By Angela Mathis

Through technology that ensures a consistent road base and with construction running on schedule, the Hwy 23 Paynesville bypass project is literally and figuratively “going very smooth so far,” according to Paul Rasmussen, resident engineer.

“The project is big but pretty basic,” he added.

The area between Kandiyohi County Road 6 to Stearns County Road 123 will see a significant amount of new infrastructure during the project’s three-year construction period, which began in April and is expected to be completed by August 2012. The $32.4 million project encompasses a four-lane, 7.5-mile long bypass around Paynesville on Hwy 23, including eight bridges and two interchanges.

Upon completion, the project will improve mobility and safety on Hwy 23 and meet the design standards for a rural expressway with a 70 mph design speed and controlled access. A study done in the mid-90s recommended a bypass in Paynesville to accommodate growth along the corridor and economic development in the area.

Despite the amount of work to be done, effects on traffic will be minimal for the majority of the project because the bypass is a new road, not a road currently in use.

“It’s nice working in the middle of nowhere and not affecting traffic very much,” Rasmussen said.

The greatest traffic impacts will occur towards the end of the project timeline when a 90-day detour will be necessary as the bypass and Hwy 23 are connected.

Currently, the prime contractor, KGM Contractors, is doing earthwork, and Redstone Construction is building bridges, Rasmussen said. Concrete paving is scheduled to begin next summer.

During the grading process, continuous compaction control system will be used for quality control.

Continuous compaction control systems “measure the amount of force applied to the soil and the amount of force that rebounds on the roller," according to Tim Andersen, Office of Materials and Road Research. "The system uses that information to calculate a ratio called the CMV, or compactor measurement value. Using this ratio, the roller operator can adjust operations out in the field.”

Because the continuous compaction control system allows contractors to be more responsive to soil conditions in the construction area, the final product is improved.

“The benefits of this technology include full quality control coverage over the entire surface area rather than spot testing, a stiffer road base and relative uniformity of the subgrade,” Andersen said. “Research shows that a more uniform subgrade can double the road base’s lifespan. We’re not there yet with the technology, but that’s the goal.”

By Erik Rudeen, Government Affairs

In the wake of the 2010 Legislative Session, a new law emerged that requires the Public Utilities Commission to consider locating high-voltage transmission lines along existing highway right of way when feasible. If other routes are selected, the PUC must state the reasons why highway corridors were not used.

The new law is directly related to CapX2020, a joint initiative of 11 transmission-owning utilities in Minnesota and the surrounding region to build new high-voltage power lines in various locations throughout the state.

The law requires that Mn/DOT cooperate with PUC in implementing the legislation. Additionally, PUC must report to the legislature by Jan. 15, 2011 on any statutory amendments required for allowing high-voltage transmission lines to be located parallel to existing highway right of way. The department is already meeting with PUC to cooperate on the development of this report.

Currently, Mn/DOT has a policy that allows utilities to occupy part of a highway right of way when it can do so without interfering with the safety or integrity of the highway system. Placing utilities in right of way parallel to a highway also requires consent by the Federal Highway Administration.

“Mn/DOT is committed to preserving a safe environment for highway travelers and workers—utilities must not be located close to the roadway or shoulders where they could obstruct a driver’s view or become a hazardous obstruction to a vehicle that leaves the road,” said Dave Seykora, an attorney in Mn/DOT’s Office of Chief Counsel. “In addition, high-voltage lines must not be located in areas where the utility presents an electric shock hazard to crews performing maintenance or repair work on the highway.”

The department is also committed to preserving the public investment in highway right of way for future construction activity to support road users’ needs, according to Seykora.

“Those needs include additional travel lanes, turn lanes, wider shoulders and guardrails,” Seykora said. “It is also important that non-highway uses of the right of way do not prevent the state from making long-term highway improvements, such as building new bridges, adding lanes or interchanges, or safely maintaining the existing system.”

For more information about this law and a summary of the 2010 legislative session, visit http://ihub.dot.state.mn.us/governmentaffairs/legislative2010/finalsummary/2010yearend.pdf.

This is the second installment in a short series of 2010 Legislative Session highlights.

Previous highlights:

• New law requires quick removal of crash debris from Metro District roadways

The Ombudsman’s Office recently released its first annual report, which features an overview of the program and information collected since the office’s inception in late 2008 through the end of 2009. Deb Ledvina, Mn/DOT ombudsman, leads the office, which features two other full-time employees and various part-time contributors who aid the department in handling complaints about transportation issues.

The report includes a breakdown of:

• The total number of cases by district
• Methods used by parties for contacting the Ombudsman’s Office
• Various issues reported by parties
• How issues were managed and by whom
• How issues were resolved
• How the issues affected the department

In its first 15 months, the office handled more than 150 contacts, of which 113 became cases with the ombudsman.

“We heard from individuals, city councils and unions regarding concerns each felt needed additional attention,” said Chris Moates, assistant to the transportation ombudsman. “In some cases, the contact came directly through our Web site—other cases were referred by individuals and came in through the districts, Legislature or governor.”

Of the 113 cases, roughly 20 percent were informational requests that required a response from the ombudsman or district office experts.

“Most of the informational cases were requests for easily obtainable information,” Moates said. “None of the issues needed further fact finding beyond the initial information provided to the party.”

The second most common group of cases were about project planning, programming and design, which all together accounted for 13 percent of the total number of cases.

“In addition to those two cases, we dealt with damage, contractor and consultant issues, right of way and MnPASS accounts,” Moates said.

For the majority of cases, the Ombudsman’s Office scours the agency for facts and information to determine the best options for a possible resolution. About 43 percent of all cases are handled via “shuttle diplomacy,” a process where negotiations are conducted by an official who works back and forth between conflicting parties.  

Thirty seven percent of all cases were referred to department experts or other agencies. The Ombudsman’s Office often determines quickly if there are experts, internal or external, who are best suited to address the concern, according to Moates.

“Roughly 38 percent of all referred cases were passed on to district office experts, while 34 percent were sent on to other state agencies,” Moates said.

Eighteen of the 113 cases resulted in a change or modified decision, including one case that triggered legislative discussion and resulted in a policy change.

In that lone policy-changing case, the ombudsman received communication from a legislator indicating that a Mn/DOT district had denied a request for right-in access to a constituent’s business. The ombudsman took action by speaking with the business owner and the district and sought clarification of safety and access issues with Mn/DOT experts. After research concluded, department safety and access experts concurred with the district’s decision, which was then supported by the ombudsman. The case ended up triggering a legislative discussion on access control, including a proposal for Mn/DOT to perform benefit-cost analysis on all access request denials.

So far in 2010, the Ombudsman’s Office has handled 138 cases, half of which have required a significant amount of time gathering information, according to Moates.

“We learned a lot in 2009 and added some new personnel to aid in the continuing effort to help the public and department resolve issues and avoid potential problems,” Moates said. “As a team, we will continue to help the department act with integrity and accountability.”

The full 15-page report, including real case scenarios that took place during the program’s first 15 months, will be available soon on the Ombudsman Web page. For more information on the Ombudsman program, visit http://www.dot.state.mn.us/ombudsman/ or read Transportation ombudsman provides custom tailoring when one-size-fits-all doesn’t work, by Deb Ledvina.

By Donna Lindberg

Minnesota’s “Share the Road” bicycle safety education program has officially kicked off the summer bicycling season with three new posters that focus on individual “rules of the road.”

“As warmer weather entices more bikers out on the road, it’s critical that motorists and bicyclists look out for each other and share the road safely,” said Tim Mitchell, bicycle and pedestrian coordinator.

The new bicycle safety posters are available on the Share the Road Web site for downloading to a printer or to order in hard copy. The poster highlight for the month of June is “Bikes Must Obey Traffic Laws.”

“In 2009, 10 bicyclists were killed and 963 were injured,” Mitchell said. “Motorists need to remember that bicycles are legal vehicles on the road and bicyclists need to obey all traffic signs and signals.”

Bicycling fits in with Mn/DOT’s strategic vision of creating a safe, efficient and sustainable transportation system for the future.

“Bicycling supports community needs by providing choices and enhancing quality of life,” said Cindy Carlsson, Sustainability project manager. “Bicycling to work or school will help protect the natural environment by reducing pollution and resource use.”

Mn/DOT employees are encouraged to help get the word out about Share the Road.

“Share the Road is a grassroots campaign that relies on the public, communities, drivers’ education instructors, law officers and groups—such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts—to share the word about bicycle safety,” Mitchell said. “Many Mn/DOT employees are avid bikers and enthusiastic spokespeople for this important educational effort.”

Upcoming bicycling events to watch for:

• Tune in every Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. for 13 weeks as KARE 11 TV newscaster Patrick Evans shares personal biking stories and other news during his “Pedaling with Pat” series. The Share the Road campaign and Freewheel Bike Shop are co-sponsors of this series that is geared toward enhancing bicyclists’ experience.
    
• Share the Road is also a sponsor of the Nature Valley Grand Prix bike races June 16-20 in downtown St. Paul, Minneapolis/Uptown, Stillwater, Cannon Falls and Menomonie, Wis. The five races draw elite racers from all over the country.

For more information about the Share the Road bicycle safety education program, visit www.sharetheroadmn.org.

By Bob Filipczak

Duane Hill began his new job as acting director of the Bridge Office June 9, which fell on the Wednesday of a week punctuated with new revelations about a corroded gusset plate on the Hwy 43 bridge in Winona and a hole in the pavement on the I-90 bridge in Dresbach. Both instances required emergency repairs. 

If it was anyone else’s first week on the job, these incidents might have been overwhelming, but Hill has a lot of engineering experience, especially with bridges. He has been with Mn/DOT for almost 20 years in many roles, including:

• Assistant design engineer—District 1
• Preliminary design engineer—District 2
• Project engineer—District 2
• Bridge engineer—District 2

“Mn/DOT has given me many opportunities to try new things and challenge myself,” Hill said.

Hill also spent time helping manage the statewide bridge inspection effort after the I-35W bridge collapse.

“I’ve worked with most of the people in the Bridge Office before and they are really a good group,” Hill said. “This is a nice opportunity for me.”

The Hwy 43 bridge in Winona is first priority, according to Hill.

“That’s kind of a big deal when you talk about putting up a load posting and have a critical finding on one of our major river crossings,” Hill said.

Among his other challenges for the next few months, a report explaining bridge inspection quality assurance measures and the implementation of risk analysis in the department’s bridge project programming process.
 
“I started out dealing with bridges as a district bridge engineer—dealing with bridge issues grows on you,” Hill said. “Bridges have a special place in my heart.”

Hill graduated from North Dakota State University in 1988 with a degree in Civil Engineering.

Hill’s new office is located at the Bridge Office in Oakdale. He can be contacted at 651-366-4501.

To read a past employee profile of Duane Hill from Aug. 15, 2007, check out On the job: Duane Hill takes on statewide bridge inspection effort with quiet confidence, By Craig Wilkins.

By Qin Tang

The May 2010 edition of New Library Materials is now available at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/library/newlibmat.html.

New Library Materials is a compilation of new titles and other resources added to the library collection during the previous month. If you would like to be added to our distribution list, please contact Pam Gonzalez at 651-366-3749.  

Included in this issue is information about full-text online access to ASCE journals for employees. 

For other information requests, contact the Library at 651-366-3791 or e-mail library.dot@state.mn.us. Employees can also send requests via the “Ask a Librarian” Web page at http://ihub.library/asklibrarian.html or http://www.dot.state.mn.us/library/asklibrarian.html.

By Beth Petrowske

Sign, sign everywhere a sign. Just like the 1970s song, there are signs everywhere at Mn/DOT’s Sign Shop, located next to the Oakdale Truck Station.

Orders for signs and services, and supervision of Mn/DOT’s maintenance signing program, originates from the Maintenance Traffic Services Section shops located at the Oakdale and Golden Valley Truck Stations.

Dave Tody is one of two supervisors at TSS in Oakdale. His phone rings a lot and a citizens band radio in the corner of his office provides static-laced background noise. Shortly after beginning my interview with Dave, the phone rings again.

After Tody finished a call with a subcontractor, I said, “You sure are busy.” To that he replied, “That’s right, no moss grows under my feet!”

The Maintenance Traffic Services Section and the State Sign Shop are busy places.

What services does TSS provide?

We maintain and repair existing signs, create and install pavement markings and operate a latex long line striper. In addition, we provide signs used during emergencies and in work zones. We normally have eight transportation generalists working in the shop and during the summer our crew can almost triple as we transfer in more TGs to help with the heavier summer workload.

How are the signs made?

Most of our signs are fabricated in the State Sign Shop, which is housed in our shared Oakdale facility. The signs made here are installed statewide by District Traffic Services employees. The only ones that aren’t, are installed as part of renewal contracts through construction.

Aluminum “blanks” are used for the flat base of the signs. There are a few options in how we can apply the legends (words /borders). The method we use most often is to cover the entire aluminum blank with a white-colored, retroreflective sheeting. A sheet of translucent, colored material is plotted with the sign’s legend cut into it and the letters are removed leaving just the colored background material. Then, the translucent sheeting is bonded to the sign as the top layer. The finished sign is readable and highly retroreflective.

Are you using any new or improved products?

We regularly test new materials to improve the safety of our sign structures and help them last longer. We are currently using “slip bases” and other “break-away” devices on many high-impact-prone sign installations. The slip bases are part of the sign posts located at ground level. If a vehicle hits a sign equipped with slip bases the post will break at the base and sheer off the bolts holding it in place. We really like using these on larger signs, like “Exit” signs. Using break-away devices makes it easier and less expensive to repair the damaged sign, thereby minimizing employee exposure to hazardous work zones. 

How big of a problem is vandalism?

Vandalism is a big problem in the city and in rural areas. All of the signs on Highway 96 in the city of Grant were hit recently by multiple paintballs. During that same timeframe, a sign renewal contract on Highway 36 had just been completed and most of the larger I-beam-type signs were hit by the same “artists”. While paintball paint comes off pretty easily, the spot where the paintball hits damages the sign’s retroreflectivity and makes the spot look black at night—this cannot be repaired, necessitating the sign’s replacement.

We also have a lot of signs that get spray painted. We use solvents to remove the spray paint. In the past, our signs were silk screened and the solvent could melt the lettering. Now that we use vinyl sheeting on our signs we generally don’t have that problem. We have also been proactively applying anti-graffiti film on replacement signs, hoping to protect them from future damage.

Can you recall any unusual or funny situations that have occurred during your 16 years at TSS?

Yes. One night a few years ago, there was a really bad storm with a lot of wind. Dispatch radioed and said there was a balloon caught on an overhead sign structure and people were calling in thinking it was a UFO. We sent a platform truck out to remove the balloon. When they arrived, the “balloon” turned out to be a 12-foot-long by six-foot-diameter blimp! It had been used by a local boat dealership for advertising and blew away during the storm, attaching itself to a freeway light pole.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Our jobs are the greatest at Mn/DOT. Our work is important, is highly demanded by the travelling public and serves a great purpose. When we finish a job, we know that it will last and that gives us a great sense of pride.

Do you or a co-worker have an interesting job to share with readers? Click here to send us your ideas, and we’ll contact you for more information.

Recent employee profiles:

• Kristie Billiar puts the ADA Transition Plan into action
• Have a traffic safety issue in District 3? Kevin Schmidt wants to know
• Rest is hard work for District 6's Floyd Baird