engineer with the Office of Bridge, said the design’s primary purpose is to cut construction time.

Time savings stem from eliminating the need to build scaffolding, false work and the wooden forms used to mold deck spans and other bridge components, he said.

"On the average, using pre-fab deck spans can cut construction time between two weeks and a month for a typical bridge,” Hagen said.

Saving time ranks as a crucial factor for the Hwy 72 bridge, said Bill Pirkl, project engineer at Bemidji/District 2.

“By eliminating false work and scaffolding, we were able to stage this bridge so we could build it one lane at a time and avoid creating a 160 mile-detour in this very sparsely populated region,” Pirkl said.

“The process is really slick, and its flexibility helped us avoid that long detour,” he said.

The design shaved about two weeks from the time needed to build the bridge at Center City. Hagen said the design was chosen for the Hwy 8 to expedite construction and to allow the University of Minnesota to monitor the system.

The largest beams used for either project are six feet wide, 16 inches deep and about 45 feet long, Hagen said. A beam that size weighs about 25 tons.

Hagen said the initial success with using pre-fabricated beams may lead to additional use of the technique.  

He said costs would drop after first-time fabrication costs are recovered and as Mn/DOT bridge builders become more familiar with the process.

“We had some delays in getting set up,” Hagen said,” but we expect the projects to go more smoothly and to cost less as we get used to the new method.”

More information about the pre-cast slab system can be viewed at: www.dot.state.mn.us/bridge/PrecastSlabSystem/PrecastSlabSystem.html .

By Craig Wilkins

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Jon Erickson, chief project inspector, narrates a bus tour of the project area. Photo by David Gonzalez

Okay, it’s not Rolling Stone, but Mn/DOT will have a picture on the cover of Roads and Bridges— and a feature article about the reconstruction of the Interstate 494/694 freeway ring as well.

The national magazine chose Mn/DOT for an award for the project and selected photos that will appear in the publication’s October issue. It will be available in mid-October.

Project staff held an open house and a tour of the project area by bus to mark its progress on Oct. 3.

Mn/DOT earned recognition for the overall scope of rebuilding the I-494/I-694 loop around the Twin Cities metropolitan area and for the Metro District’s and the contractor’s  efforts to keep at least two lanes of traffic open to motorists in the I-494 project area.

The second stage of the project extends nearly eight miles from I-394 in Minnetonka to Hwy 5 in Eden Prairie. The project required replacing 14 bridges as well as reconstructing the roadway; cost is about $135 million.

The first stage involved rebuilding I-494 from France Avenue in Bloomington to Hwy 5 in Eden Prairie.   

Kevin Anderson, design-build project manager, updates participants at the Oct. 3 open house on the project’s progress. Photo by David Gonzalez

The magazine’s editors cited the project’s use of concrete with a 60-year life expectancy, stainless steel dowel bars and the use of fly ash in the concrete mix. The project also includes strengthened bituminous shoulders to allow transit buses to use them.  

Roads and Bridges also recognized the project for innovations such as a rush hour tow truck patrol, pull-off sites for motorists with disabled cars and the project’s plan that keeps two lanes of traffic for commuters open except for designated evening and weekend closures.

Kevin Anderson, design-build project manager, said the editors also cited the contractor’s use of wireless transmitters to keep traffic cameras in operation during the reconstruction work.

Anderson said the project is about 50 percent complete with all four lanes of traffic being switched onto the new concrete pavement on the southbound side of the freeway. The contractor is beginning to remove the existing pavement on the northbound lanes.

“This area, especially in the southwestern and northwestern corners of the I-494/694 loop, has been congested for years,” Anderson told Roads and Bridges. “This is a much-needed project.”

By Craig Wilkins

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Reconstruction of the Hwy 38 Edge of the Wilderness National Scenic Byway Corridor includes four-foot paved shoulders with rumble strips, additional reinforced soft shoulders, shallow ditch bottoms and steeper back-slopes to minimize adverse environmental and visual impacts. Photo by Neil Kveberg

Reconstruction of the Hwy 38 Edge of the Wilderness National Scenic Byway Corridor in District 1 recently won recognition for its context-sensitive approach from the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials.

AASHTO’s Center for Environmental Excellence named Minnesota and two other states as winners of the 2005 Best Practices in Context-Sensitive Solutions competition. AASHTO received 75 applications from 33 states.

The Hwy 38 project won in the Best Project category. Other winners were the New York DOT in the Best Institutional Change category for its context-sensitive solutions implementation initiative and the Oregon DOT in the Best Program category for it state bridge delivery program.

According to AASHTO, the winning transportation projects, programs and initiatives demonstrate exemplary efforts in CSS that will serve as models for achieving transportation solutions that fit the natural and human environment while achieving mobility and safety goals and enhancing community values.

The 47-mile Hwy 38 Edge of the Wilderness National Scenic Byway Corridor weaves around lakes and wetlands through the Chippewa National Forest in northeastern Minnesota and was originally developed in the 1920s to replace a logging railroad. In the early 1990s, when Mn/DOT sought to reconstruct the roadway to enhance its safety and efficiency, the department developed partnerships with federal, state and local stakeholders to guide the project’s planning and design process.

This corridor interpretive park and trailhead site along the byway links users to a multi-use trail that crosses a river and links to other area trail systems. Photo by Neil Kveberg

Mn/DOT initially believed that flattening and straightening out the road would be important to the logging industry, the major employer using the corridor. Instead, the consensus among stakeholders was to maintain the two-lane roadway and existing alignment and incorporate spot upgrades where needed for safety improvements. This approach significantly reduced the roadway impacts on the land.  

For more information, see the AASHTO 2005 Best Practices in Context-Sensitive Solutions brochure.

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Mn/DOT employees who retire may have an option to continue working on a part-time basis after retirement.

The 2005 Legislature allowed state agencies to employ retirees in order to retain knowledge and expertise that would otherwise be lost when an employee retires.

The law covers employees who retire after July 1, 2005.

The legislation allows retired employees to work without having their retirement annuities reduced and to receive partial payment for medical and dental insurance.

The employer’s contribution to health plans is determined by a formula based on the number of hours worked, said Rich Peterson, labor relations director, Human Resources.

He said, for example, that a person who works half-time would receive a 75 percent reimbursement for individual health and dental insurance coverage.

The appointments would be for a maximum of 1,044 hours per year—half-time—for one year. The one-year appointments can, however, be renewed for a maximum of five years.

Mn/DOT management will determine the job classes, positions and responsibilities that post-retirement employees could fill, Peterson said. A written agreement will specify the responsibilities of each position.

In a letter to state agency managers, Commissioner Cal Ludeman of the Department of Employee Relations said the program’s purpose is to retain employees who have critical skills and organizational knowledge that would be lost due to retirement.

He said the program will give managers another tool to meet staffing needs.

To become eligible, employees must have worked at least half-time in a position in the preceding five years, retire from state service and take the steps needed to collect pension payments from the Minnesota State Retirement System.

“This option allows us to re-employ retirees to support succession planning, training and mentoring as well as meeting operational staffing needs,” Ludeman said.

Retirees may be offered part-time employment from their former agency or another department in the same or in a different job class.

Retirees appointed to post-retirement position are placed in the unclassified service category. During their employment, neither the agency nor the employee contributes to MSRS. In addition, employees earn no additional MSRS service credit.

Peterson said employees should carefully examine their retirement plans and income sources such as Social Security before applying for the program.

“The Commissioner’s Staff is currently reviewing how to implement this program at Mn/DOT,” he said. “Our division directors will work with district engineers and office directors to determine how we can employ retirees on a part-time basis to benefit from their experience and to support the department’s goals and objectives.”

By Craig Wilkins

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The deadline for contributing to this year's Combined Charities Campaign is Oct. 21.

Mn/DOT and other state employees can strengthen their communities by participating in this year’s Combined Charities Campaign.  

Participants can choose from among more than 400 organizations funded by the annual campaign to support. The deadline for contributing to this year's Combined Charities Campaign is Oct. 21. 

The organizations include those which support community-building, the arts, education, health, affordable housing and other initiatives to promote the well-being of Minnesotans.

For 2005, the donation goal for state employees is $1 million. State employees contributed more than $900,000 last year.

Contributions can be made via payroll deductions online by using the state employees self-service Web site: www.state.mn.us/employee.

Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau, who chairs the 2005 campaign, urges employees to continue their legacy of generosity and support for community improvement.

“Please help us raise our goal of a million dollars and continue the history of state employee’s generosity, Molnau said. “Just one or two dollars a paycheck can help strengthen our communities and impact lives. Your contribution, whether large or small, makes a difference in our Minnesota ‘neighborhood,’” she said

Ron Bisek, Office of Technical Support, serves as Mn/DOT’s campaign coordinator.

For more information, contact Bisek or visit the Combined Charities Web site at www.charities.state.mn.us.

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Return your Mn/DOT Newsline opinion survey to Market Research, MS 440, by Oct. 14.

The Office of Communications, with the help of Market Research, is conducting an opinion survey about Mn/DOT Newsline and the information it provides. Surveys were mailed to a random sample of 900 Mn/DOT employees last week. If you receive a survey form, we encourage you to take a few minutes and respond to it. Your comments will help us better serve the information needs of the department. Please return the surveys to Market Research, MS 440, by Oct. 14.

If you did not receive a survey but would like to provide Mn/DOT Newsline staff with your views about the newsletter, feel free to use the “Feedback” button on the left-hand navigation bar at any time and send us your comments.

Thank you!
Chris Joyce, editor

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