By Craig Wilkins

Highway maintenance crews met Oct. 4-5 in St. Cloud for the annual Fall Maintenance Expo and Roadeo to hone their skills—just one week before a storm dropped up to eight inches of snow and put those same skills to the test.

The early-October storm made clear the need for snowplow operators, mechanics, supervisors and others to stay current with the latest developments in winter maintenance operations.

More than 1,800 people participated in the event’s first day and nearly 1,400 attended during the second.  

Tom Tufenk, Central Office garage supervisor and an event planner, said both days set records for attendance.

Mn/DOT and the Minnesota Street Superintendents Association sponsor the event, which drew participants from township, city, county, state and tribal governments and from neighboring states as well.

“The strong attendance shows that many government agencies are placing more importance on training,” said Steve Lund, Office of Maintenance director.

“Employees and managers are improving their skills and staying current with the latest developments to improve delivery of winter maintenance services,” he said.

The roadeo course simulates winter snowplow conditions and challenges drivers’ abilities to perform maneuvers such as backing and making tight turns while avoiding obstacles such as cones and barricades.

A total of 120 snowplow operators participated in the roadeo.

Mn/DOT’s top scorer was Adam Miller, a transportation generalist assigned to the Rochester District’s Faribault truck station. He was appointed as a full-time employee in 2004.

“The roadeo was a good experience,” he said. “There are things that I could have done differently. I hope to use what I learned the next time I get to compete.”

Overall top scorer was Steve Moening, a Stearns County highway maintenance worker in Sauk Centre.

In addition to the roadeo competition, the event included training in areas such as managing roadside vegetation and anti-icing methods used before a storm to prevent snow and ice from adhering to road surfaces.

Equipment manufacturers and other vendors displayed their products during the event.

When he wasn’t competing, Miller said he visited equipment manufacturers, met with other maintenance staff and participated in workshops, including one on proper lifting techniques he found especially helpful.

“I saw a lot of new ideas in technology such as lighting, snowplow design and equipment such as the new Caterpillar road grader,” he said.

This year’s roadeo is the 11th to include participants other than Mn/DOT employees and the second to include representatives from other states.

“We all work better when we share our expertise and engage in friendly competition, training and informal discussions,” Lund said.

By Jeanne Aamodt

This month Mn/DOT announced the awarding of millions of dollars in grants to local governments to help improve roads and bridges in their communities.

Bonding program to provide $52.5 million for local bridges in 2006-07

Dozens of county, city and township bridge projects broke ground during this summer's road construction season thanks to a state bonding program managed by Mn/DOT.

The Local Bridge Replacement program is funding some 200 local bridges with $52.5 million in bonding obligation during the 2006 and 2007 construction seasons. The bridge projects received grants ranging from $25,000 to $3.7 million. They include such projects as Norman County 3 over the Wild Rice River in northwestern Minnesota, Anoka County 49 over Rice Creek in the Twin Cities Metro area and Blue Earth County 42 over the Minnesota River in the southern part of the state.  

“There are thousands of bridges across the state, many owned by local government,” said Lt. Gov./Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau. “This program allows Mn/DOT through its state aid program to fund bridge projects that keep vital transportation links open across the state.”

The local bridge program is funded by the Legislature using general obligation bonds. In 2005, the program funded 125 bridge projects with $42 million.

More information on this and other state aid programs is available on Mn/DOT's Web site at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/stateaid/. A complete list of projects is on Mn/DOT's Web site.

Mn/DOT awards $16 million in road improvement grants   

Mn/DOT recently awarded $16 million in improvement grants to deliver 62 new local road improvement projects in 2007.

The funds are aimed at improving transportation deficiencies and safety on local roads statewide. Projects range from pavement reconstruction of farm-to-market arteries and tourism routes, to safety improvements such as turn lane additions, intersection lighting and edge-line striping. Fifty-four of the projects are in Greater Minnesota; eight are in the Twin Cities metro area.

"Many of these roads connect farms to market or support regional trade and tourism," Molnau said. “We are addressing the needed improvements to ensure that our local transportation infrastructure also supports the well-being of this state."

The funds, secured by the 2006 Legislature, are part of the state's Local Road Improvement Grant program, established in 2002 and funded for the first time in 2005. Last year the program provided $10 million in bond funds which funded 40 projects across the state

"Earlier this year we asked cities, townships and other local governments to submit projects that are regionally significant and in need of repair or where safety is clearly an issue. We have more applicants than we have funds, but this program will make a difference in many communities," said Molnau.

The Routes of Regional Significance account provides grants for cities, towns and counties to assist in paying the costs of constructing or reconstructing city streets, county highways or town roads with statewide or regional significance that have not been fully funded through other state, federal or local funding sources.

The Rural Road Safety account provides grants for counties to assist in paying the costs of capital improvement projects on County State Aid Highways that are intended primarily to reduce traffic crashes, deaths, injuries and property damage.  

Selection criteria and program guidance are provided by Minnesota 's Local Road Improvement Advisory Committee, which consists of county and city officials from across the state.

The State Aid for Local Transportation Division administers the program.

For more information:

• Routes of Regional Significance Grants
• Rural Road Safety Grants

By Craig Wilkins

Employees in District 7 and throughout the department mourn the death of Darrell Blackwell from the Sleepy Eye truck station. He was killed Oct. 5 when the mower he was operating collided with a semi-trailer truck on Hwy 4 near Fairfax.

Blackwell, 65, died instantly at the crash scene.

His career with Mn/DOT started in 1995 as a seasonal employee at the Gaylord truck station. He accepted his position at Sleepy Eye later that year.

Blackwell is the 30th Mn/DOT employee to die in the line of duty since 1960.

Rich DeSaer, a co-worker at Sleepy Eye, said Blackwell was “a good guy who liked to tell stories about his kids and farming. As a worker and a farmer, he really enjoyed mowing, the very thing he was doing when he died.  

“He will be missed here and even more so by his family,” DeSaer said.

Tom Zimmerman, maintenance superintendent at Windom, said Blackwell was a reliable, steady employee who enjoyed his work, farming and dancing.  

A funeral service for Blackwell was held Oct .9 in Fairfax, where he lived and operated a small farm.

His survivors include his father, a sister, eight children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Blackwell’s name and years of service will be inscribed on the Transportation Workers Memorial in the Transportation Building in St. Paul.

Lt. Gov./Commissioner Carol Molnau said Blackwell’s death is a sobering reminder of the dangers Mn/DOT employees face while working in the field.

“Darrell’s death is a tragedy for his family, friends and co-workers,” she said. “His loss underscores the service and commitment made by Mn/DOT employees every day to maintain our transportation system and the safety of the people who use it.”

By Craig Wilkins

Surprised Central Office employees and visitors found the doors on the John Ireland Boulevard side of the building locked the morning of Oct. 18.

Signs on the doors directed employees and visitors to use the Rice Street entrance where they were checked by Mn/DOT staff and a Capitol Security officer for proper identification.

The 7 to 9 a.m. lockdown of the St. Paul building came as part of the Oct. 17-18 homeland security exercise held by the Metro District.

The CO lockdown barred access to the building from several outside doors, the garage, the tunnel system, loading dock and other areas, said Mike Garza, director of Civil Rights and Administrative Services.

Garza said his office received the directive to implement the lockdown phase of the CO’s security plan late on the afternoon of Oct. 17.

“We were informed that the national security alert was at its highest level, and we had just a few hours to prepare,” he said.

Preparation included coordination with Capitol Security, the Department of Administration and other agencies.

The Metro District’s security exercise completes the round of security exercises held in each district this year.

Duluth/District 1 conducted its exercise in late September. The district’s scenario included threats to bridges and highways in the Duluth-Superior from bombs, landslides and overturned trucks.

The exercises are designed to test and train district employees in managing responses to terrorist-related incidents and other crisis situations.  

Sonia Morphew, director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said each of the district exercises was tailored to events they are most likely to experience. Exercise scenarios have included threats to bridges, shopping malls and casinos, hazardous waste spills and key staff members’ being injured in car crashes and unavailable for duty.

Metro’s scenario, for example, included explosions at two Mall of America parking ramps, a cell phone system failure, release of radioactive materials seized by terrorists and an evacuation of the Waters Edge Building in response to a bomb threat.

An after-action review follows each exercise.

“Overall, these exercises have helped us identify strengths and needed improvements and determine future training and planning needs,” Morphew said.

By Donna Lindberg

Transit professionals from Minnesota and Wisconsin came together in LaCrosse, Wisc., Oct. 2-4 to for the annual Minnesota/Wisconsin Public Transit Conference.

“Service improvement was the focus of this conference,” said Donna Allan, Office of Transit director. “Attendees learned from each other how to better serve their clients.”

Speakers at the conference included Brian Lamb, Metro Transit, and Rod Clark, Wisconsin DOT.

Break-out sessions included information about federal and state transit programs, a European Tour of Public Transit and the effect of the Americans with Disabilities Act on rural transit systems.

Honorees at this year’s conference include Deb Little, Northfield Transit, who was named Transit Professional of the year, Aaron Isaacs, Metro Transit-retired, who was recognized for his distinguished career, and Pipestone County Transit, which won the transit system of the year award.

“Pipestone Transit really deserved this award for creating a culture of great customer service,” said Allan.

The Minnesota state employee Combined Charities Campaign is again underway now through Oct. 31.

The campaign allows employees to contribute to any of hundreds of charities that serve other Minnesotans simply by specifying an amount to be deducted from their paychecks in 2007.

Information brochures about the eligible charities were sent to state employees earlier this month. Additional information can be found on the combined charities Web site at www.charities.state.mn.us.

To make a pledge, use the State Employee Self Service Web site at www.state.mn.us/employee, click on “Other Payroll” then on “Charitable Deductions.”