Quarter-inch distortions found in gusset plates at four locations on the Hwy 23/Division Street bridge in St. Cloud prompted Mn/DOT to close the 51-year-old bridge on March 20.

The bridge was closed after the first three bent gusset plates were found and before inspectors had finished examining the entire structure, said Bob McFarlin, acting transportation commissioner.

“My thanks go out to our bridge inspectors and the Bridge Office for their very quick and decisive action,” he said. “The safety of the public is our first and foremost concern.”

McFarlin said that the bridge will remain closed until it can be repaired, or barring that, until it can be replaced. Currently, the bridge is scheduled for replacement in 2015, but even prior to the bridge’s closure last Thursday, Mn/DOT managers had been discussing accelerating replacement of the bridge to 2010, he said.

The discovery of the bent five-foot-by-eight-foot gusset plates (metal plates used to reinforce bridge joints) came while state bridge inspectors were conducting a field check as a follow-up to an engineering review of the original design plans in January. The additional reviews stem from a Federal Highway Administration advisory on gusset plates to all state transportation agencies.                                                                                                             
“Minnesota is going beyond the federal advisory in looking at the gussets,” McFarlin said.

The federal requirement is for states to recalculate gusset plate loads on steel truss bridges before doing a project that will change the weight load on a bridge. Minnesota is recalculating loads on all steel truss structures, regardless of whether a project is scheduled.

Mn/DOT bridge crews are continuing to examine the Hwy 23 bridge this week to determine if repairs can be made. Inspectors are taking measurements at the rest of the bridge’s gusset plate locations to see if there is any additional bowing or misalignment.

The Hwy 23 bridge, built in 1957, is a continuous steel truss bridge that is 890 feet long. It carries four lanes of traffic and approximately 31,000 vehicles per day.

Click here for more information about the Hwy 23 bridge or visit www.mndot.gov for the latest updates.

By Craig Wilkins

A semitrailer that went out of control on Interstate 94 near St. Cloud March 25 was kept from crossing into oncoming traffic by a cable median barrier. After hitting the barrier, the truck scraped along it about 500 yards before finally coming to a stop.

The incident occurred at 5:15 p.m. on the freeway about a mile south of St. Cloud near St. Augusta. The truck entered the median and hit the barrier which kept the rig on its side of the freeway until the driver could bring it to a stop. The driver suffered minor injuries in the crash.

The high-tension, four-cable barriers were installed at various points on I-94 between Sauk Centre and St. Michael in 2005-06, including the section where the incident occurred.

Gary Dirlam, District 3 maintenance engineer, said the cable “did exactly what it’s supposed to do.”

Dirlam said the barrier’s netting of the truck avoided what would have been a disastrous crash during the evening rush hour.

A State Patrol officer driving west on I-94 was certain he was going to be involved in a crash when saw the truck hit the barrier.

Dirlam said the officer was quite relieved when the barrier held the truck on the eastbound side of the freeway.

“The results of Tuesday’s crash are extremely gratifying,” Dirlam said.

By Craig Wilkins

Mn/DOT now serves as a liaison between the Federal Highway Administration and five tribal nations in Minnesota to consult on cultural resources issues regarding upcoming federally funded projects. The purpose of the consultation is to avoid having those projects disturb places that have cultural or historical value to the tribes.

Mn/DOT’s Cultural Resources Unit and FHWA’s Minnesota Division recently developed a streamlined process in which the agency and the tribes worked together to develop a list of exempt project types.

The agreements exempt notices for work such as highway striping, rumble strips and routine pavement improvements. The process allows tribal, Mn/DOT and FHWA officials to focus on actions that are more likely to affect significant tribal resources, said Teresa Martin, an archaeologist with Mn/DOT’s Cultural Resources Unit.

The most recent agreement, incorporating the streamlining initiatives, was signed Feb. 13 with the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Indians. The signing was held at the Band’s reservation on Lake Vermillion near Tower.

Similar agreements with six other Indian tribes in Minnesota are pending.

Martin said Mn/DOT also serves as a liaison between the FHWA and tribes that once occupied lands in Minnesota. These tribes are now on reservations in Montana and the Dakotas and include the Northern Cheyenne, Santee Sioux, Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, Fort Peck Tribes and the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara).  

By Craig Wilkins

Come next winter, a section of Hwy 47 in Isanti County will be a safer place to drive when the snow flies and the wind blows.

That’s because landowners Beverly and Roger Larsen of rural Dalbo will plant rows of trees, shrubs and native grasses this spring on their property that fronts on about 1,500 feet of the highway.

The Larsens are the first property owners in Isanti County to join Minnesota’s living snow fence program.

Vegetation planted for snow fences varies in height.

When the wind blows new or fallen snow, the plantings create eddies in the air which tumble the snow to the ground before it can reach the highway.

Mn/DOT started the program in 1998 by working with county farm extension agents, soil and water conservation districts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies.

Dan Gullickson, program coordinator, Office of Environmental Services, said the state now has 30 landowners enrolled in the living snow fence program. Combined, their properties shelter more that 10 miles of state highways.

Property owners are reimbursed for use of their land and revenue lost from taking it out of production.

Roland La Plante, sub-area supervisor at District 3’s Cambridge truck station, said he hopes more landowners along Hwy 47 will also participate.

“The area is flat and open and very prone to drifting,” he said.

La Plante said the living snow fences help farmers by retaining moisture and reducing topsoil loss and provide cover for wildlife such as pheasants and other ground nesting birds.

“But mainly,” he said, “we need the snow fences to improve safety. I’d like to see farmers all along Hwy 47 in Isanti and Kanabec counties join this program and expand its benefits,” he said.

By Craig Wilkins

One year ago, Tom Puppe’s life changed in a searing, agonizing moment.

Puppe, a bridge worker with Bemidji/District 2, suffered a compound ankle fracture March 27, 2007 when he slipped while repairing the Hwy 11 bridge between Drayton, N.D., and Robbin, Minn.

He was hurt when the large crescent wrench he was using slipped off a bridge bolt and caused him to fall onto an aerial lift platform.

But fewer than two months after his surgery, Puppe was back at work part-time, lending his knowledge and field experience to the staff at the district’s bridge office in Thief River Falls .  

Safety Administrator Rod Starkey filed Puppe’s workers compensation claim, worked with his doctor to approve an early return to work and found a rehabilitation coordinator to support his recovery.

Starkey also worked with Roger Hille, district bridge and operations engineer, to find meaningful work for Puppe.

Puppe’s quick return to work is a district hallmark—getting injured employees to do meaningful work, helping them stay in contact with co-workers, learning new skills while reducing workers compensation and medical costs.

The district reduced its workers compensation costs and lost time hours last year. Other districts and the Central Office, however, either stayed about the same or increased compared with 2006.  

New safety committee will lead, set policy

Deb Ledvina, Risk Management Unit director, said the plans of Mn/DOT’s new Departmentwide Safety Committee implement District 2’s successes and other safety best practices statewide as part of the department’s rejuvenated safety program.

Formation of the new safety panel follows Todd Haglin’s appointment as the agency’s safety director.  

Since taking his new post, Haglin has worked with district safety officials and managers to standardize safety programs, reporting systems and training as well as chart the new committee’s goals and priorities.

Ledvina said a comprehensive audit conducted last year shows the department needs a coordinated, performance-based safety program in order to decrease injuries, lost time and workers compensations costs.

During fiscal year 2007, she said, workers compensation costs soared nearly $1 million compared with the 2006 fiscal year, reaching nearly $4.4 million.

Medical fees increased by 60 percent and were a major factor in rising workers compensation costs, she said.

Focus shifts to accountability

Ledvina said prevention and accountability will play larger roles than previously to reduce accidents and injuries.

“We will make several visits to district offices and shops this year to meet with staff and underscore our increased commitment to safety,” she said.  

Accident review boards established

Accident review boards will be established in each district. The boards will examine all motor vehicle-related accidents and determine whether or not the incidents were preventable.

When injuries occur, Ledvina said, “We’ll keep our focus on supporting the individual employee with early post-injury involvement, rehabilitation and coaching to set goals for the employee’s return to their regular job assignments.”

Ledvina said, however, the principal goal remains preventing accidents.  

“With a coordinated approach, clear accountability and performance-based results, we expect to improve employees’ safety and reduce injury-causing accidents that are costly to the individual, the work unit and Mn/DOT’s overall goals,” she said.

New safety committee will seek to instill ‘culture of safety’

Mn/DOT’s Departmentwide Safety Committee will explore its charter and its objectives during the panel’s first meeting March 28 in St. Paul.

Todd Haglin, safety director, said the committee’s charges includes ensuring that safety goals and performance measures are met and that safety initiatives will be carried out in a uniform manner throughout the agency.

The committee will include 12 representatives from all divisions plus the chair. The chair is the Operations Division director, currently Bob Winter.

Haglin will be a non-voting member and serve as staff for the committee.

By Nick Carpenter

Mn/DOT’s Business Manual underwent some extensive revisions earlier this month in order to improve the department’s business practices.

Deputy Commissioner Lisa Freese requested that the manual, last updated in 2005, be restructured in order to improve internal controls relating to business practices within the department.

“The manual is a tool to give employees guidance on business-related functions,” said Sue Heurung, Business Services Section manager and key manual reviser. “Changes were made to ensure that there is better fiscal control and consistency.”

Employees scrolling through the manual can expect to see changes relating to a variety of practices, most notably travel, special expenses, reimbursements, cell phone protocols and timesheet approvals.

Traveling by air or ground will be different from years past. Purchasing out-of-state airline tickets and making vehicle rental arrangements for out-of-state travel will now be handled exclusively by the Office of Aeronautics. The manual also indicates that employees traveling outside of the United States must obtain a passport at their own expense.

In addition, the department is cracking down on the use of frequent flyer miles and other reward programs on state trips.

“There should be no personal gain from business travel,” Heurung said.

Travelers also should remember to hang on to their receipts, especially from hotel stays. Original receipts for lodging are required with the submission of Employee Expense Reports, according to chapter five of the manual.

Along with the multiple revisions and clarifications to existing chapters, the updated manual boasts two additional chapters highlighting cell phone and employee time reporting procedures.

The department’s policy on cell phones, for example, includes using them only for business purposes and for essential personal calls (e.g., family emergency), according to Heurung. Employees who ignore this rule will face disciplinary action.

A new chapter was added to clarify department policy on electronic timesheet approvals and spell out the process for supervisors, according to Heurung. If for some reason a timesheet goes unapproved by deadline, for example, it will be the supervisor’s responsibility to print out a hard copy, get the appropriate employee’s signature, and forward the timesheet to the payroll administrator.  

A number of other tweaks have been made and continue to be made to the online version daily.

You can find the updated Mn/DOT Business Manual, which now contains a hyperlinked table of contents for easy-browsing, at http://ihub.employee/documents/BusinessManual.pdf.