By Donna Lindberg

Increasing travel options, improving access to goods and services, and keeping the state competitive are some of the objectives of the 2009 Minnesota Comprehensive Statewide Freight and Passenger Rail Plan, released on Dec. 31.

The rail plan is the first step in obtaining federal funding for construction of lines within Minnesota and the region that tie into an emerging national rail system, according to Commissioner Tom Sorel.

“A priority in the plan is intercity passenger rail service between Chicago and the Twin Cities,” Sorel said. “While the corridors for the project have yet to be determined the connection would support development and economic competitiveness of the Midwest and provide an alternative to automobile and air travel.”

In addition to service between Chicago and the Twin Cities, the plan also includes high-speed connections for Duluth and Rochester to the Twin Cities, in cooperation with the Mid-West Regional Rail Initiative.

The report also envisions additional passenger rail services to St. Cloud, Moorhead, Mankato and Eau Claire. Other corridors identified for future development beyond 2030 or as part of national system expansion include Albert Lea, Willmar and Winnipeg.

“This plan recommends that the rail system be developed incrementally with a goal of implementing key passenger services and preparing projects for federal funding as it becomes available,” Sorel said.

The plan estimates freight and passenger rail 20-year capital costs at $6.2 billion to $9.5 (uninflated). This total assumes $2.2 to $4.4 billion of private investment for freight improvements, and $4 billion to $5.1 in federal, state, local and additional private investments for passenger rail development. Mn/DOT officials said that the state rail plan cost estimates are based on high-level, systemwide unit costs, not detailed engineering costs being developed for specific corridors.

By Beth Petrowske

Every year, Mn/DOT purchases new snow plow trucks to replace those that have reached the end of their life cycle.

Since 2002, all new trucks were manufactured by Sterling Trucks. Last year, Sterling Trucks went out of business, forcing Randy Cameron, Central Services Facility Shop supervisor, to find a new truck manufacturer.

Cameron compared all of the major truck manufacturers to ensure they had the features Mn/DOT required—one-piece frame construction, reasonable price, met federal requirements and had enough chassis space to accommodate snow plow equipment installation. After everything was considered, the MAXXFORCE International diesel truck was selected as the best choice.  

When the new trucks arrive from the factory, they are not fully equipped snow plow trucks. The trucks are ordered with a cab and chassis—they do not feature a dump box.

All of the custom parts installed on the new trucks are designed, fabricated and installed at the Central Services Facility Shop. Mechanics at the shop have been equipping these trucks for many years and it can be a challenging task that requires a lot of trial and error.

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle, but the pieces haven’t been cut out yet, that’s the challenge,” said Bob Ellingsworth, Office of Maintenance fleet manager. “We measure, fit, test, then keep refining until everything fits and works properly.”

Another ongoing challenge is designing the equipment and parts so they are interchangeable.

“Mn/DOT will always have older trucks, newer trucks, tandem and single axles,” Cameron said. “Our goal is to design our parts so they are interchangeable on most, if not all, of the trucks in the fleet. This really helps simplify installation and repairs, and helps us maintain a smaller inventory of unique parts.”

The process of designing and fabricating parts for the new trucks is underway, but hundreds of hours of work are still required to complete the job due to the substantial differences between the Sterling and International Trucks, according to Cameron.

The new trucks also will be fitted with parts that were designed many years ago by Mn/DOT mechanics. Being able to use these older-part designs on the newer trucks is an example of the “one-size-fits-all goal” that mechanics strive for, according to Cameron.

After the parts are fabricated and approved, a subcontractor uses them as prototypes to manufacture more parts, while another subcontractor provides wiring kits based on the design prototypes.

The refining process continues after the new trucks are put into service. There are cases where snow plow operators suggest an idea or improvement that the mechanics are able to implement, according to Cameron.

Thirty-nine new trucks have been ordered and should be on the road by next winter.

By Chris Krueger

Mn/DOT’s Diversity Council is working to make differences matter by fostering an environment of inclusion, and if its meeting calendar is any indication, the environment may soon be moving to a district near you.

In 2010, instead of holding all Diversity Council meetings in Central Office, three of the nine meetings will be held in Rochester, St. Cloud and Central Office. Other meetings will be held via videoconference to make it more convenient for members in greater Minnesota to participate.

In addition to the changes in meeting locations, leadership of the group is also changing. Members who have served on the council for at least one year will now have the opportunity to serve as chair. In the past, the council has been chaired by a division director.

The 21-member council is run by an elected chairperson and serves as an advisory body to the commissioner on matters relating to work force diversity.

“Our work is to create an environment where everyone feels valued and fully engaged in what they do,” said Tim Henkel, Modal Planning and Program Management Division director and Diversity Council chair. “We need to protect and leverage all of our resources, especially our work force, to help solve transportation challenges and address future opportunities.”

Under Henkel’s leadership, the council worked on several initiatives throughout 2009, including developing a charter to describe the council’s duties and responsibilities, a strategic plan to guide its vision and a work plan to outline the tasks necessary to accomplish goals through 2011.

The next steps will involve implementing the tasks identified as integral to making Mn/DOT more reflective of the community it serves.

An electronic bulletin board will soon be available for employees.

The new service will replace the bulletin board that went on a temporary hiatus during the transition from GroupWise to Outlook.

The bulletin board will allow employees to post items for sale or give away and advertise yard sales and other items. The board will also include a “looking for” section so employees can ask if anyone might have that elusive item lurking in their basement.

The Office of Communications will maintain the service and hopes to have it up and running in the near future.

Minnesota’s Toward Zero Deaths program was one of 11 projects from eight countries honored Jan. 11 by the International Road Federation for contributions to excellence in the road industry.

Minnesota’s TZD program, a multi-agency partnership, received the federation’s 2009 Global Road Achievement Award for safety, which recognizes significant contributions to improving road safety by devising concepts, products, processes or systems in relation to road infrastructure, road/vehicle interaction and driver behavior. 

“The Minnesota TZD program is a testimony to what can be accomplished when enforcement, education, engineering, emergency management services and local partners work together toward a common goal of reducing deaths on our highways,” Commissioner Tom Sorel said.

“We are truly honored to have been selected for this award,” added Sue Groth, state traffic engineer and TZD co-chair. “The strength of Mn/DOT's safety program comes from the many people around the state that identify, design and build the most effective safety projects.”

TZD’s achievements include:

• Reaching a goal of fewer than 500 fatalities two years sooner than expected.
• Setting a new goal of fewer than 400 fatalities by 2010.
• Continuing a downward trend for traffic fatalities and serious injuries.
• Achieving a 20 percent reduction in fatalities since 2001 (from 568 to 455).
• Achieving a 45 percent reduction in serious injury crashes since 2001 (from 2,274 to 1,248).
• Having an annual fatality rate (fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled) below 1.0 for the last four years.

Besides using the “four E’s” - enforcement, education, engineering and emergency management services - to improve safety and reduce fatalities/serious injuries, changes to Minnesota law also are modifying driving behaviors, including:

• Primary seatbelt legislation, which requires drivers and passengers in all seating positions to be buckled up, effective June 9, 2009.
• No texting while driving, effective Aug. 1, 2008.
• Blood alcohol content limit of .08, effective Sept. 1, 2005.

“Driver behavior is a factor in 93 percent of our nation’s road fatalities,” said Cheri Marti, Department of Public Safety’s Traffic Safety director and TZD co-chair. “Minnesota TZD is working hard to impact the behavioral and engineering aspects of road safety in Minnesota.”

In addition to Mn/DOT and DPS, TZD’s principal partners include the State Patrol, Department of Health, Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota, the Federal Highway Administration and other local safety partners, including counties and cities.

The award was presented in Washington, D.C.

The International Road Federation is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization with the mission to encourage and promote development and maintenance of better, safer and more sustainable roads and road networks.

For more information on TZD, visit http://www.minnesotatzd.org/.

By Della Ljungkull

District 2’s Teri Hadrava has worked for Mn/DOT more than 20 years in various positions. She started out in the Construction section, moved to the Administrative and Permits Office and has now worked in the Maintenance section for nearly five years. Hadrava is responsible for a number of tasks in the East Central Sub-Area of District 2. In addition to inspecting and repairing culverts, maintaining shoulders, sweeping roadways and washing bridges, Hadrava drives a snow plow and works long hours to ensure that Minnesota’s state highways are in the best possible condition for the traveling public.

How long are the shifts? How many breaks do you get?

Our shifts are anywhere from eight hours on up. Depending on the weather, we can be in our trucks for long shifts at times. We never leave the roads covered in snow or ice just because our eight hours are up. We plow until it is safe for the traveling public.

We are scheduled to get two 15-minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch break. Sometimes you drink your coffee on the go or stop and take a quick stretch break so your muscles don’t get too cramped up in the truck. The trucks have much more equipment in them than a person would normally think, so you don’t have much room inside there.

Do you get nervous when you’re plowing?

I really don’t. I’m pretty comfortable with it. You just have to learn everything you can and be careful.

What do you worry about most when plowing?

I worry most that someone will slide into me and get hurt.

Besides driving carefully, what else do you focus on when plowing?

I think that everyone should ride in a plow truck at least once. That way, they would know that besides just driving, we are watching and controlling the plow, underbody scraper, wing, sanders and gauges, not to mention all the traffic around us.

What can motorists do to help you perform your job better?

I can’t stress to the public enough to give the plows room. We might not even be able to see them trying to get by us. 

What do your duties consist of when you aren’t plowing?

Our other duties vary per season. We maintain our own snow plow trucks by changing the oil, greasing, inspecting and changing cutting edges on our plow, wing and underbody. When the snow gets too deep in towns, we work night shifts and haul the snow out to other locations.

In the spring, we have trouble with some culverts freezing, which can cause flooding problems. We take a steamer out to open the pipes. The west side of our district has also had some major flooding problems over the years, so we help out with traffic control. 

We do culvert inspection, repair and clean out. At times, we have to dig out beaver dams that are causing problems. We do the mowing, shouldering and tree and brush removal on state right of way.  We also do guardrail repair, herbicide application and, of course, respond to any emergency on our roadways that need our help. 

I have also been asked a few times to take my truck to local schools and explain snow plow safety to the students, show them my truck and answer any questions they might have.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

What I can truly say I enjoy most of all is: I work with a great crew.