Hundreds gather around the state to honor fallen workers

Several employees joined union leaders and politicians at three separate events around the state April 28, to honor the 46 workers who died while working on Mn/DOT construction and maintenance projects since 1960.

Workers Memorial Day ceremonies were held at the district headquarters in Mankato and Rochester, as well as the Workers Memorial Garden on the State Capitol lawn in St. Paul.

About 250 people attended the event in Mankato, which featured speeches from Gov. Mark Dayton, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz and Commissioner Tom Sorel.

A long stretch of empty chairs representing the 33 Mn/DOT workers who died on the job lined the front of the stage, including one chair a few feet in front of the others to honor Mike Struck, District 7/Mankato. Struck, a nine-year employee, died March 22 when the backhoe he was using to clear debris along Hwy 169 between Mankato and St. Peter was pulled into flood waters. Struck’s family was on hand for the commemoration.

The event also honored Darrell Blackwell, District 7 Maintenance, who died nearly five years ago while performing mowing operations along Hwy 4 near Fairfax. Blackwell’s family attended the ceremony as well.  

About 85 miles east of Mankato, more than 200 people gathered in Rochester to commemorate Workers Memorial Day, including U.S. Sen. Al Franken, Deputy Commissioner Bernie Arseneau and District 6 Engineer Nelrae Succio.  

The program featured on-the-job stories from Lt. Dan Lewis, Minnesota State Patrol, who reminisced about some of his close calls. Lewis spoke about the importance of the Ted Foss Move Over Law, which requires traffic to move over one lane or slow down for stopped emergency and maintenance vehicles. In addition, he let all the maintenance workers in attendance know that they could call on the State Patrol if drivers are not moving over while they are working along the highways this summer.

“You all keep us safe throughout the winter,” Lewis said. “Let us return the favor during the summer.”

Rain and chilly temperatures didn’t deter an estimated 125 people from gathering outside at the Metro District event in St. Paul (VIDEO).

Mike Barnes, Operations Division director, and Scott McBride, Metro District engineer, joined representatives from the State Patrol, AFSCME Council 5, Associated General Contractors and the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council in the commemoration.   

Bev Farraher, Metro District Maintenance engineer, served as the master of ceremonies. Farraher thanked everyone in attendance for not letting the weather stop them from honoring the brave workers who lost their lives.   

“Thank you for your recognition of Minnesota workers’ sacrifices to build this state, as well as the ongoing efforts to promote, support and advocate for worker and public safety,” Farraher said. “I hope that you make your way safely through every work day.”

For more information on Workers Memorial Day, visit www.dot.state.mn.us/const/tools/workermemorial.html. 

Minnesotans will experience smoother rides on more than 700 miles of state highways under the Better Roads for a Better Minnesota infrastructure improvement program that Gov. Mark Dayton and Commissioner Tom Sorel announced May 3. The four-year, $398 million program, aimed at improving highways rated in ‘poor’ condition, also will support approximately 9,900 direct and indirect, private sector jobs across statewide.

“This important program will support thousands of private sector jobs for Minnesotans, and through the Better Roads for a Better Minnesota initiative, we will see major improvements in transportation infrastructure,” Dayton said. “Improved highway conditions will benefit citizens and businesses, making it easier for employees to travel to and from work, and easier for businesses to get goods to and from market.”

Funding for the Better Roads program does not require any increased revenue, the commissioner said. Instead, it will come from current state and federal funds, as well as previously authorized bonds. Better Roads funding is in addition to the $980 million Mn/DOT already has committed through June 30, 2014 for improving pavements.  
   
“Minnesota roads are aging faster than our transportation investments can keep up,” Sorel said. “Investing in roads now will stop the accelerated decline of our infrastructure and allow for more sustainable maintenance in the future.”  

State performance measures currently show that about 750 miles of trunk highway in Minnesota are classified as ‘poor’ condition. Without additional investment, the number of miles in ‘poor’ condition is estimated to increase to 1,900 by the year 2020.  

Sorel said that a key component of the Better Roads program will be exploring use of innovative methods of contracting, design and construction to best use taxpayer dollars.

In addition, the program will provide pavement-focused mobility enhancements and transit advantages in the Twin Cities metro area, including MnPASS expansion and shoulder hardening for transit. It also will provide pavement-related improvements in the areas of safety and ADA accessibility.

According to Federal Highway Administration estimates, 9.5 direct jobs are supported per million dollars spent on highway construction. 

Minnesota is one of five states leading the way using data to guide and prioritize transportation investments, according to a report released May 11 by the Pew Center on the States and the Rockefeller Foundation. The other top states are Maryland, Missouri, Oregon and Virginia.

The report, Measuring Transportation Investments: The Road to Results, found considerable differences among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in linking transportation systems to six key goals important to states’ economic well-being and taxpayers’ quality of life: safety, jobs and commerce, mobility, access, environmental stewardship and infrastructure preservation.

In all six categories, Minnesota was found to be “leading the way,” the highest rating given by the Pew-Rockefeller study.

“We’re pleased to learn that we’re among the top in the nation in tracking the performance of our transportation system because it’s a key part of our business practices and helps guide tough investment decisions in this era of tight budgets,” said Commissioner Tom Sorel. 

The report cites Mn/DOT’s use of performance measures for 10 policy areas identified in its 2009-2028 Statewide Transportation Policy Plan. These measures include adjusting to the transportation needs of a growing and aging population as well as enhancing mobility by reducing congestion on the 9 percent of the highway system that carries about half of the state’s roadway travel.

Sorel added that the recently announced Better Roads for a Better Minnesota program is a good example of how Mn/DOT is using data, in this case about pavement condition, to make sound investment management decisions.  

The full report and fact sheets for each state are available at: www.pewcenteronthestates.org/transportation.

Employees are invited to attend the latest Commissioner’s Reading Corner discussion Wednesday, June 1, at 1:30 p.m., in the Mn/DOT Library at Central Office. Nick Thompson, Policy, Safety & Strategic Initiatives Division director, will lead a discussion of “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game,” by Michael Lewis.

Employees also can participate virtually via Adobe Connect and should log in as a guest no earlier than 1:15 p.m. All employees are encouraged to attend, even if they have not yet read the book, according to Qin Tang, Mn/DOT librarian.

This will be the fourth book discussion of the 2011 season.

For more information on the Commissioner’s Reading Corner, visit ihub/readingcorner. Employees with questions can contact Rebecca Fabunmi at 651-366-4808. To read an interview featuring Thompson’s take on the latest book, visit ihub.dot.state.mn.us/readingcorner/interviews.html.

By Qin Tang

The April 2011 edition of New Library Materials is now available at www.dot.state.mn.us/library/newlibmat.html.

Check out the latest New Library Materials to read more about the newly released 2010 Mn/DOT Research Services Annual Report, which includes an overview of the Mn/DOT Library. Archived editions of New Library Materials are available at www.dot.state.mn.us/library/recacq-archive.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 the distribution list, contact Pam Gonzalez at 651-366-3749.