By Chris Joyce

Ice jams and overflowing river basins forced the closing of several roads and bridges across the state during the past week.

The Hwy 10 bridge over the Mississippi River at the Little Falls bypass was closed March 17 due to strong currents that caused an ice jam in the main channel and erosion to the bridge.

District 3 crews monitored the ice jam, which consisted of “massive ice chunks, six to 10 feet high in some places,” according to Gary Dirlam, assistant district engineer for maintenance operations.

Repair work to the bridge began March 20 under an Emergency Order. Crews from Lunda Construction are in the process of stabilizing the westbound lanes, removing the approach panels and assessing damage to the bridge.

Dirlam expects the westbound lanes to be re-opened by this weekend. The bridge will carry a single lane of Hwy 10 traffic in each direction. Crews will then begin replacing the eastbound portion of the bridge. 

“Many people have been working very long hours on this,” he said, noting that, ironically, District 3 had been preparing to send crews to help in Moorhead or Montevideo before the Hwy 10 bridge incident.

“It’s been an all-out effort,” he said.

While the waters appear to be receding in some places, flood conditions continue to affect nearly half the counties in the state.

The Stillwater Lift bridge over the St. Croix River closed March 23. The lift span was raised seven feet and will be kept in this position until the bridge is re-opened. Crews placed concrete barriers on the bridge to weigh it down and protect it from floating debris. Metro District bridge crews will monitor conditions around-the-clock.

Other Twin Cities roads affected by flooding include Hwy 41, Hwy 101 and Interstate 35W in the southwest metro area.

In St. Paul, one runway at the downtown airport was closed March 24 and a taxiway is expected to close March 25 to test the pavement for saturation. However, the airport is not flooded and is operational, according to Dan McDowell, Aeronautics public affairs coordinator. The closures were expected to last less than 24 hours.

Strong winds pushed chunks of ice from Lac Qui Parle Lake on to the westbound lane of Hwy 40 west of Milan, creating hazardous driving conditions March 23, said Diane Beck, Willmar/District 8 public affairs coordinator. Plows were brought in to remove the ice and by the next day the driving lanes were clear.

Along the North Dakota border, in the Red River basin, segments of Hwy 1, Hwy 11, Hwy 75, Hwy 175, Hwy 220 and Hwy 317 are closed, according to Karen Bedeau, Bemidji/District 2 public affairs coordinator. In addition, the Sorlie Bridge on U.S. Hwy 2 business route in East Grand Forks is closed.

In the Detroit Lakes district, Hwy 12 east of Ortonville is closed between Hwy 75 and Big Stone County Road 21, reported Dana Hanson, District 4 public affairs coordinator. Hwy 75 near Kent re-opened to traffic March 24 after being closed for several days because of flooding.

Along the Minnesota River basin, Mn/DOT and the State Patrol also closed several roads, including segments of Hwy 14, Hwy 19, Hwy 93 and the Hwy 99 bridge in St. Peter, according to Rebecca Arndt, Mankato/District 7 public affairs coordinator.

To view more photos of the floods, visit http://www.dot.state.mn.us/flood/MNflood2010/index.html.

Rain, fast-melting snow cause mudslides on Highway 8

By Beth Petrowske

A mudslide just south of Taylors Falls closed one lane of traffic on Hwy 8 from 6:15 p.m. to 9:25 p.m., March 11. Flaggers directed motorists through the open lane while maintenance crews removed debris from the road.

Concerned about the possibility of another mudslide, crews monitored the area throughout the night. As feared, a second mudslide occurred sometime around midnight. The area was cordoned off early the next morning as crews worked to remove more mud, rocks and fallen trees from the highway.

“It had rained for four days, plus the snow was melting so fast that the hillside became extremely unstable — that’s what caused the mudslides,” said Dave Hagle, Metro maintenance supervisor. “After removing all of the debris from the road, we secured the bottom of the hill with riprap so it wouldn’t slide any further.”

Nearly $140 million will be set aside for Mn/DOT-related projects as part of the $735 million bonding bill approved by Gov. Tim Pawlenty March 14. Funds from the bill will go toward a variety of projects, including:

• $66 million for local bridge replacement and rehabilitation projects
• $26.4 million for a new Rochester maintenance facility
• $15.8 million toward a new Maple Grove truck station
• $3.3 million toward a new Little Falls Truck Station
• $3 million for a new facility in Maplewood to house a Metro District bridge crew
• $1 million for planning the expansion of the North Star Commuter rail line from Big Lake to St. Cloud

District 6 will receive $26.4 million toward its new Rochester headquarters facility, which sits at the top of Mn/DOT’s capital building project list.

The $26.4 million will be used to construct a new road maintenance facility, phase one of a two-phase project. Site preparation could begin as early as this summer and phase one should be completed by summer 2012.

The new 110,500 square foot maintenance facility will service a minimum of 39 major pieces of heavy equipment. The facility will house a vehicle maintenance shop for nine mechanics, welding shop and small equipment repair shop, along with work space and vehicle storage for bridge maintenance, the sign shop and building maintenance. The inventory center will also be housed in the new building.

The proposed plan will use all of the existing headquarters building (excluding State Patrol), as well as add approximately 14,000 square feet of office space where maintenance vehicle bays currently are located.

District 6 will make an additional request for phase two funding in 2012 ($13.8 million). Phase two construction work, which includes renovating the existing facility, will be completed by 2014.

Bill Gardner is set to become the new director of the Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations effective March 31. He replaces Cecil Selness who retired in October.

Since joining Mn/DOT in 1999, Gardner has served the department in a variety of leadership roles, including four years as director of OFCVO’s Freight Planning section. Most recently, he served as director of the Freight, Rail and Waterways section. 

“In my new role, I’m looking forward to working with a great team of people and improving the safety and efficiency of our freight and commercial vehicle operations,” Gardner said.

Prior to his Mn/DOT career, Gardner worked as general manager for SmartRoute Systems, Inc., and senior associate for SRF Consulting Group, Inc.

Gardner also has experience working in leadership positions for other government transportation agencies, including the Metro Transit Agency in Madison, Wis., and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Gardner has a Bachelor’s degree in English/Urban Studies from the University of Wisconsin and a Master’s degree in Transportation Planning from the University of North Carolina.

Gardner’s office is located on the 1st floor of Central Office. He can be contacted at 651-366-3665.

Employees interested in attending Commissioner Tom Sorel’s first book discussion group can still sign up at http://ihub/readingcorner/index.html. Attendees will discuss “Letters from Leaders: Personal Advice for Tomorrow's Leader from the World's Most Influential People,” compiled by Henry O. Dormann.

The discussion will take place Thursday, April 1, at 1:30 p.m, in Central Office Conference Room 461. Employees can also participate virtually via Adobe Connect and should log in as a guest no earlier than 1:25 p.m.

Future discussion groups will be held on the first Wednesday of each month. Deb Ledvina, Mn/DOT ombudsman, will lead a second book discussion May 5, on “Getting Past No: Negotiating in Difficult Situations,” by William Ury. To read an interview featuring Ledvina's reaction to the book, visit http://ihub.dot.state.mn.us/readingcorner/interviews.html.

Library staff ask that employees review the book list recommended by Commissioner Sorel and check out books in advance to avoid the last-minute rush.

“Multiple requests came in to the Library after the book was announced in the Feb. 24 issue of Newsline,” said Qin Tang, technical services librarian. “If you wait until the book is announced as the next book of the month, you might have to wait for a few weeks to get it.”

Books available in the Commissioner's Reading Corner at the Mn/DOT Library are:

• Letters from Leaders: Personal Advice for Tomorrow's Leaders from the World's Most Influential People
• Getting Past No: Negotiating in Difficult Situations
• Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times
• A New Breed of Leader: 8 Leadership Qualities that Matter Most in the Real World: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why
• How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life
• The Trusted Leader: Building the Relationships that Make Government Work
• The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You
• Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference
• That's Not What I Meant!: How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Your Relations with Others
• The World's Most Powerful Leadership Principle: How to Become a Servant Leader
• Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Teal Book of Trust: How to Earn It, Grow It, and Keep It to Become a Trusted Advisor in Sales, Business & Life

For more information on these books, visit http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2944786. Employees with questions can contact Rebecca Fabunmi, special assistant to the commissioner, at 651-366-4808.

By Qin Tang

The February 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 book titles and other resources added to the library collection during the previous month. If you would like to be added to the distribution list, contact Pam Gonzalez at 651-366-3749.  

For other information requests, contact the Library at 651-366-3791 or e-mail library.dot@state.mn.us. The Library is listed as *DOT_Library in the Outlook address book. 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 Bob Filipczak

If you want to make District 8's Kathy Hokkala laugh, ask her when pothole season ends—truth is, it doesn't. If you want to be impressed, ask what her other responsibilities are.

Hokkala works at the Litchfield truck station, and when she isn’t out filling potholes or plowing roads, she is often training other Mn/DOT employees or traveling to schools and driver’s education classes to teach them about work zone safety.

Since we’re right in the middle of pothole and flood season, let’s start there. What do the roads look like?

Right now we are doing temporary patches because we can’t use the hot mix. The trucks carrying the hot mix won’t be out on the roads for about six weeks because the hot mix plants aren’t open yet. Today we are just plugging holes with a small throw-and-go (VIDEO) crew, not a full-patch crew. A full-patch crew involves about 10 people, flaggers, signs, an oil truck and a hot box with permanent patching material. Our crew today will be just four people, a couple of trucks and a couple of signs.

How do you stay safe out there?

You have to have eyes in back of your head and you really rely on the people you’re working with.

How does the flooding affect road conditions?

It really depends on whether there is a current or not. If it’s just standing water, the road can hold up OK. If there is a current running over the road, or if it washes out a culvert, it gets more serious. That’s why we don’t want anybody driving through the water on the road because you really can’t tell if the road is still there. I’m also part of the team that does culvert inspections, so I have seen what happens when a road washes out.

You just came back from leading some snowplow simulator training. How did that go?

The thing about training people with the simulator is understanding that a lot of times you are teaching 25-year veterans. You have to tell them up front, “We are not teaching you how to drive a snowplow—you know how to drive a snowplow.” Then you can remind them of some of the safety issues. That’s the goal.

There’s so much information thrown at people during training that if you can get your audience to remember just a couple of safety tips, it’s a win. If it saves them from just one accident, then it was worth it.

You also work with Mn/DOT’s Work Zone Safety Speakers’ Bureau program?

Yes, I visit classrooms and driver’s education classes to teach the dangers of driving near snowplows.  We usually bring a plow with us to the school. One my favorite things is getting one kid in the driver’s seat of the plow. Then I stand three kids shoulder-to-shoulder behind the truck and let them guess how far back they have to be so the driver can see them. The kid in the truck keeps shouting out that he can’t see them. They are usually amazed how far back they need to be. It’s one of the best lessons they get.