By Mike Dougherty, District 6 public engagement and communications director

The time of COVID-19 has been one of adjustment, but the work of MnDOT hasn't stopped.

For MnDOT's bridge inspection teams, the need to evaluate the state's bridges is ongoing. In District 6 alone, MnDOT has 990 bridges scheduled for inspection this year for both the district and local agencies. That includes two of its fracture critical Mississippi River Bridges - Wabasha (Hwy 60) and Winona (Hwy 43), which were inspected last month.

The inspection process requires teams and aerial equipment such as the snooper trucks. Their multi-jointed arms allow inspectors to maneuver out from a bridge and under it to ensure they can get close to inspect areas that need evaluation.

Teams need to limit exposure to each other, so the traditional method of having two people in a snooper basket has been changed. In the past, the work of the duo is similar to something you might have during a dental checkup with the dentist inspecting your teeth and gums and calling out measurements to an assistant who records it.

Now, one inspector is in the basket and the person who records the inspection observations is elsewhere, either in another vehicle or along the shoreline of the river. Another operator is in the snooper monitoring the movements by video. All are tied in by radio to communicate.

By Kristi Schadegg, Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations

When Barnhart Crane and Rigging first reached out to the Oversize/Overweight Permits unit in the Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations in April, they said they needed to move something big ... really big!

Their cargo: nine cold boxes, used to process refrigerated liquid products (such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon) that operate at extreme cold temperatures for cryogenic storage. All nine components varied in size, with the largest measuring 20 feet wide, almost 20 feet high, more than 250 feet long, and weighing 623,904 pounds. This is longer and heavier than an Airbus A380-800, the largest airliner in the world.

The journey of these cold boxes began in New Orleans, where they were loaded on a barge and shipped up the Mississippi River, off-loaded near Inver Grove Heights, and transported to their final destination in Cottage Grove. Though there were only about 16 miles to travel from Inver Grove Heights to the facility, the complexity of the route and the size of these extreme loads required six hours to transport, and special coordination between the Oversize/Overweight Permits unit, Metro District, the driver, Barnhart Crane and Rigging, the State Patrol and the utility company.

Due to low hanging power lines, the height of the largest loads, and a roundabout which couldn't be navigated easily, these extreme loads needed to use the opposite side of the road at two specific locations.

Barnhart worked with Metro District and the State Patrol to set up message boards and traffic control for these wrong-way maneuvers, which required closing the road temporarily. To minimize the inconvenience to motorists, Barnhart transported the load at night when traffic volumes are low.

Though it was complex and challenging to move these cold boxes such a short distance, teamwork and coordination between MnDOT and partners made it possible for these loads to reach their destination, ensuring the safety of motorists - and without knocking down any power lines in the process.

A recent study commissioned by the Office of Transit and Active Transportation shows the benefits of rural and small urban transit services exceed the costs of providing the services. For every dollar spent to provide transit services in Greater Minnesota, benefits worth $2.51 are shared throughout the communities, according to the “Measuring the Economic Benefits of Rural and Small Urban Transit Services in Greater Minnesota” report.

“Transit systems are often viewed as valuable community assets, but the value of those services was unmeasured,” said Noel Shughart, transit team planning leader in the Office of Transit and Active Transportation who was on the study’s technical advisory panel. “Identifying those services and placing a value on them helps us understand how vital they are to the well-being of the communities.”

The study included a survey that shows a third of the riders who use transit to get to work said they would not be able to keep their jobs if they couldn’t use transit. Providing and improving access to work reduces spending on public assistance that would be needed to support people who are unemployed.

Transit helps people get to their health care appointments for preventative services, which reduces emergency care visits. There is a broader benefit when people traveling to their appointments can rely more on transit and less on their family and friends, who often take time off work to provide transportation, the study reported.

Transit riders also have access to nearby businesses, contributing to increased spending and economic activity close to home.

“Without transit, some of those shopping trips would not be made and local spending would be lost,” Shughart said. “Transit allows people to live where they want to and that keeps people living and working in small communities.”

The study included case studies and information about transit systems across the state. Altogether, Minnesotans received mobility and efficiency benefits valued at $271 million. Health care benefits made up the largest part of that amount at $228 million.

The study noted that transit provides intangible benefits that are harder to measure, including supporting independent living, allowing seniors to age in place, improving quality of life and improving social opportunities for all ages, abilities and incomes.

North Dakota State University and Montana State University conducted the study.

The study can be found on the Research and Innovation website.

By Joseph Palmersheim

Editor's note: This is a continuation in our series about MnDOT employees who have found themselves temporarily reassigned to jobs at other state agencies to help respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Rich Kemp

Carolyn Adamson is the Metro District lead project manager. She has been at MnDOT for 11 years. She started in water resources and has worked in project management the last four years.

What do you do in your job?
I am a project manager for design projects that are to be constructed in the next five years. I manage teams of functional area representatives and consultants to complete design projects that fulfill the project scope and meet the schedule and budget requirements. I also coordinate with outside stakeholders to inform them of upcoming projects, gather their needs and incorporate their input when possible.

What is your favorite part about your job? Seeing a project go from scoping through letting and into construction. It is rewarding to see meaningful improvements made to our system in order to better serve the general public.

What are the biggest challenges?
Managing competing priorities can be a challenge. Through the course of a project there are many opinions on what the best product is and they don't always agree. Finding a way to resolve the differences is one of my biggest challenges.

What kind of changes have you seen in your job?
I have seen more of an emphasis on working with the public. The more we can engage with the users of our system the better product we can deliver.

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:

• Tim Hicks enjoys making things that last
• Sophia Yang brings experience, expertise to diversity, professional development training
• Laura Kanten enjoys work in District 8 Human Resources

MnDOT's Communications team recently won a Northern Lights 2020 Silver Award for public information from the Minnesota Association of Government Communicators. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, winners were announced via a Facebook live ceremony June 17.

MnDOT's winning entry, "Sharpies and Steel Engagement," centered on employees connecting with visitors to the agency's booth during the 2019 Minnesota State Fair. Thousands of people stopped by over the 12-day event to chat about transportation issues and sign their name and hometown on a snowplow wing blade. Maintenance crews later put those blades to work during the 2019-20 winter, and the public was encouraged to follow "their blade" on MnDOT's social media.

"Engagement doesn't happen without teamwork," said Anne Meyer, Office of Communications program administrator and project manager for this effort. "The communications team came up with the idea and put the plan into action, but a lot of work behind the scenes helped make this project a success."

Among those contributing were James Grebenc and his crew at Central Shop, who provided the wing blades and coordinated their distribution; Mike Waters and the welding team at the Maple Grove Truck Station, who created the steel stand to safely support the blades at the state fair booth; and Kevin Bergstedt in fleet, who put in extra hours to move new wing blades in and out of the fairgrounds while the fair was closed overnight.

"It was not an easy task, but our teams worked together to create this memorable and engaging fair experience," Meyer said. "We're hoping to build on its success in 2021, when the State Fair resumes."

Five blades were signed by the end of the fair. Two stayed in the Metro District and the others were sent to truck stations in districts 1, 7 and 8.