By Erik Rudeen, Government Affairs

The 2018 legislative session started Feb. 20. One focus area for this year’s session will be on the capital investment bill. Gov. Mark Dayton recommends funding for these projects:

• $12.968 million in general obligation bonds for inspection, scoping, final design and construction repairs for the deteriorating Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis.
• $40 million in trunk highway bonds for the design, renovation and construction of seven MnDOT facilities across the state.
• $5 million in general obligation bonds for a statewide, competitive grant program that provides communities up to 70 percent of road and public infrastructure project costs to support economic development and create jobs. The program is a partnership between MnDOT and the Department of Employment and Economic Development.
• $5 million in general obligation bonds for replacing wetlands drained or filled by local government road construction projects. This program is administered by the Board of Water and Soil Resources, and helps meet the “not net loss” requirements in state and federal regulations.
• $50 million in general obligation bonds for design, environmental work, right of way acquisition, engineering and construction along regional express bus and busway corridors. These funds are administered by the Metropolitan Council.

The following issues also will likely be discussed by legislators during the 2018 session:

Mowing and haying along roadways

The 2017 Legislature enacted a moratorium on enforcing mowing and haying permits until April 30, 2018. They also directed MnDOT to work with agriculture and environmental groups to develop recommendations on mowing and haying, and report back to the Legislature by March 1, 2018. The recommendations must consider the ease and frequency of permits or notifications, priority to adjacent landowners and recognition of differences in wildlife throughout the state.

Autonomous vehicles

Minnesota traffic laws do not contemplate autonomous vehicles. There is confusion among state and local agencies as well as vehicle and technology manufacturers about whether autonomous vehicles violate existing statute. Providing clear regulation will help ensure the safe advancement of this technology.

Autonomous vehicle technology is advancing at a rapid pace. As this technology evolves, Minnesota needs to understand how these vehicles operate, identify how they work in winter weather conditions, identify infrastructure needs, and understand what other rules and regulations need to change as testing moves into implementation. 

Transportation Funding

Legislators may ask voters to amend the constitution this fall to permanently dedicate the sales tax on auto parts and other existing taxes to transportation funding. It’s unknown how these revenues would be divided between the state and local governments, or whether the amendment would include funding for transit.

The Legislature will adjourn no later than May 21, as mandated by Minnesota Constitution.

Weekly summaries of legislative hearings and introduction of transportation bills can be found on iHUB under the 2018 legislative session.

By Sue Roe

Technology that helps truck drivers find available parking spaces at rest areas is being installed in seven locations on high freight corridors in the state.

Minnesota is one of eight states developing a Regional Truck Parking Information and Management System. The goal is to develop a network of parking areas for truckers to plan their routes and help them make safer, smarter parking decisions, according to Dan Rowe, state project manager.

“Truck drivers sometimes spend 30 minutes or more looking for parking spots. We want to help them find safe, reliable parking so they don’t waste time looking, which decreases their downtime, and so they can move their products faster,” he said. “There will also be less fuel consumption and reduced emissions.”

Truckers are required to comply with the hours-of-service rules that limit how many hours they can be on the road. Fatigued driving is a major cause of preventable truck crashes.

“Rest areas fill up at night and truckers often park on exit ramps, which are unauthorized spots,” Rowe said. “This is a safety concern and when we provide safe parking for truckers, we also save lives by getting fatigued drivers off the road.”

The system’s technology will collect and broadcast real-time availability through dynamic message signs and on the 511 traveler information website on the truckers’ page. In-pavement sensors, called pucks, at the parking spaces detect the presence of the truck above it and sends information on the availability of spaces to MnDOT’s Regional Transportation Management Center. The RTMC technology interprets the data and sends the appropriate number to the dynamic message signs to indicate how many parking spaces are available.

Trucking companies’ dispatchers can also access the information on the 511 truckers’ page and relay the availability to their drivers.

Cameras installed on poles will allow the RTMC to visually monitor truck parking spots to confirm accuracy of the count. Camera images will also be shown on the 511 truckers’ page.

The dynamic messaging signs will be placed three to five miles before the rest area to alert truckers of real-time available parking spaces at the next two rest areas, allowing them to decide when they should pull over to rest.

When operational, Minnesota will have two sites on I-35, north and south of the Twin Cities, and five sites on I-94, west and east of the Twin Cities.

Rest area locations are Lake Latoka, Big Spunk Lake, Enfield, Elm Creek, Forest Lake, St. Croix and Heath Creek.

Other states in the region are Kansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. When those states implement their truck parking systems, it will interconnect into the regional system, which will become operational in January 2019.

Rowe said a test site at one of the rest areas in the state last winter showed the system works well.

“We learned some lessons from it, but overall, the technology works and MnDOT will be ready before 2019,” said Rowe.

Project funding comes from a $25 million TIGER grant and the states. In Minnesota, the project will cost $1.4 million. MnDOT contributed $177,500.

MnDOT and the other participating states first proposed the project when truck parking became a national safety concern following the 2009 murder of a trucker in South Carolina. Federal legislation, called Jason’s Law, put a national spotlight on addressing the shortage of long-term parking on the National Highway System. The law was included in the Transportation Reauthorization Bill of 2012.

When the project reached the implementation stage, it was moved from the Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicles Operation to the Intelligent Transportation Systems office.

By Mike Dougherty, District 6 public affairs coordinator

The Red Wing Bridge project on Hwy 63 is cradled between a historic downtown district and Mississippi river bluffs of cultural importance. The community’s focus on its history and resources is a key part of the project’s efforts.

During the removal of a portion of a slip ramp adjacent to the Eisenhower Bridge (Hwy 63), MnDOT saved one of the existing Bridge 9103 name plates for the local historical partners.

Teresa Martin, Cultural Resources, and Terry Ward, bridge project construction manager, presented the historic bridge plate Feb. 7 to the Goodhue County Historical Society at Red Wing City Hall. MnDOT also created an interpretative panel about Bridge 9103 that will be displayed this year at various venues in Red Wing.

“Our team is highly focused on safely building a new bridge and its connected pieces, such as the highway ramps that will link businesses and communities on both sides of the river,” said Ward. “Yet, we don’t lose sight of the effects of construction on the community’s history as we build something new.”

Last year the Historic American Engineering Record report was filed for Bridge 9103, the Hwy 63 approach bridge to the Eisenhower bridge that carries traffic over Hwy 61 near the base of Barn Bluff. Bridge 9103 was designed by Alfred Benesch and Associates of Chicago, the same firm that designed the Eisenhower Bridge over the Mississippi.

The Cultural Resources Unit helps guide MnDOT projects and partners with local communities in evaluating and retaining historic and cultural resources encountered on projects. Of the bridge, the unit writes, “Built in 1960, Bridge 9103 was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as an important Minnesota example of post-World War II bridge design. It had a sleek, Mid-Century Modern appearance and was exceptionally long and curved for its engineering type: a continuous concrete slab span.” 

A portion of Bridge 9103 was removed in December to help make way for a temporary bridge as part of the construction of the new replacement bridge and button hook ramp. The remainder of this slip ramp will be removed later in the project.

By Byron Millea, Office of Civil Rights

Forty-nine individuals attended an informational meeting Jan. 17 about MnDOT’s Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Opportunity Pilot Program. The meeting was hosted at MnDOT’s Small Business Resource Center located at Snelling and University avenues in St. Paul.

The purpose of the pilot program is to build capacity for ADA construction and inspection in Targeted Group Businesses, Veteran-owned, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise firms through strategic training and contracting methods. The program also serves the purpose of ensuring that MnDOT’s right of way and facilities are accessible to all citizens.

MnDOT intends to train TGB, Veteran-owned, and DBE companies via small ADA projects in the Twin Cities metro with arranged job shadowing so that the firms will be able to build experience in MnDOT ADA specifications for concrete flatwork. MnDOT also plans to hold a one-day training on ADA construction, inspection and simplified procurement in April to prepare companies for the projects that are expected to be available beginning in May.

The pilot program will award ADA construction work procured through negotiated maintenance contracts. These contracts require receipt of at least two quotes obtained through an informal solicitation process. The contract value cannot exceed $150,000.

ADA inspection contracts will be awarded via Equity Select contracts. The Equity Select procurement method allows MnDOT to directly select a TGB or Veteran-owned firm for contracts without using a solicitation process. The contract value under Equity Select cannot exceed $25,000.

The Office of Civil Rights provides several resources and services in support of these equitable contracting efforts. Services include:

• In-depth small business capacity assessments
• One-on-one technical assistance
• Scope-specific bidding and estimating assistance
• Training and one-on-one assistance at the Small Business Resource Center

Additional supportive efforts include the bonding education program, AASHTOWare Technical Assistance, mentor-protégé networking, and the upcoming Working Capital Loan Fund.

Dave Larson, 53, District 2 southwest subarea maintenance supervisor in Crookston, died Feb. 5.

Larson graduated from Crookston high school in 1983. He attended the University of Minnesota-Crookston and graduated in 1986.

He started with MnDOT as a transportation generalist in 2005 at the Crookston sign shop. He moved to maintenance in Crookston and East Grand Forks, before he was promoted into a lead worker position in the Crookston sign shop in 2010. He moved back to the maintenance and became the southwest subarea supervisor in 2014. He was also a Crookston volunteer firefighter from 2000-2014.

“Dave was a very dedicated employee and tremendous leader for his subarea,” said Bill Pirkl, District 2 assistant district engineer for operations. “He always had a plan on what needed to get done, how to accomplish it and get it done on time. He will be terribly missed.”

Larson enjoyed watching his children play sports and spending time with his family. 

He is survived by his wife, Donna; children, Danielle (Justin) Johnson, Dominique Larson and Douglas Larson; grandchildren, Teegan Johnson and Blair Johnson; sisters, Brenda (Ed) Shepersky and Mary Pat (Paul) Peterson; brothers, Spencer (Nancy) Larson, Joe (Denette) Larson, and his mother Patricia Shepersky.

He was preceded in death by his father, Spencer Larson.

Melissa Janzen, Office of Land Management, is eligible for the state vacation donation program.

Janzen, has worked at MnDOT since 2016. She has a life threatening illness and is currently unable to work. 

Donated vacation hours from state employees, who may donate up to a total of 40 hours per fiscal year to one or more eligible employees, will help her stay on the payroll.  

To donate vacation hours, go to the Employee Self Service Web site and click “Other Payroll” and then “Leave Donations.” The site also allows employees to view a list of all state employees eligible for the program and to enroll as a recipient.

By Rich Kemp

Jessica Oh has accepted the position as the director of the Highway Sponsorship Program. She began Feb. 7. Oh will develop and establish the new program through authority given to MnDOT in legislation that was passed in 2017. The legislation allows MnDOT to go into agreements with private entities to care for and enhance the use of state highway right of way.

“Engaging in public-private partnerships to enhance and maintain the right of way will improve the aesthetics of our roadways, while providing opportunities for partners to expand pollinator habitat, maintain bicycle and pedestrian trails, and improve the gateways to our cities,” said Oh.

Since 2004, Oh has been a director, and then senior director, with Rebuilding Together, a leading national housing organization revitalizing neighborhoods and preserving safe and healthy housing for low-income communities. She led the project management of several strategic initiatives, developed project plan and communication strategies, worked with the development and marketing teams to design proposals for corporate, foundation and government partners, and also developed evaluation strategies. 

“She comes to MnDOT with strong professional facilitation skills and experience in managing grants, stewarding stakeholders to meet project goals and building partner relationships,” said Nancy Daubenberger, assistant commissioner, Engineering Services division.   

Oh holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado – Denver – School of Public Affairs and a bachelor of arts in sociology from Arizona State University.  She moved to Minnesota in 2015 with her husband and two boys.

Oh will work with the district offices, Centers for Community Connections, permits sections in the Office of Land Management and many others to develop a highway sponsorship program. Oh welcomes feedback, ideas and input into the program design process as she develops policies and procedures for the new program.

Oh is located at CO and can be reached at 651-366-4939.

By Dave Solsrud, Asset Management project manager               

MnDOT continues to make progress on its asset management practices, according to the MnDOT 2017 Asset Management Gap Assessment report published last fall.

The gap assessment, which began in March 2017 through a grant from the Federal Highway Administration, was conducted over several months and included meetings with, and interviews and surveys of, more than 100 MnDOT employees. The consultant also reviewed MnDOT documents and compared them to state of the art practices defined by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials.

The report noted that “MnDOT began this analysis with one of the nation’s most advanced asset management programs already in place. It has produced a transportation asset management plan, regularly updates a 20-year State Highway Investment Plan, and is an early leader in risk management.”
                                                                                                                                                  
According to the report, factors contributing to MnDOT’s advanced asset management program are several practices not common in most states, including:                               

• A management system for forecasting bridge conditions, not merely inventorying them
• A drainage asset inventory
• A pavement marking inventory
• A sign inventory
• Annual financial forecast updates based upon risk-based assessments of inflation, revenue trends and other uncertainties
• Long-standing performance measures with asset-condition targets, and processes for continual monitoring and reporting

The report makes six recommendations for improving MnDOT’s asset management practices, many of which the department already has begun to implement:

• Adopt formal asset management policies, definitions and objectives to help employees understand the department’s commitment to asset management and see themselves in it
• Adopt pavement performance measures that more explicitly encourage and credit preservation
• Adopt statewide core maintenance priorities and targets to help in articulating resource needs for the products and services MnDOT provides, and are consistent with budgeting by products and services
• Identify and document the business processes for the core maintenance priorities so they can by supported by the Transportation Asset Management System
• Identify core TAMS data that support decision making and manage that data as a valuable asset
• Consider “Asset Valuation” as an additional decision-making tool to help MnDOT track and explain how well it is keeping up with investments and maintenance   

Because a large majority of MnDOT staff is engaged in asset management in one form or another and will be affected as these recommendations are carried out, the Assessment Management Project Team will be establishing several teams to facilitate input and direction for implementing the recommendations. MnDOT’s goal is to have all six recommendations implemented by the end of calendar year 2018.

The St. Croix Crossing bridge project received several awards at the American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota Engineering Excellence Awards program Jan. 26. The project received a Grand Award (one of eight given out), as well as the Grand Conceptor award and the People’s Choice award—the first time that one project won both top awards.

The Engineering Excellence Awards Program recognizes engineering achievements that exhibit the highest degree of merit and ingenuity. Entries were judged based on originality and innovation; future value to the engineering profession; social, economic and sustainable design considerations; complexity; and meeting the client’s needs.

“My thanks to everyone for their hard work in making this project a success,” said Michael Beer, St. Croix project director, who accepted the awards on behalf of the project. “I continue to hear great compliments from the users of the bridge since it has opened. Great work by the team over many years to deliver this challenging project.”

Visit MnDOT’s website for more information about the St. Croix Crossing. For more information about the awards, visit ACEC of Minnesota.

By Commissioner Charlie Zelle

As a member of MnDOT’s Executive Inclusion Council, I am proud to report that the EIC recently approved the updated Diversity and Inclusion Unified Strategic Work Plan: 2018-2022. First adopted in 2013, the plan is a roadmap for making diversity and inclusion part of our day-to-day activities so MnDOT is seen as an employer and workplace of choice. It is closely tied to MnDOT’s Vision, Mission and Core Values and focuses on three areas critical to the success of our organization: workforce and workplace environment; public engagement; and contracting.

What do we mean when we talk about “diversity and inclusion”?

For MnDOT, diversity means ensuring that our workforce reflects the populations of Minnesota, including race, ethnicity, gender, religious beliefs, age, sexual orientation, class, education level, family, classifications, etc.

Being inclusive means having a workplace where all employees feel valued and can contribute their best.

The Diversity and Inclusion Unified Strategic Work Plan expands on efforts already underway in the agency by focusing on 11 goals distributed in three areas:

Workforce and workplace environment 

• Bias is mitigated in all processes.
• The diversity of our state is reflected in our workforce at all levels and in all roles throughout the organization.
• All employees are able to contribute their best and feel valued.
• Systems throughout the organization ensure a diverse and inclusive environment.
• MnDOT is seen as a leader in diversity and inclusion within the community.          

Public engagement  

• MnDOT is seen as a trusted partner in developing equitable transportation solutions that work for communities served across Minnesota.
• All MnDOT projects have public engagement plans incorporated into the scoping process. 
• MnDOT will demonstrate and share best public engagement practices.

Contracting  

• The diversity of our state is reflected in our contracting partners.
• MnDOT will be a leader in ending Minnesota State contracting disparities.
• MnDOT is seen as a leader in creating a level playing field for small businesses for highway heavy construction and related services.