By Anne Meyer

Sally Brown was flagging on Hwy 61 in Lake City a week before Christmas to help control traffic near a maintenance operation when a car crash almost took her life.

It was an unusually warm week for December in southeast Minnesota, so the Red Wing crew was filling cracks on the highway. The team followed all safety requirements to close a lane of traffic. Four portable message boards warned drivers of the work leading into the area. Unfortunately, one driver didn’t notice the warning signs or the stopped traffic, and rear-ended a vehicle near the work zone.

The impact slammed the second vehicle up a railroad embankment. It then began to roll over back toward the road. Brown had two choices: run to the right into traffic or run left toward the embankment. She knew it was a decision that could kill her. Brown chose to run left. Luckily, a box elder tree stopped the vehicle from hitting her. It’s a day she will never forget.

Brown shared her story by letter during the District 6 Worker Memorial Day event in Rochester April 29. She was still too shaken to speak in person before the crowd of at least 200 people. Districts 1, 7, Metro and Central Office also observed Worker Memorial Day on Monday, April 29. The day honors the 35 MnDOT employees and 15 private sector contractors who have died on the job while working on Minnesota highways since 1960.

“The work zone is their office,” Metro District Engineer Mike Barnes said during the Worker Memorial event at the Water’s Edge building. “Bad things can happen quickly. That’s why we encourage everyone to plan ahead no matter what their task, because keeping people safe is a team effort. We welcome every idea that can help make our jobs safer. We don’t want to add another name to that list.”

Metro District hosted an hour-long event at the Water’s Edge building. It included speeches from Barnes, Deputy Commissioner Sue Mulvihill and Minnesota State Patrol Sgt. Scott Wahl. Employees also viewed a video, “Why I Work Safe,” from District 3.

In District 7, 35 empty chairs with safety vests and hard hats stood in front of the speakers during the ceremony. More than 170 people attended the event, which also featured remarks from District Engineer Greg Ous and a poem read by union officials.

Central Office honored fallen workers with chairs, safety vests and hard hats on each floor. Commemorative posters were near the lunchroom and the permanent worker memorial in the lobby.

Gov. Tim Walz proclaimed April 28, 2019, as “Worker Memorial Day” in Minnesota. The proclamation and a list of fallen workers are available on MnDOT’s Worker Memorial webpage.

By Anne Meyer

Building a new multi-use path in a community. Filling gaps in existing sidewalks. Giving educators the means to focus on safety strategies. MnDOT helps to make all of these possible through Safe Routes to School grants.

Sixty-three Minnesota schools will receive $2.3 million in planning help and infrastructure grants this year. The funding will make it safer for thousands of students to walk or bike to school.

“For many communities, the planning assistance grants are the first step to assess their current conditions for walking and biking to school and decide what they need to effectively implement a Safe Routes to School Program,” said Dave Cowan, SRTS coordinator. “After a plan is developed, schools and communities can use those blueprints to apply for funds to help advance infrastructure such as sidewalks, crosswalks and signage.”

MnDOT has awarded more than $38 million in SRS funding since 2005. Close to 70 percent of the funds have supported work in Greater Minnesota communities.

Safe Routes to School 2019 Planning Assistance Awards:

• Upper-Minnesota Regional Development Commission: MACCRAY
• Arrowhead Regional Development Commission: Sawtooth Mountain Clinic
• Region 9 Development Commission: Mankato Area Public Schools
• Northwest Regional Development Commission: Warren Alvaragdo Oslo School District
• Headwaters Regional Development Commission: Naytahwaush Charter School
• Mid-Minnesota Regional Development Commission: Atwater Groves Cosmos #2396
• Region 5 Development Commission: Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School District
• City of Sauk Centre
• City of La Crescent
• City of Spring Grove
• Gideon Pond Elementary School
• Lakeville Area Public Schools
• City of Dodge Center
• City of Chatfield
• Rockford Area Schools
• Lake City Public Schools
• City of Rush City
• St. Francis Area Schools

Safe Routes to School 2019 Infrastructure Awards:

• City of St. Paul
• City of Pierz
• City of Blue Earth
• City of Parkers Prairie
• City of Breckenridge
• City of Deer River
• City of Minneapolis
• City of Thief River Falls
• City of Moose Lake
• City of Hawley
• City of Holdingford 

MnDOT will announce the next round of grant availability in fall 2019. Schools and communities will have until early January 2020 to apply. More information is available at the Safe Routes to Schools website.

By Joseph Palmersheim

More than 250 people attended a Bridging Dinners event Thursday, May 2, at Franklin Steele Park in Minneapolis.

The event, done in partnership with Eat For Equity, offered an opportunity for residents to engage with MnDOT staff about rethinking I-94. Many age groups were represented, along with many different native languages, including Somali, Oromo, Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian and English.

“Those who live in the neighborhood know their community the best,” said Brenda Thomas, engagement and strategy director for the Rethinking I-94 Project. “Providing funds to local organizations to help MnDOT connect and engage gives us a better product. More importantly, it shows them that we do care and want to do better in terms of listening and learning from those who live, work and gather.”

By Joseph Palmersheim

Employees in Metro District are mourning the loss of two of their own.

Leon Vanderline, a transportation generalist at the Plymouth Truck Station, died Sunday, April 21. The 60-year-old Watertown resident worked for MnDOT for nearly 11 years. He is survived by a wife and three children. Services were held April 26 in St. Bonifacius.

Christopher Wenzel, Vanderline's supervisor, described Leon as a farmer, a father, a grandfather and a friend. He was also “a fun guy.”

“He had a great sense of humor and joked around with everyone,” Wenzel said. “He was good worker who would help out anyone who needed a hand with something. He would always be there to help out. There are still a lot stories being told about Leon that have us all laughing.”

Employees at the Plymouth station are building a memorial bench for both Vanderline and Mark Bartos, another employee who passed away last September.

Harvey Allen Richter, a senior transportation generalist with the Forest Lake Bridge Office, died Monday, April 22. The 69-year-old Cumberland, Wis., resident is survived by a wife and three children. Richter worked for MnDOT for almost 10 years. Services were held April 26 in Cumberland.

Trent Olson, a transportation generalist senior who worked with Richter at Forest Lake, said Richter worked construction for many years before joining MnDOT, and enjoyed carpentry and concrete work. The Virginia native had many sayings, Olson said, including “You only have to be one percent smarter than what you are working on,” or “There may be 10 ways to do something, but today we're going to do it my way.”

Richter, who owned a hobby farm, took care of his family and often did chores before coming in for his shifts. Employees recall hearing him on the phone, paying people's gas bills, or heard stories about Richter plowing neighbors out at 2 a.m.

“Harvey was a very generous man,” Olson said. “For the people who got a chance to meet him, he was a character, he was someone you wouldn't have forgotten. It was a lot of fun to work with him. It was a tough blow to lose him.”

Anne Caron, Office of Materials & Road Research, is eligible for the vacation donation program. Caron has worked for MnDOT for 31 years. 

She was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition that has caused her to use all of her sick time and vacation accruals. The Vacation Donation program will help with her ongoing rehabilitation and recovery time.   

Also eligible for the vacation donation program are MnDOT employees Donna Koren, Operations Division; Bruce Madson, transportation generalist in District 6; Tom Brown, transportation generalist in District 2; Donald Obernolte, Office of Environmental Stewardship; Kyle Goosman, District 8 transportation generalist senior; and Thomas Bredemus, Statewide Radio System Radio Operations Center.

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

By Mary McFarland Brooks

More than 250 people attended the Office of Environmental Stewardship’s semi-annual environmental stewardship conference April 23. The theme for this year’s event was “Risk, Resilience and Response.” Many MnDOT offices and districts participated, along with local governments, state and federal agencies, and consulting firms.

“The conference was educational and forward-thinking, especially regarding environmental policies and evolving technologies in project delivery,” said Marni Karnowski, Environmental Stewardship director. “Learning how to control environmental risks from project concept to completion is critical.”

Early breakout session topics varied from ethics discussions, community partnership programs for state roadsides to tribal perspectives. Late-morning breakout session topics included complex aquatics, NEPA emergency response and the lifespan of trees.

“We need to prepare and equip our people with the resources they need to deal with what our changing climate brings us on a routine basis, and we need to ensure our system is resilient enough to handle this,” said Nancy Daubenberger, assistant commissioner for Engineering Services. “We need to provide leadership, strategic direction and oversight for agency-wide environmental sustainability activities.”

Other breakout sessions (presented by MnDOT employees, the Federal Highway Administration and consulting firm WSB) discussed environmental decision-making in transportation, the study of environmental risk on projects and the restoration of a stone bridge at Lake Mille Lacs. The conference also provided an opportunity to honor projects and people who demonstrated exemplary environmental performance.

By Mary McFarland Brooks

MnDOT’s Americans with Disability Act Small Business Opportunity pilot program received the Women’s Transportation Symposium’s Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award April 25. The award recognizes organizations that promote diversity, inclusion and multi-cultural awareness within the transportation industry while exhibiting extraordinary efforts and initiatives in advancing professional opportunities for women and minorities.

MnDOT launched the program last year to develop the capacity of small businesses, especially Targeted Group Businesses, Veterans and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. It provides training on ADA construction and inspection work to MnDOT specifications while removing barriers for people with disabilities.

“The pilot program has identified a specific area of the transportation construction marketplace with current low rates of women- and minority-owned business participation, and launched a process to build the capacity of these businesses,” said Mary Schmidt, Metro District director for Advancing Equity.

The pilot enables small businesses to perform as prime contractors and build a track record of success by:

• Keeping contract values low (average $40,000 for construction and $25,000 for inspection)
• Using quick and simple contracting methods
• Providing support and feedback

The program has awarded 14 construction and four inspection contracts for a total of $750,000. All construction contracts were awarded to TGBs or DBEs. All inspection contracts were awarded to TGBs owned by women and persons of color. MnDOT is required by law to take the lowest bid.

“The capacity built through this program will enable these businesses to compete not only on MnDOT projects with ADA work, but on other public projects as well,” said Todd Grugel, MnDOT’s ADA Office engineer.

The pilot team anticipates awards of at least $1 million in contracts in 2020 and looks forward to expanding the program to Greater Minnesota. MnDOT’s Metro District, the Office of Civil Rights, ADA, Maintenance, and the Office of Construction and Innovative Contracting are driving the program.

More information is available on the ADA Accessibility Training webpage.

MnDOT has four welders. Duane Klein and Ryan Johns are at the Maple Grove Truck Station, and Don Golda and Ivan Maldonando Jr. are at the Oakdale Truck Station.

Do you or a co-worker have an interesting job to share with readers? Send us your ideas, and we’ll contact you for more information. 

Recent employee profiles: 

• David Cathcart monitors the highways for icy spots, debris
• Peg Hentges' business, people skills enrich MnDOT's District 7 family
• Greta Utech spends her summer as a Metro District maintenance worker

At left, District 1 employees Michael Kalnbach, David Mohar and Michael Anderson won an Environmental Stewardship Award for their work on the Hwy 1/169 Eagles Nest project between Tower and Ely. District Engineer Duane Hill presented the award. At right, Holly Kostrzewski, NE/ NW Minnesota regional Toward Zero Deaths coordinator, asks attendees how many of them had been to an area where fatal crashes have occurred this year. Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Jason Engeldinger also presented during the workshop. Photos by Stephanie Christensen

By Stephanie Christensen

District 1 held its annual employee day event Monday, April 29, at the Timberlake Lodge in Grand Rapids.

Employees packed the house and the event kicked off with remarks from Duane Hill, district engineer. Anton Treue, an academic and author specialising in the Ojibwe language and American Indian studies, gave a presentation about the importance of northern Minnesota to tribal communities. Pat Huston, assistant district engineer, major projects, gave a presentation about the Twin Ports Interchange Project. Finally, NE/ NW Minnesota regional Toward Zero Deaths Coordinator Holly Kostrzewski talked about the Toward Zero Deaths program.

The day also included tables set up for employees to visit. Several representatives from MnDOT employee resource groups were available to answer questions. Attendees were also given opportunity to view a 3-D model of the Twin Ports Interchange project.