By Nick Carpenter

Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and other officials including Mn/DOT Commissioner Tom Sorel, welcomed U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to the Twin Cities on June 12 for what the governor called “a celebration of a very important step forward in Minnesota transportation.”

At a news conference along Interstate 35W in Bloomington, Peters signed an agreement that will allow $133 million in federal funds to be used to improve traffic flow and travel time along the I-35W and Hwy 77 corridors between downtown Minneapolis and Lakeville.

The grant, awarded through U.S. DOT’s Urban Partnership Agreement program, will be used to construct new high occupancy toll lanes and a high auxiliary lane/collector distributor ramp; convert existing high occupancy vehicle lanes into HOT lanes; construct four new park-and-ride facilities in Blaine, Eagan, Roseville and Lakeville; purchase 26 new hybrid electric buses and implement innovative traffic technologies.

Peters cited the I-394 MnPASS Express Lanes between downtown Minneapolis and the western suburbs as an international model and “proven way to keep traffic moving.”

Along with the federal funds, transportation officials will have an additional $50 million of state money to work with as a result of legislation passed earlier this year.

Mn/DOT first applied for the grant in early 2007, was awarded the money in August 2007, and will now be able to kick-start the investment process.

“Transportation officials can immediately begin investing the $133 million,” Peters said.

The majority of the projects will be completed in the fall 2009, with the project expected to be finished by 2010.

For more information about the Urban Partnership Agreement and plans for the I-35W corridor, visit http://www.dot.state.mn.us/funding/upa/.

The list includes major replacement projects like the Hwy 61 bridge over the Mississippi River in Hastings, the Interstate 35E Cayuga Bridge in St. Paul and the Hwy 36/St. Croix River crossing south of Stillwater, as well as the Hwy 23 DeSoto bridge in St. Cloud and the I-90 bridge near Dresbach.

Commissioner Tom Sorel and Tim Henkel, Planning, Modal and Data Management Division director, assured members of the joint House and Senate transportation committees that “safety trumps everything.”

The plan specifically addresses bridges defined by statute as Tier 1 and Tier 2—those structures that are either fracture critical or have low sufficiency scores.

Throughout June and July, agency staff will present the draft plan to local stakeholders in each transportation district for feedback.

In addition, Mn/DOT will use the document as a starting point for discussions with officials in Canada, Wisconsin and North Dakota, with whom Minnesota shares ownership for several major bridges on the list.

For more information:

• Bridge replacement and repair program (draft plan, legislative presentation, bridge lists)
• Legislature overrides governor’s veto of transportation funding bill  (Mn/DOT Newsline, Feb. 27, 2008)

By Craig Wilkins

Near Fergus Falls, intense wind bursts blew two semitrailers over on Interstate 94 June 10, forcing the State Patrol to close a section of the freeway for several hours until the trucks were cleared away.

The trucks, both unloaded, were heading in opposite directions when they were toppled by gale-force winds.

In Morgan, a grain elevator fire adjacent to Hwy 67’s right of way required officials to close the road in the Redwood County city for nearly two days.

The highway was initially closed because it was filled with firefighters and their equipment.

The detour was lifted when fire marshals determined the elevator’s burned-out hulk was not in danger of falling onto the roadway.

But the main road-closing factor was flooding.

Throughout the state, floodwaters washed out shoulders, undercut roadbeds, snarled traffic and disrupted everyday life and commerce.

High waters caused scattered road closures in northern and northwestern Minnesota.

Some road sections such as Hwy 28 near Graceville had water covering the roadway, requiring District 4 crews to flag motorists through the area until the water receded.

Flooding was much more severe in other regions.

Water from heavy rains moved across saturated soils in many location, gouging new channels and flooding farm fields and highways.

The city of Austin experienced widespread flooding from the Cedar River. District 6 closed I-90 between Albert Lea and Hwy 56 east of Austin. District officials also closed Hwy 105 from Austin to the Iowa border.

However, the state’s northeastern and southeastern regions bore the brunt of recent floods.

Floods batter scenic Hwy 61 near Grand Marais

In northeastern Minnesota, the Devil Track River washed out part of Hwy 61 north of Grand Marais. The river’s explosive energy and volume overwhelmed a culvert that carries it into Lake Superior.

Both the culvert and the roadway sustained extensive damage. Streets in downtown Grand Marais were flooded as well.

Further south on Hwy 61, Lutsen Creek flooded near Lutsen, causing major damage to the roadway.

Floodwaters also damaged culverts and driveway entrances for 10 miles between Grand Marais and Lutsen.

Duane Hill, District 1 assistant district engineer for operations, said crews have repaired nearly all of the major damage.

Mudslides, flash floods plague southeastern Minnesota

In a scenario reminiscent of last August’s devastating floods, two rainstorms three days apart lingered over the region, dropping as much as 10 inches of water on already saturated ground. The downpours triggered mudslides in some areas and widespread flooding.

Hwy 26 near Reno in Houston County was one road hit hard by the mudslides.

“On Saturday when this bluff kind of eroded and slid down, the road was entirely covered,” Scott Dolle, a transportation generalist at the La Crescent truck station reported to KAAL-TV in Austin.

“On Sunday we were down here with the big plows and pushed the mud and debris and trees off the road,” he said.

Tolle and his coworkers in District 6 kept at it, cleaning ditches and clearing culverts to prevent future back-ups and repairing damaged highways.

“We had several sections of highways closed or damaged from the June 12 storm that we had to close again because of the storms that hit a few days later,” said Dave Redig, District 6 east area maintenance superintendent.

“The damage was miniscule compared with last year, but last year’s flood stripped many hills and bluffs of their vegetation, making them even more prone to mudslides,” he said.

Redig added that, in places, the June storms damaged road repairs made after last year’s devastation. Some of the repairs, he said, were just completed this spring.

Redig said the district also had a washout on Hwy 61 in Homer, just south of Winona.

“District employees showed a lot of resilience dealing with the results of two storms and the temporary closing of the Hwy 43 bridge in Winona,” he said.

Steve Lund, state maintenance engineer, said he was pleased but not surprised by the responsiveness of employees to the flooding.

“The maintenance employees—all Mn/DOT employees, actually—demonstrated an ability to rise to the level required by emergency situations,” he said.

Lund noted that the most severe flooding occurred in districts already involved in repairing major bridges and managing related traffic disruptions.

“Mn/DOT people are versatile,” he said, “able to switch their focus quickly in a crisis and then return just as quickly to business as usual.”

By Donna Lindberg

Rising flood waters prompted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week to close nine locks spanning more than 200 miles north of where the Illinois River meets the Mississippi in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.

“These closures are expected to halt barge traffic for up to two weeks,” said Dick Lambert, Mn/DOT’s Ports and Waterways section director. “This, coupled with a slow start to the shipping season because of ice conditions, will have a monetary, as well as a social, impact on our area.”

Most shippers had plenty of warning to get their boats out of the closed portion of the river to avoid being trapped. Others will have to wait out the delay, Lambert said. Those who have to meet ships in the Gulf will have to pay a premium to transfer their loads to trucks or rail.

“A lengthy closure could cost the towing industry about $1 million per day and reduce the incomes of farmers, other producers and consumers,” Lambert said. “Our estimates are that an idle barge costs about $100 per day. That could add up.”

There are 29 lock and dam facilities on the 1,200-mile Upper Mississippi River navigation system that serves a five-state region. The system is the primary route for barges carrying wheat, corn and soybeans downriver to New Orleans, where they are unloaded for export. Those barges are then filled with non-grain products such as fertilizers, chemicals, coal, steel and concrete, for the return trip to Chicago and Minneapolis.

Rail passenger rail service, freight lines also feel effects

Flooding in southern Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin has also cancelled Amtrak runs between Chicago and the Twin Cities. Amtrak is providing charter bus service for passengers, but schedules and routes may have changed.

Loss of some railroad lines in Midwest states is disrupting freight traffic to the Twin Cities.

A Union Pacific Railroad line between Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul has been taken out of service intermittently over the past several days; it has been restored, since waters are now receding.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks in Minnesota have been taking a lot of detour traffic from Iowa where rail traffic has been diverted. This could cause some congestion on the system and slow shipments by one to two days. Spencer Arndt, assistant vice president in the BNSF Minneapolis office, said that the public will begin to see evidence of more trains and should use extra care at rail crossings.    

Water and rail freight shipment disruptions also could have an impact on Minnesota’s road system.

“Shipping by railroads or barges takes congestion off the highways,” Lambert said. “A long lock closure and washed out rail lines could put more freight back onto the highways, which could increase congestion.”

By Craig Wilkins

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention.

When the Hwy 43 bridge in Winona was closed for emergency repairs June 3, the situation spawned a multi-modal batch of solutions that enabled 3,000 daily commuters to avoid long and time-consuming detours.

Officials from Mn/DOT, WisDOT, the city of Winona, Winona County and other agencies quickly explored their options.

Jean Meyer, Rochester District transit manager, said they agreed that a mix of ferry boats, park-and-ride lots and increased transit service were the best options available.

Within a few days, she said, pieces of the solution were moving into place.

River excursion tour operators from La Crosse, Wis., and Lansing, Iowa, offered use of their boats as ferries.

Five park-and-ride lots soon popped up in just a few days.

Private firms and public agencies provided space for the lots. Commuters drove to the lots, caught rides on shuttle buses and then rode the ferries across the river.  

Public and private transit operators added buses, changed routes and extended hours to shuttle commuters between the ferry landings and their destinations, Meyer said.

People adapted well, she said, including those who brought bicycles on the ferries and then rode the final leg of their trips.

By the time the bridge was partially reopened for cars, vans and other lightweight vehicles on June 14, more than 2,200 people a day were using the ferry service and/or the park-and-ride facilities.

Trucks and other heavy vehicles still must use alternate bridge crossings. Pedestrians and cyclists are also prohibited on the bridge for safety reasons.

A city-sponsored cab service provides a low-cost option to cross the bridge after the ferry service ended.

Repair work on the bridge has not yet begun.

Commuters adapt to restrictions on Duluth’s Blatnik Bridge

District 1 officials said motorists there have also adapted well to partial and occasional full closures of the John Blatnik Bridge that connects Duluth and Superior, Wis.

Gusset plate repair and reinforcement are underway on the bridge that carries Interstate 535 and Hwy 53 over the St. Louis River.

Traffic is now limited to one westbound lane. At times, the bridge is closed completely to provide full access to the structure by repair crews.

“We’re lucky because we can easily detour traffic from the Blatnik bridge to the Richard Bong Memorial Bridge on Hwy 2, which also connects Duluth and Superior,” said Duane Hill, assistant district engineer for operations.

Both the Winona and Duluth bridges need gusset plate repairs. Rusted and weakened plates were found during an inspection effort initiated by a January Federal Highway Administration directive asking states to recalculate bridge load ratings when major repair work was planned.

Hill said the repair work on the Blatnik bridge will be completed in July. When repairs are made, the bridge will once again carry its usual mix of traffic, including heavy trucks.

The Winona bridge was reopened to cars, pickups and other light vehicles on June 14.

Completion date of the work on the bridge and the level of traffic it will be allowed to carry are not yet certain.

Craig Falkum, District 6 bridge engineer, said the district hopes to complete inspection and repair work on the bridge before classes resume at Winona State University this fall.

“If not by then, certainly by the time growers in Wisconsin move their crops to the Port of Winona for shipment and before the snow flies,” he said.