By Mary McFarland Brooks

Widening roadways is a routine transportation solution that includes constructing shoulders and installing guardrail to improve safety, however expanding County State-Aid Hwy 2, which lies south of Hwy 19 by Morton, Minn. in Redwood County provided some historical surprises.

The project, led by Willie Rabenberg, Redwood County public works director, included involvement from Teresa Martin, an archeologist with MnDOT’s Office of Environmental Stewardship. Martin partnered on the project as the corridor included historical sites from Minnesota’s 1862 Lower Sioux conflict.

The highway is used to travel to the Jackpot Junction Casino. Denny Prescott, president of the Lower Sioux Indian Community, which manages the casino, worked on the project to ensure traffic corridors would remain open during construction. Pam Halverson served as tribal monitor and Grace Goldtooth Campos from the Lower Sioux Tribal Historic Preservation Office was also involved in the project.

The surveying and preliminary design work was done in 2010. The widening of County State-Aid Hwy 2 also required right of way acquisition during a period when agricultural land values were fluctuating and land sales were frequent so the timeline for the process was extended. A segment of the project also crossed through the Lower Sioux Community Reservation property so permanent easements had to be secured from the Lower Sioux tribe.

To protect the historical sites, part of the highway was shifted south from its original alignment, however when initial attempts to remove topsoil from the area revealed early homestead sites and artifacts, the roadway was relocated back to the original alignment.

Artifacts found within the half-mile mile excavated site included a fireplace, which has significance for the Lower Sioux tribe that transcends traditional meaning, according to Grace Goldtooth Campos.

“The articles that were found will help us interpret the area,” said Campos. “There are few photos or maps so these discoveries provide a better understanding of what happened in that space.”  

Campos saw it as an advantage that there were some familiar faces involved in the project , such as the consultant, Two Pines Resource Group owner, Dr. Michelle Terrell, who worked on previous projects with MnDOT as well as provided the historic context for the book, “Historical Archaeology of Minnesota Farmsteads” for MnDOT. Terrell is also an anthropologist whose research interests include the study of the history of the Minnesota River Valley, where the highway is located. Terrill’s company provided the necessary cultural resource management oversight for the project.

Pam Halverson, who served at tribal monitor on the project, had experience as the previous Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and is certified as a para-archeological. She also served as a tribal monitor on roadway projects in North and South Dakota and was included in the County State-Aid Hwy 2 project.

“I was brought in after the shovel testing was completed and would have liked to have been present for that; however I am glad the highway remained on the original alignment,” said Halverson. 

Of all the discoveries made by Terrell’s group, the fireplace is the most significant, in Halverson’s opinion.

“They are doing carbon-testing of the fireplace and I am curious to find out when it dates from as it is much older than many of the arrowheads and other excavated items,” Terrell said.

During the archeological dig, a science field trip for children who live on the Lower Sioux Reservation was provided as a way to bring the past alive. They had an opportunity to see the outlines of the buildings that made up the village along with ceramic shards, animal bones and arrowheads that were located at the site. The children also got their hands dirty as they looked for artifacts at the site.

The project partnership was a success, according to Halverson. “Our relationship was inclusive as all the partners came together and figured out how to do the project,” she said.

Halverson said she was proud of her role as a tribal elder and as tribal monitor on the project.

“The past will always be important to us because that’s who we are; those people left us gifts to help us remember who we are. This area was the beginning and the end of our people,” she said.

 The shoulder widening project to improve safety along County State-Aid Hwy 2 will start in summer 2015.

By Shannon Fiecke, Research Services

MnDOT is testing a crowd-sourcing application that will allow motorists to update winter weather road conditions on the state's 511 system.

The Regional Transportation Management Center is planning a soft launch of Citizen Reporting in April, initially inviting MnDOT employees to post their experiences on routes they travel. By next winter, the RTMC hopes to invite the public to do the same.

“We suspect that citizen reporters will be similar in ethic to the kinds of people who volunteer to be weather spotters,” said Mary Meinert, transportation program specialist who assists Kelly Kennedy Braunig, the state's 511 System Coordinator, with day-to-day operations of 511.

Currently, MnDOT maintenance crews report road conditions, but outstate Minnesota lacks 24/7 coverage and its reports can become quickly outdated, especially on highways that aren’t plowed as frequently or lack traffic cameras, Braunig said.

Citizen reporting, especially on weekends, will help keep that information fresh.

“We try to explain on the website that we only update from 3 to 6 a.m., 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and as road conditions change, but we still get many emails requesting more frequent road condition information,” Braunig said.

Even a recent comment on MnDOT's Facebook pointed out the limitations in one area of the state: “Updates [only] come during government work hours.”

Growing service

It’s actually a welcome sign that the public wants more from 511.

Seven years ago, when Braunig applied for her job, not many people used 511. In fact, at the time, she wasn't even aware of the service, which provides information to travelers on weather-related road conditions, construction and congestion.

Today, 511’s online program and mobile app are accessed by more than 5,000 people per day during the winter (and about half as many during the summer). Data comes from MnDOT’s construction and maintenance offices as well as state trooper data and incident response. This real-time information is available for all of Minnesota.

In the Twin Cities metro area, more than 700 traffic cameras allow MnDOT and State Patrol dispatchers to check the condition of 170 miles of highways and monitor traffic incidents at any time. Rochester, Duluth, Mankato and Owatonna also have cameras for incident management and traffic monitoring.

The 511 system's greatest challenge is in Greater Minnesota, where road condition information is used daily by schools, ambulance personnel and truckers, as well as the traveling public, but information isn't updated frequently outside of business hours. Citizen reporting will be a beneficial resource.

Other states

Other northern states face similar challenges as Minnesota, but have been able to improve the timeliness of road condition data with assistance from truckers and other motorists.

In Wyoming, more than 400 citizen reporters (primarily truckers) call in road conditions to the Transportation Management Center. In Idaho, citizen reporters directly report the information into the 511 system. Minnesota will be the fifth state to adopt citizen reporting, following Iowa, which launched its service in November 2014.

Like Iowa, Minnesota’s citizen reporting initially will focus on winter roads.

To participate, people will need to take an online training module and then register their common routes, perhaps the highways they take to work or their way to the cabin on the weekends. These contributions will be marked as a citizen report on the website.

“Minnesota truck drivers are loyal users of the 511 system and we suspect they will also make some of our best reporters,” Meinert said.

Minnesota is part of a 13-state consortium that shares a 511 service technology provider. States with citizen reporting recently shared their experiences in a Peer Exchange sponsored by North/West Passage, a transportation pooled fund that is developing ways to share 511 data across state lines.

“With citizen reporting we hope to give people a voice and a chance to participate,” Braunig said.

For more information on the 511 Citizen Reporting program or if you would like to participate, contact Braunig at kelly.braunig@state.mn.us or Meinert at mary.meinert@state.mn.us.

By Becky Niyukuri

Bev Farraher became the acting state bridge engineer and director of the MnDOT Bridge Office Feb. 25. She will be in the position for approximately 10 months, and replaces Nancy Daubenberger who became Engineering Services Division director on Jan. 5.

Previously, Farraher was Bridge Construction and Maintenance Engineer since early July 2014, as part of the MnDOT Manager Mobility program. She comes to the office director role with a wide range of experience.

During her time in the MnDOT Graduate Engineer program, she worked in Final Design, Right of Way, the Regional Traffic Management Center and Maintenance. In Golden Valley (old District 5), she worked in Right of Way and Metro Traffic Engineering prior to working in Metro Maintenance as an operations engineer and the district maintenance engineer. Before joining MnDOT, Farraher was a soils technician for Twin Cities Testing and in construction for a builder in Olso, Norway.

“The managerial mobility within the Bridge Office was a very beneficial experience,” said Farraher. “The people have been so wonderful to work with that I felt I should pursue this once in a lifetime opportunity to take on the acting bridge engineer role. While I miss the people and the work of maintenance operations, I enjoyed learning so much from coworkers in the Bridge Office and hope to do what I can in this new role to support them and help accomplish the office's goals.”

Farraher holds a bachelor’s of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in infrastructure systems engineering from the University of Minnesota.

“Bev comes to the office director role with 26 years of MnDOT experience and brings an excellent background to the position,” said Nancy Daubenberger, Engineering Services Division director. “I have been impressed with how quickly she picks up on bridge and structure technical issues, as well as her dedication to her work.”

Farraher is located at the Bridge Office in Oakdale and can be reached at 651-366-4501 or beverly.farraher@state.mn.us.

By Greg Ruhland

Contracts Agreements Auditing Tracking System

The Contracts Agreements Auditing Tracking System is MnDOT’s new system for recording, tracking and reporting on MnDOT contracts. Everything you ever wanted to know about CAATS, including guidance and support resources, is on a new iHUB page located at ihub/caats/. You can also find it under CAATS in the A to Z index.

Historic Roadside Properties

Now you can learn more about MnDOT’s historic roadside properties at its recently refreshed site. Watch for continuing updates in the future.