By Lisa Yang

Construction is wrapping up for this year on Hwy 169/Pokegama Avenue in Grand Rapids, a project that features several accessibility improvements for pedestrians, including:

• Curb ramps with detectable warnings
• New sidewalks with accessible driveway crossings
• Accessible pedestrian signal upgrades at four intersections

“We recognized this project as an opportunity to provide a long-term fix for all users,” said Krysten Saatela, project development engineer. “Along with replacing underground utilities and improving pavement smoothness for drivers, MnDOT staff also applied careful engineering along the sidewalks to ease pedestrian travel between nearby residences and businesses.”

Shortly after construction was completed on the first stage of the project along the west side of Hwy 169, MnDOT staff noticed an increase in the use of the new sidewalks, curb ramps and accessible, signalized crossings.

“These accessibility improvements help change peoples’ ability to get around,” said Dana Marrier, District 1 chief inspector.

A resident who is a double-amputee wheelchair user commented that before the improvements were made, it was challenging for him to navigate the sidewalk, according to Marrier. That resident is now able to wheel up and down the area every day.

“It greatly improves the quality of life for individuals with and without disabilities,” Marrier said.

Several other employees were involved in planning and implementing the accessibility improvements, including Kevin Rohling, project engineer; and Todd Grugel, Americans with Disabilities Act program engineer.

During construction, Grugel and his team visited the project with Rohling and discussed widening the sidewalks in areas where there was sufficient right of way in order to make it more user-friendly, which allowed for better driveway and curb ramp construction.

“Kevin listened to the ideas, negotiated a work order with the contractor and ran with them,” Grugel said. “It was by far the best money we could have spent from an ADA perspective.”

Rohling said the department is better able to meet ADA compliance guidelines in a reconstruction situation because “we are working with more pieces of the puzzle.”

“An example of this would be, we can position such things as a drainage structure so it is not too close to a ramp and affecting slopes.”

Before the final plan was to be turned in, Grugel and his staff worked with District 1’s Design Office and made some modifications to the plan. They also piloted an enhanced, special provision called ‘1803 Prosecution of Work’ for special project ADA requirements. These requirements put more responsibility on the contractor to coordinate the ADA work, as well as complete and submit the ADA compliance check lists for payment.

Overall, the project has been well received by the public, according to Rohling and Grugel. The work this year, completed ahead of schedule, provides a new continuous center left turn lane from one end to the other and a continuous right turn lane for three blocks of the reconstruction section. This allows for more efficient and safer travel through a busy corridor where many fast food restaurants are located.

“From an ADA standpoint, this is the best overall project I’ve seen in my two and a half years of monitoring ADA projects on a statewide basis,” Grugel said. “Not only was the project completely compliant, but it was easy to notice the attention to detail put in by both the contractor and MnDOT field staff that made the new curb ramps, sidewalks, driveways and crosswalks truly user-friendly.

It certainly goes to show that a project can fail or succeed on many levels or stages, but a dedicated and conscientious project team can make all the difference.”

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, the new federal transportation legislation that provides funding to the states until October 2014, was center-stage Sept. 17 as nearly 300 state and local partners gathered to learn about the key highlights in the 584-page document and discuss what it means for Minnesota transportation programs.

“The new authorization is welcome news, but we understand that with any new piece of legislation comes uncertainty,” Commissioner Tom Sorel told the group, 100 of whom were participating via webcast from remote locations statewide.

With enterprise risk management, performance-based solutions, the Minnesota GO multimodal vision and other initiatives, Sorel said MnDOT and Minnesota are well-positioned for working on long-term solutions for transportation.

“MnDOT will remain a multimodal agency, and we will work to use the new law to effectively put our 20-year multimodal plan into action,” he said. “And we will continue to seek economic development opportunities and promote innovation.”

Serge Phillips, federal relations manager, said MAP-21 extends current law (SAFETEA-LU) for the remainder of FFY 2012, with new provisions for FFY 2013 and beyond taking effect on Oct. 1.

“The new legislation focuses on three key themes—performance-based investment, the national highway system, and program consolidation and changes,” he said. “In addition, it retains the 80-20 funding split for highways and transit, respectively, and apportions more dollars by formula than SAFETEA-LU.”

For a summary of MAP-21’s key points, see www.dot.state.mn.us/map-21/pdf/summary.pdf.

Presenters included Derrell Turner, Federal Highway Administration Division administrator, and Bill Wheeler, Federal Transit Administration regional representative, who provided the national perspective of MAP-21, as well as Mark Fuhrmann, Metro Transit deputy general manager, who gave an overview of the bill’s effect on Twin Cities transit.

A number of MnDOT technical experts also outlined changes in their areas—including highway formula funding programs, planning, performance measures and asset management, freight, transit, environmental streamlining, intelligent transportation systems, research and alternative finance—and raised policy questions whose implications were later discussed in small groups.

For more information:

• MAP-21 website: www.dot.state.mn.us/map-21/
• President signs Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill into law (MnDOT Newsline, July 11, 2012

By Jessica Wiens

Materials for the statewide pedestrian safety campaign focus on both pedestrian and motorist behaviors. Click here to view and print the complete collection of posters.

MnDOT and several partners are launching a new statewide pedestrian safety campaign this month.

The campaign focuses on safe pedestrian and motorist behaviors, particularly at crosswalks. It is an extension of the existing Share the Road campaign for bicyclists and motorists. 

“Traffic fatalities have been steadily decreasing over the past several years, but the number of pedestrian fatalities remains at about 40 per year,” said Sue Groth, state traffic engineer. “This is an important area to focus on because pedestrians are more vulnerable than motorists who have air bags and seatbelts to protect them in a crash.”

Pedestrians are citied at fault for about half of pedestrian-vehicle crashes; motorists are citied at fault for the other half.

This fall’s launch includes bus advertising, restaurant/bar bathroom advertising and billboards across the state, as well as radio messages on Minnesota Public Radio and 93X-FM.

Crosswalk events to kick off the campaign will occur Tuesday, Sept. 25, from 3-6 p.m. in Duluth, Minneapolis, Rochester, St. Cloud and St. Paul.  

The launch is happening in the fall because October is traditionally the deadliest month for pedestrians.

After the launch, the campaign heavily relies on local partners, community groups and schools to spread pedestrian safety messages. All materials and information for the new campaign are available at www.sharetheroadmn.org.

Wendy Friede has worked on nearly 80 internal cases in her first 10 months as MnDOT’s employee ombudsman—an informal, independent and confidential resource for employees to use when they have workplace issues.

“We are pleased with the growth in both awareness and usage of the program,” said Friede, who has experience with ombudsman programs at other organizations. “The first-year usage and types of issues people are raising are typical of other government and academic organizations that launched ombudsman programs.”

To date:

• 38 percent of the cases have come from the districts; 62 percent have come from Central Office.
• There are more female users of the employee ombudsman than male—57 percent female vs. 43 percent male.
• The highest percentage of users have worked for MnDOT more than 10 years.
• About 10 percent of those who used the employee ombudsman hold positions where they supervise others.

In the first few months of the program, it was common for employees to raise issues that weren’t high-risk to the individual, according to Friede.

“What I mean by this is people raised issues of personal conflict, performance or asked policy questions, but they rarely started out by raising issues of fraud, improper business practices or other issues where there might have been fear around retaliation,” Friede said.

The top concerns Friede has dealt with include:

• Leadership behavior or decisions
• Human Resource policy issues—hiring, promotions and work schedules
• Performance
• Peer or colleague conflict

Friede also has received a few anonymous issues in written format.

“I have looked into these issues and they are a bit frustrating because you can’t get back to the originator with information when you have no contact information” Friede said. “I am encouraged though that people are reaching out in any manner they are comfortable with.”

One thing Friede has noticed in her first 10 months is how open supervisors and formal resources have been when she calls them with issues that have been brought to her attention.

“Let’s admit it, no one is very happy when they get a call from the employee ombudsman; they can pretty much guess I am not calling them to tell them what a great day it is,” Friede said. “I have found that there is a genuine interest in getting the issue resolved in a fair manner.”

Although it’s still early, Friede said some of the themes that have surfaced point to a need for additional training or support for supervisors that focus on:

• Identifying signs of stress or depression among their employees.
• Working with more senior employees.
• Developing employees using the new pool categories.
• Ensuring that performance reviews are taking place in a timely manner and are conducted with development in mind.

Employees with workplace issues can contact Friede to schedule an appointment at wfriede@comcast.net or 651-366-3064. Her office is located in Room B26A of Central Office, although she is willing to accommodate needs and meet people at other locations as needed.

For more information on the employee ombudsman function, visit ihub.dot.state.mn.us/ombudsman.

Employees are invited to attend the latest Commissioner’s Reading Corner discussion Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 1:30 p.m., in the MnDOT Library at Central Office.

Mike Barnes, Operations Division director, will lead a discussion of “The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To & For Our Leaders,” by Ira Chaleff.

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, MnDOT librarian.

This will be the tenth CRC event of the 2012 season.

For more information on the Commissioner’s Reading Corner, visit ihub/readingcorner. Employees with questions can contact Qin Tang at 651-366-3784.

An interview featuring Barnes’ reaction to the latest book will be available soon at ihub.dot.state.mn.us/readingcorner/interviews.html.

Employees interested in showing their creative side are encouraged to participate in the GIS Day poster contest Nov. 14 at 2:30 p.m. in the Central Office Cafeteria. 

The Office of Transportation Data & Analysis, who is sponsoring the event, is asking participants to ‘Tell the Transportation Story’ through maps, analysis, graphics, stories, data and/or graphs.

Employees interested in participating should email Josephine.Kyne@state.mn.us by Oct. 10. All posters should be turned in, mailed or emailed to Josephine.Kyne@state.mn.us–CO second floor north, mail stop 450—by Nov. 2.

Prizes include lunch with Commissioner Tom Sorel and MnDOT gifts.

For more information, contact Peter Morey at 651-366-3872, peter.morey@state.mn.us; or Jesse Pearson at 651-366-3881, jesse.pearson@state.mn.us.

By Qin Tang

The August 2012 edition of New Library Materials is now available at www.dot.state.mn.us/library/newlibmat.html.

Employees interested in accessing full-text articles published in ASCE journals can check out this issue’s Information Extra to read more about it.

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, please contact Pam Gonzalez at 651-366-3749.

For other information requests, contact the library at 651-366-3791 or email library.dot@state.mn.us. Employees also can send requests via the “Ask a Librarian” webpage at www.dot.state.mn.us/library/asklibrarian.html.

By Becky Dahlberg

Have you ever wondered who keeps in touch with MnDOT’s many consultant partners?

Brad Hamilton, MnDOT’s consultant services liaison, fields questions from consultants and facilitates a collaborative partnership with the consultant community.

“I enjoy interaction with a diverse group of consultant partners and the opportunity to work with a wide variety of MnDOT staff from around the state,” Hamilton said.

Newsline recently caught up with Hamilton to learn more about his work with the consultant community and how he helps the department and stakeholders better communicate and work together.

What does a consultant liaison do?

My job consists mainly of facilitating a collaborative partnership with the consultant community. I am responsible for facilitating and leading collaborative working teams made up of consultants and MnDOT staff that strive to improve consultant contracting processes. I also address consultant contract issues that are important to all stakeholders and partner initiatives to help all stakeholders better communicate and work together. As consultant liaison, I am the main point of contact for customer service issues related to consultant contracts and serve as a resource for consultants that need information or assistance. My other duties include management of professional/technical contracting programs, education and outreach for consultants and MnDOT, and the coordination of consultant and MnDOT partnering events such as the quarterly partnership breakfasts and the MnDOT-American Council of Engineering Companies annual conference.

What’s a typical day like for you?

A typical day for me consists of talking to consultants and MnDOT co-workers on the phone or via email about a variety of contracting issues. I also field many inquiries regarding potential work that MnDOT may have for consultants and other concerns from the consultant community about contracting processes and programs. I attend many meetings with consultants and MnDOT staff to discuss process improvements and partnership initiatives between MnDOT and the consultant community.

What are you currently working on?

Currently, I am coordinating a collaborative working team to improve the consultant contract performance evaluation process. Additionally, I am facilitating a working team that is analyzing new proposal formats and processes for competitive selection.

I continue to work closely with the consultant Disadvantaged Business Enterprise community to find ways to incorporate more small business usage in professional technical contracting. 

I also am working on behalf of MnDOT with many members of the transportation industry to plan a 2014 Minnesota Transportation Conference.

How long have you worked at MnDOT?

I have worked at MnDOT for 12 years. Previous to this position, I served as a contract administrator and the district consultant contract liaison.

What are some challenges you’ve faced?

A large portion of my job revolves around listening and responding to challenges that consultants face. In the current economic climate, there are many consultants that are extremely concerned about the lack of work from the public sector. As consultant liaison, it is challenging to try to be customer-oriented, but also realistic when a consultant is having a hard time getting work with MnDOT.

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:

• On the job: Neile Reider manages Minnesota’s wastewater treatment facilities
• On the job: Randy St. Ores helps keep traffic flowing on Stillwater Lift Bridge
• On the job: Rob Williams oversees Minnesota’s rest areas

By Bob Filipczak

The Hwy 1 project south of Ely is one of the 10 best road construction projects in the entire United States this year, according to Roads & Bridges magazine. The publication recently selected the District 1 project as the eighth best project of 2012.

Todd Campbell, Hwy 1 project manager, said the award was for “perseverance for constructing roads in difficult situations.”

Hwy 1 poses several challenges for crews. It is a very narrow corridor and a very small-footprint project, according to Campbell. The corridor also includes 63 unique wetlands.

The road itself is considered eligible for the historic register. It is a series of old logging roads that have been strung together over the years and now makeup Hwy 1.

“There is a tremendous amount of interest from the public in the environmental aspects of the work we do up in that country,” Campbell said. “So we had to be very careful not to negatively impact any of the wetlands beyond what our plans indicated.

“And, we had to try to build the new road basically very close—in some cases on top of the in-place road—and somehow dig out the swamps and do all the rock excavation while still allowing construction traffic access up and down through the corridor.”