A worker loads salt into a snowplow at the Baxter truck station during a December storm. Photo by Jenny Seelen

This year’s mild winter has been anything but kind to district maintenance budgets.

The warmer than usual weather created frequent freezing rain storms. Temperatures hovering just above and below freezing caused repeated melting and freezing cycles, requiring frequent applications of salt and other de-icers to the state’s highways.

Extended periods of cloudiness reduced available solar energy that can speed the melting process.

In short, a mild winter is becoming a very expensive one.

Salt use increased dramatically between October and the end of January compared with the 2004-05 snow and ice season. Related costs such as overtime and fuel have increased as well.  

Rick Arnebeck, Office of Maintenance director, said that Mn/DOT has nearly doubled the amount of salt used compared with the most recent three-year average of 121,000 tons.

This season, he said, Mn/DOT has already used 191,741 tons of salt. Some districts, he said, have already used their allotments for the entire year and have been re-supplied.

This winter, the Metro District already has used 49,821 tons compared with last year’s 41,267 tons. The district’s brine use doubled from 55,598 gallons last winter to 109,420 gallons this season.

Heavier use this winter and higher prices per ton resulted in about $7.8 million spent for salt. Costs vary by location, but the price increased by an average of $4 per ton.

Expenditures for salt last winter totaled about $9 million.

Costs for overtime have risen sharply as crews make additional runs to reapply anti-icing and de-icing chemicals during the freeze and thaw cycles.

Fuel use and prices have also spiraled upward this winter. The amount of fuel used has increased as has the cost per gallon of diesel fuel. At times, Arnebeck said, prices for diesel fuel have exceeded the cost of regular gasoline by several cents per gallon.

Dave Dalager, District 2 maintenance superintendent at Crookston, said his region’s experience this winter includes 15 bouts of freezing rain, blowing snow sticking frequently to warm road surfaces and constant freeze and thaw cycles.

“So far this winter, chemical use is killing us,” Dalager said. “We’re getting close to using more than 18,000 tons; usually, we’d use about 10,000 to 12,000 tons.”

At Detroit Lakes, Maintenance Superintendent Dennis Redig said the picture there mirrors Bemidji’s experience.

“We’ve had a lot of freezing rain and drizzle—not what we usually get up here in the frigid country,” he said.

So far, the district has used more than 15,000 tons of salt compared with 13,500 last winter.

The three districts have also increased their use of brine and other chemicals such as magnesium chloride.

“The freeze and thaw cycles lead to icing in the wheel tracks, so we get lots of people using cruise control or just not paying attention to conditions and ending up in ditches on Interstate-94, Hwy 10 and other roads,” he said.

Redig said District 4 also constantly deals with snow collecting on warm roads and constant temperature fluctuations between just below and just above freezing.  

He said district maintenance crews are doing well in spite of working long days and frequent weekend call-outs.   

Arnebeck said in addition to higher use of salt and other resources, the warm weather also increases the spread of potholes.

He said the wet pavements also make it more difficult for winter pothole patching materials to bond. Difficulty with patching the potholes further weakens roads, making them even more vulnerable to damage.

“But we know what our worst enemy is—ice,” Arnebeck said.

He said this winter poses many challenges, but there is an upside.

“We’ve gained a lot more experience using anti-icing chemicals,” Arnebeck said, “and Mn/DOT people have responded with their usual resourcefulness, energy and commitment.”

By Craig Wilkins

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Visiting the site of a new communications tower in Olmsted County are (from left ) Troy Schmidt, radio supervisor at District 6, Andy Terry, Electronic Communications director, and Bruce Wolfgram, District 6 maintenance. The tower is located near Rochester. Photo by David Gonzalez

When a 1998 gas line explosion rocked downtown St. Cloud, the inability to communicate effectively hampered rescue and recovery operations.

Tom Hannon, St. Cloud’s electronic communications director, said the different radio frequencies used by the city, counties and other agencies hindered a coordinated response to the blast.  

Eight years later, however, the communication picture has changed because of the city’s participation in what is known as the ARMER system—Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response.

The recent search to find a missing St. Cloud area college student, Hannon said, shows how real the difference is.

“With the new system,” he said, “we can communicate easily with all city departments, surrounding counties, neighboring cities and state agencies such as the State Patrol and Mn/DOT.”

Hannon said, for example, that the new system allows different agencies to establish “talk groups” that automatically link communication among those involved in the search effort.

Mn/DOT’s Office of Electronic Communications initiated the system’s development in 1999 to improve communication among Mn/DOT employees in maintenance and other field activities and other government agencies.

The system’s first stage began operation in the Twin Cities metro area in 2002, said Andy Terry, OEC director.

A new radio tower in Arden Hills will be become part of the ARMER system. The old tower can be seen in the lower right quadrant.Photo by Kent Barnard

The second stage of the program started extending the system’s reach into the St. Cloud and Rochester areas. The third stage will complete the ARMER system in those regions.  

Terry said narrow-band radio is more reliable than cell phones. The radio system is not affected by conditions such as solar flares, atmospheric conditions and problems with satellite-based communications.

Mn/DOT was the lead agency in the program’s early development. The Department of Public Safety now serves as the project leader.

Terry said the key to the system is interoperability—its ability to carry users’ radio signals simultaneously while providing universal access to its subscribers.

Terry said the system uses a narrow band width, 800 megahertz, and an operating system that automatically links users via pre-programmed, sub-frequencies to make connections and ensure its operation regardless of how busy radio traffic becomes.

Future stages will expand the system to the state’s other regions.

“When the system is completed, we’ll have 95 percent operability in about 95 percent of the state; that’s about as good as it gets,” Terry said.

By Craig Wilkins

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Khani Sahebjam started as Metro District engineer Feb. 8. Photo by Teresa Callies

Khani Sahebjam was appointed to succeed Pat Hughes as the Metro District engineer. The appointment began on Feb. 8.

Hughes retired in January.

Before accepting his new post, Sahebjam served as the Metro District’s program delivery director.

Sahebjam’s career with Mn/DOT began in 1990. He has held several engineering and management positions in bridges and structures, research and state aid.

Before joining Mn/DOT, he worked in private industry with firms in Texas and Minnesota.

Sahebjam holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in structural engineering from South Dakota State University.

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A member of Mn/DOT’s Freeway Incident Response Safety Team suffered minor injuries on Feb. 14 at a crash scene on Interstate 94 and Hwy 252 in Brooklyn Center.

Jason Henry was hurt while providing back-up for another FIRST unit and a State Patrol officer. He was in his truck parked on the shoulder of westbound I-94 when it was struck by another vehicle.

Jason Henry, highway helper, Office of Traffic, Security and Operations. RTMC file photo

Following the crash, Henry was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released for back, neck and knee injuries.  

The crash that injured Henry occurred during the early morning traffic peak hours when freezing rain made driving conditions difficult.

Nick Thompson, operations manager at the Regional Transportation Management Center in Roseville, said he expects Henry to return to work next week.

Henry, a highway helper, is assigned to the RTMC with the Office of Traffic, Security and Operations.

“The FIRST drivers have important but dangerous jobs, especially on days like Tuesday,” Thompson said.

This winter’s warm temperatures often create icy conditions on the state’s highways. To view Mn/DOT’s safe winter driving tips, go to: www.dot.state.mn.us/workzone/.

By Craig Wilkins

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The February issue of the Drive to Excellence newsletter is now online, reports Mark Wikelius, Mn/DOT’s Drive to Excellence director.

This issue provides a summary of the Serving Citizens Better: Promoting Excellence in Public Management conference recently sponsored by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. The conference included a panel of speakers from the Drive to Excellence effort who joined more than 200 participants in discussing the challenges of restoring citizens’ confidence in government through effective public management and innovative solutions.

Also featured in this month’s Drive to Excellence newsletter is the signing of a partnership agreement between Mn/DOT and the state Office of Enterprise Technology that designated the department as a pilot agency for developing and implementing the State's federated model of information technology service delivery (see also Mn/DOT Newsline, Feb. 1, 2006).

As always, in each newsletter you can read about the progress of the initiative’s six teams: purchasing, information technology, licensing, codes consolidation, real property and grants management.

This month's newsletter and past issues are posted on the Drive to Excellence Web site at http://www.excellence.state.mn.us.

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