By Jerimiah Moerke, District 4 public affairs coordinator

District 4 staff in Detroit Lakes are feeling what it’s like to be in the midst of a major construction project this year. One of the district’s largest projects is right out the front door of the headquarters building on Hwy 10.

Hwy 10 is the major route between the Fargo-Moorhead area and the lakes country of Becker County. It’s also where much of the retail growth in Detroit Lakes occurred during the past decade.

While the number of businesses (and therefore, traffic) has grown considerably, the transportation network has not kept up. The $14.3 million, two-year project addresses deficiencies in the system and improves safety and mobility.
Key elements of the project include:

• Resurfacing with concrete on Hwy 10 from the Detroit Lakes airport to Hwy 59
• Reconstructing existing and constructing new frontage road along Hwy 10 and Hwy 59 (including a trail)
• Constructing a bridge on Hwy 59 to better allow local traffic access to the upgraded frontage road system and the shopping area on the western side of Detroit Lakes

Schedule
The project began in late April, and it’s nearly one-third complete. The bulk of the work will be completed this construction season. Because two sections of new frontage road run over deep swamps parallel to Hwy 10 and Hwy 59, a surcharge is required before constructing the roadway.  Those short sections of frontage road will not be complete until next construction season.

Unfortunately, the project does affect traffic flow through the Detroit Lakes area. Backups of one mile or more are not uncommon on Friday afternoons as people go to their lake cabins. Additional communication will take place before WE Fest in August when an estimated 50,000 people converge on Detroit Lakes for the annual country music festival.

Benefits
People driving through Detroit Lakes and local residents will see several benefits when the project is complete:

• Local traffic may access the west side retail district using a new local street instead of Hwy 10 and Hwy 59
• More consistent speeds on Hwy 10 that should reduce the chances of crashes
• A path for pedestrians and cyclists to safety reach the retail district

Landwehr Construction of St. Cloud is the prime contractor for the project. Check out the project web page for more information.

By Shannon Fiecke

As MnDOT’s strategic initiative (or Wildly Important Goal) of Enhancing Financial Effectiveness passes its 18-month mark, a new management team is in place to lead the initiative. At the same time, MnDOT is decentralizing the EFE coaching staff in an effort to embed the new business practices into the heart of the agency. 

Strategic Initiatives Project Director Jocelyn Stein is now leading the EFE management team, following team manager Mary Prescott’s retirement. Stein, who also manages computer infrastructure projects for MnDOT, was recently joined by Nancy Bennett, an executive assistant on mobility from the Office of Government Affairs, and AnneMarie Burgess, District 7 employee and organizational development specialist, as program manager. Burgess will develop coaching staff at the local level. Lorraine Mitchell, a consultant, continues through this fall as a project manager for EFE’s financial management team and MnDOT’s Major Highway Project Report.

Yet to be announced are the new district and office-level EFE coaches.

For the past 18 months, a centralized team of EFE coaches — Susan Walto, Sara Pianalto, Tony Cairns and Trent Weber — have helped teach MnDOT supervisors how to measure and track their unit’s progress on WIG-related activities using a FranklinCovey system of accountability, called Four Disciplines of Execution.

Senior leaders have used this system to tackle large-scale EFE projects – like pricing all of MnDOT’s infrastructure – and dozens of employee groups are using it to work on a wide range of goals, such as shortening the time it takes to process Adopt A Highway applications and lowering the cost of snow plowing.
 
With most managers now trained in Four Disciplines of Execution, MnDOT would like supervisors to lead their own staff on these business disciplines, with the help of district- and office-level coaches. By decentralizing the coaching staff, Stein hopes to continue the work of embedding the FranklinCovey system into the culture of the agency.

“One of the four disciplines is to create and maintain a cadence of accountability,” Stein said. “This hasn’t been just about the EFE initiative, but also about building a systematic process for executing critical agency priorities.”

MnDOT’s Queers & Allies Employee Resource Group participated in the 2015 Twin Cities Pride Parade and Festival June 27-28. The Q&A ERG is a group for MnDOT employees who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or queer, and their allies. Q&A focuses on providing a safe and respectful work environment.

In the Twin Cities, there has been a Pride observation every summer since 1972. MnDOT has participated since 2013. This year, Commissioner Charlie Zelle rode in the snowplow. The I-35W Bridge also was lit in rainbow colors. ERG members handed out postcards of the rainbow bridge, along with state maps and stickers at the MnDOT recruitment booth on Saturday and Sunday.

Sue Mulvihill, deputy commissioner and chief engineer, rode in the snowplow in 2013 and 2014.

“The experience is a blast,” said Mulvihill. “The crowd has been, in my two experiences, very receptive, and thanks MnDOT for the work that we do, so it’s actually an uplifting experience for me. I am also always impressed by how many people are at the parade. It’s a huge crowd. I truly enjoy being a ‘celebrity’ for MnDOT and I’m proud of the work that Q & A does to accomplish being in the parade and having a booth at the fair.”

Q&A members Scott Robinson, Rob Williams and Linda Pate have participated in the parade for many years. However, walking the route as part of a MnDOT contingent with a snowplow put the experience in a whole different light. 

“In my first parade, we rode our bicycles to promote the AIDS Trek fundraiser for local AIDS charities,” said Robinson, landscape architect and state outdoor advertising coordinator with the Office Environmental Stewardship. “The parade gives me a chance to share with my community the work that we do at MnDOT. Now that our participation in the event is officially sanctioned by MnDOT, it is a real honor to be a part of the festivities. The cheers and welcome we receive from the crowds and the many people who stop by the booth at the festival to get their MnDOT highway maps and check out careers in transportation is a tremendous validation for the work we do for the citizens of Minnesota.”

“I was overwhelmed by the extremely positive reaction from the parade watchers to MnDOT’s presence,” said Williams, landscape architect with design support in OES. “The experience made me proud to be a part of MnDOT.”

Linda Pate, historian in OES, remembered the early days. “In the 1980s, the parade was much smaller. I would ride my bike to the front of the parade, watch it go by, and then ride to the front again to see it another time. My first time to actually be in the parade was 2014, with Q&A. The crowd loves the snowplow and shouts “Thank you MnDOT!” as we go by.”

John Gostovich, Transportation Systems Management Office, described his experience. “I love the enthusiasm of the crowd as the snowplow passes. Whenever we honked our horn, folks cheer. It is an incredibly upbeat event with thousands of smiling people. Whenever I go, I feel terrific afterwards.”

For more information about the Q&A ERG, contact Bruce Tanquist, Office of Materials & Road Research, at bruce.tanquist@state.mn.us.

Craig Mittelstadt, engineering specialist senior, died unexpectedly on July 2. He worked as a Work Zone Safety Supervisor for the Office of Construction and Innovative Contracting.

Mittelstadt was employed by MnDOT for more than 30 years.

"Craig was an expert in his field and was well respected by both contractors and MnDOT project personnel. He was a big part of the OCIC family and will be sorely missed," said Tom Ravn, Construction and Innovative Contracting director.

A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. July 10 at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, 12650 Johnny Cake Ridge Rd., Apple Valley. A wake will be held 5 to 8 p.m. July 9 at the White Funeral Home, 14560 Pennock Avenue, Apple Valley, and one hour prior at the church.

By Greg Ruhland

Modes Moving Minnesota has a new home on iHUB

As introduced in the June 24 issue of Newsline, Modes Moving Minnesota continues to inform and educate MnDOT about the agency’s role in support of Minnesota’s multimodal transportation system.

Formed in part to advance MnDOT’s goals in financial effectiveness, project management and asset management, this effort is encouraging transportation projects to be coordinated and developed from a more integrated, multimodal perspective.

You can find out more about Modes Moving Minnesota on iHUB.

By Commissioner Charlie Zelle

We are all familiar with MnDOT’s Vision, Mission and Core Values. Together, they drive our work in providing a safe, accessible, reliable and multimodal transportation system to all Minnesotans.

Today, I’d like to zero in on one of our six Core Values—Diversity and Inclusion—and its importance to our success as an organization. Expanding our intercultural competence and diversifying MnDOT’s workforce allows us to be more:

• Responsive to, and trusted by, the communities we serve
• Effective in delivering high-quality, dependable transportation systems
• Competitive in attracting and maintaining a highly skilled workforce

During the past couple of years, we have taken a number of actions to support and expand diversity and inclusion within MnDOT, including:

• Establishing an Executive Inclusion Council (senior leadership team and the directors of the offices of Equity & Diversity, Civil Rights and Human Resources) to elevate the importance of this value in helping us effectively deliver high-quality transportation projects
• Creating a Diversity and Inclusion Unit to assist offices, districts and groups in effectively integrating diversity and inclusion into the way we do business
• Instituting seven distinct Employee Resource Groups started by employees united in creating an inclusive workplace culture that builds on the unique perspectives and strengths of all

At the Managers Workshop in June, we introduced a new seven-minute video that outlines MnDOT’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. I have asked all managers to spend time viewing the video with their staff and having a conversation about how we can make diversity and inclusion real within MnDOT.

What does this mean to you? For starters, consider these questions:

• What ways are we respectful in our work area that we can build on?
• What ways can we be more inclusive with each other?

Your discussions and insights will be useful as MnDOT moves forward in integrating diversity and inclusion as part of our daily lives.

For more information about MnDOT’s diversity and inclusion commitment, contact Rosemarie Merrigan, MnDOT’s Diversity and Inclusion manager. In addition, visit the Diversity and Inclusion website, which includes information about D & I plans, policies, programs and the Executive Inclusion Council.