By Chris Krueger

One person described the weather conditions as “down right ugly up here.”

Freezing rain, and more than two feet of snow in some areas, have temporarily transformed the Red River Valley’s rich agricultural flatlands to resemble the glacial lakes that once covered the area.

Whether setting up barriers and flashers for traffic control, building dikes along Interstate 94 to protect the freeway and a large Moorhead neighborhood, or coordinating with local partners, staff at Mn/DOT’s District 2 and District 4 offices are working 24/7 to keep the floodwater off the roads and away from critical infrastructure.  

“The weather is just like Yertle the Turtle,” said Lynn Eaton, District 2 engineer, referring to a children’s story by Dr. Seuss. “It’s one thing on top of another.”

Staff response has been tremendous, Eaton said.

“I’m struck by how they take this kind of thing in stride. This is our New York City firefighter moment. They just step up and I’m really proud of them.”

Jeff Perkins, District 4 area operations manager, also expressed appreciation for area staff, as well as operators from other districts, who came last week for the flood and stayed to work the blizzard that hit the area early this week.  

“I’m absolutely amazed at their work ethic, enthusiasm and the teamwork they showed throughout the entire event. It freed us up to assist the city of Moorhead so they could focus on other priorities. The city really appreciated that.”

Mn/DOT’s response has been diverse and coordinated.

The department has provided the city of Moorhead with winter sand, clay, bulldozers and trucks for building dikes. Crews in District 4 manned pumps to free up Moorhead Public Works staff. Staff has worked with the State Emergency Operating Center in St. Paul and multiple federal agencies to break up an ice dam in Oslo that endangered a railroad bridge and a Highway 1 bridge across the Red River in to North Dakota. Other districts far from the floodwaters have fulfilled requests for assistance. Metro District, for example, sent two Vactor trucks to unplug 27 manholes in Moorhead.

District 4 worked about 15 hours on March 25 and another 19 hours March 26 in blizzard conditions using 14,000 yards of material to build a dike to protect I-94. They finished just after midnight, and water started rising up the sides of the dike by 8 a.m. The changing weather conditions also made operators quick-change artists as they converted trucks from hauling materials one day to pushing snow the next.

In addition to the dozens of field workers, office and supervisory staff also have contributed their skills and expertise.

In response to a Clay County request, for example, Mn/DOT’s GIS Unit worked to consolidate city and county maps for ease of use, providing an important tool for relief workers and the public. One supervisor worked with the U.S. Corp of Engineers to find open roads and map a viable route to Hendrum, Minn., so a much-needed generator could be delivered.

Since the SEOC opened March 18, Dana Hanson, District 4 public affairs coordinator, has written and distributed 17 news releases warning motorists of closed roads and encouraging safe driving in roads covered with water, blowing snow and black ice.

Preparation has helped, Eaton said.  

“I’m happy we went through the FEMA Incident Command Staff training. It was very beneficial,” he said. “We have had good things in place – and now we’re even better.”

As of April 1, the weather was providing a bit of a breather to the Moorhead area. Staff began punching holes through dikes to get traffic back on ramps. District 4 was sending people back to their home districts, although they are keeping the bulk of equipment so they are ready when the river crests again next week, possibly above the historic 1997 levels.  

In District 2, Eaton described the flood as “insidious.”  

“We know it’s coming. We know where things will go awry. We know our course of action,” he said. “We just wait it out.”

By Donna Lindberg

Nine Greater Minnesota airports will be the first to receive federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act “ Grants-in-Aid for Airports” funding.

Mn/DOT anticipates it will receive $20 million to $25 million of $1.1 billion of ARRA funds designated for airport facility improvements and equipment nationwide.

“The purpose of the e conomic recovery program is to provide jobs and improve all transportation modes,” said Commissioner Tom Sorel. “These ARRA-funded airport improvements will increase the ability of Greater Minnesota airports to meet the needs of communities, businesses and other travelers that rely on air transportation. They will also go a long way toward enhancing the economic viability of the region and communities where they are located.”

Airports identified to receive ARRA funds are:

• Albert Lea Municipal Airport, rehabilitate and construct runways - $3.6 million
• Baudette International Airport, runway rehabilitation - $250,000
• Bemidji Regional Airport, apron rehabilitation - $500,000
• Chisholm-Hibbing Airport, runway reconstruction - $4.44 million
• Duluth International Airport, construct terminal building - $7.1 million
• Mankato Regional Airport, runway rehabilitation - $1 million
• Redwood Falls Municipal Airport, runway rehabilitation - $1.4 million
• St. Cloud Regional Airport, boarding bridge - $850,000
• Windom Municipal Airport, runway rehabilitation - $1.2 million

The “Grants-in-Aid for Airports” is a 100 percent federally funded program for projects that can be awarded within 120 days and completed within two years of enactment. Funding will remain available through Sept. 30, 2010. Mn/DOT is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to identify additional Minnesota airports to receive ARRA funding in the future.

For more information about ARRA projects, see:

• www.mndot.gov
• Federal Aviation Administration
• Contractor bid results announced for first 11 Greater Minnesota federal stimulus transportation projects  (Newsline, March 18, 2009 )
• Sixty transportation stimulus projects announced for Greater Minnesota  (Newsline, March 4, 2009)

By Nick Carpenter

Clear, cloudless days are a welcome sight for just about anyone, especially those who work in Mn/DOT’s Photogrammetric Unit, a group that aids in the collection and distribution of aerial photographs.

This year’s spring aerial mapping schedule is busier than usual, thanks to an increase in upcoming construction projects. The unit expects to facilitate more than 50 flyover projects this season ranging from a short stretch of Hwy 61 along the shores of Lake Superior near Silver Bay to a large section of Hwy 14 between Owatonna and Dodge Center.

The aerial photos will be used for a variety of reasons, including environmental compliance, engineering design, planning and construction documentation. The majority of the photographs taken this spring will be used for mapping purposes and will serve as a valuable record of current road layouts.  

Some of the projects are already underway. However, with Minnesota’s unpredictable weather, finding time to fly and take the photographs can be challenging.

“We can only fly on cloudless days when the land is free of snow and leaves,” said Pete Jenkins, photogrammetrics supervisor. “That means the window of opportunity to get someone up in the air is usually only a few weeks long.”

If the weather cooperates, Fugro-Horizons, a Mn/DOT-hired contractor, will take photographs of Hwy 30 between Amboy and Mapleton on April 2 to create a record that will be used in planning a future pavement project. The reclamation project scheduled for Hwy 30 is still years away, but it’s never too early to start planning, according to Travis Shorter, District 7 senior land surveyor.

“We start early and like to have our aerial mapping completed four years before the project is scheduled to begin,” said Shorter. “The aerial photographs we receive are essential when it comes to planning for projects that involve major reconstruction.”

While on-site surveying is still the more accurate practice for gathering information about land areas, aerial photography can provide enough data to aid in project planning.

“It’s a lot easier to send somebody up in the air than to survey from the ground,” Jenkins said. “You will likely have to sacrifice accuracy for time, but the photos will provide an accurate enough depiction of the environment to do many engineering tasks.”

Before the contractor can take flight, the unit creates a pattern of flight lines that are specific to the project. After the pattern is identified, a targeting scheme is sent to the appropriate district’s surveyor for target placement. When the scheme is set, the contractor is ready to fly.

Mn/DOT selects the aerial company from a pre-qualified consultant list. Each plane used is equipped with a camera that is calibrated to correlate with the land measurements below. Generally, 250 is the flying scale used for mapping, which is equivalent to taking photographs from 1,500 feet above the earth’s surface.

With the recent flooding in northwestern Minnesota, it is possible the unit will be adding some projects to their already lengthy list.

“Districts 2 and 4 will have the say in whether there will be post-flood photography,” said Jenkins. “We’ll keep in contact with the districts and let them know we’re here to help if they need it.”

By Della Ljungkull

Mn/DOT will be making a number of changes to the Disadvantage Business Enterprise Program in the months ahead in order to increase diversity in the transportation industry.

Under the umbrella of the Policy, Safety and Strategic Initiatives Division, a group that includes prime contractors, DBEs, unions, training centers, community organizations, FHWA and Mn/DOT has been working during the past three months to find ways to improve the DBE program and workforce development efforts.

The group has identified nine areas to improve and strengthen the external Civil Rights program, according to Hope Jensen, Office of Civil Rights director, who has accepted a mobility assignment to accomplish the project goals. Mary Prescott has assumed the role of acting director for the Office of Civil Rights during Jensen's reassignment and will make organizational recommendations to implement the objectives of the projects.

The nine project areas are:

• Economic stimulus short-term opportunities
• DBE financing
• Best practices goal-setting implementation  
• Trades and DBE training
• Good faith criteria development and enforcement
• Construction industry 101 training
• DBE and on-the-job training, education, communication and transparency
• Journey person tracking system
• Retention payment plan

“There are several objectives that will immediately make a positive impact toward achieving our DBE goal,” said Jensen. “One area of change that the work group is exploring requires that all DBE subcontractor information, including DBE commitment and all good faith efforts documentation, be submitted at the time of the bid opening.”  

The group also proposes that rather than placing all emphasis on numerical goals, other forms of prime contract assistance to DBEs will be recognized, such as:

• Hiring DBEs that are competitive but not the lowest bidder
• Ensuring fair and open solicitation for DBEs and non-DBEs
• Meeting or exceeding the DBE goal
• Agreeing to a project-specific Mentor Protégé Agreement with DBE
• Assisting DBEs with bonding or insurance
• Adhering to prompt pay laws or with cash advance to alleviate cash flow issues
• Hiring DBEs on state funded projects where there are no DBE goals

Increased community outreach also has been identified as an important goal. This includes increased external and internal training, more community forums, and increased solicitation of feedback from Mn/DOT’s partners.   

Some Office of Civil Rights staff have actively been involved in the work group and all staff will play a key part in the transformation success, she said.

Jensen and Prescott ask that the districts and specialty offices assist with a smooth transition when changes are ready to be implemented. In light of the economic stimulus projects, some changes are being implemented immediately.  

Jensen welcomes ideas and feedback for program improvements.