Summer 2004 Technology Exchange
Meeting the workforce
shortage: You can make a difference
In a response to a predicted shortage of civil engineers, the Local
Road Research Board's Research Implementation Committee
funded and initiated a campaign to recruit high school juniors and
seniors.
A day at the spring
expo
This year's expo, held in St. Cloud, attracted more than 550 county, city, and state
highway and street workers as well as other interested parties from
all across the state.
Sheehan selected
NACE Urban County Engineer of Year
Michael T. Sheehan, P. E., county engineer of Olmsted
County and member of the Minnesota LTAP Steering Committee,
was named the 2003 Urban County Engineer of the Year by the National
Association of County Engineers.
Subscribe to
Hot Topics!
The periodic newsletter
shares recent publications and resources from a variety of organizations,
plus other announcements of interest to LTAP readers.
Be a "skidster"
at Fall Maintenance Expo
Mark your calendar for the Minnesota Fall Maintenance Expo, at the
St. Cloud Public Works Facility on October 6–7.
Oberstar Forum
envisions the future of transportation in rural America
Regional and national transportation officials, policymakers, and
professionals joined U.S. Rep. James L. Oberstar on March 14–15
to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing transportation
in rural America.
Transportation
Career Handbook helps you plan future
The Center for Transportation Studies has just published a brand
new Transportation
Career Handbook to help students connect their studies at
the University of Minnesota to possible careers in transportation.
CTS Research Conference touches on local issues
Each spring, the Center for Transportation Studies research conference is the place to be for the latest findings and developments in the broad field of transportation. This year's conference, held May 4–5 in St. Paul, featured many presentations of interest to local agencies. A number of the presentations are summarized below.
A revolution in transportation
finance
The nature of transportation finance is changing fundamentally
and on a large scale. According to Professor Martin
Wachs of the University of California at Berkeley, the current direction
of change may not be desirable.
Vegetating steep
reinforced slopes
Ron Farmer presented case studies of several
reinforced slope installations in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Design guidelines
for bioengineering
Despite hundreds of years of practice, few objective design guidelines
have been developed for soil bioengineering techniques. To develop
these needed guidelines, Mn/DOT
has funded research by principal investigator Omid Mohseni of the
University's St. Anthony Falls Lab.
CSAH 42/Mississippi
River landslide repair
Stephan
Gale and Wayne Fingalson described how they used a fast-track approach to repair
a landslide-damaged roadway in roughly two months.
Using GPS technology
in snowplows
Technology that lets drivers "see" in whiteout conditions
is helpful and well worth the cost, said Rich Sanders and John Brunkhorst, two
county engineers who were involved in field tests of the systems.
Adequacy of road
taxes in 2030
U of M research fellow Barry
Ryan presented several scenarios to help predict the adequacy
of state finance mechanisms in 2030.
Low-cost highway/rail
intersection study
As part of a one-year operational test, Mn/DOT is installing a
low-cost active warning system at 30 low-volume crossings.
Making ITS solutions
available/affordable to rural applications—the Kansas model
The Kansas Transit Rural ITS project is designed to bring intelligent
transportation systems within financial and technical reach of smaller communities.
Workshops & Training
Learn how Mendocino
County reduced road crashes 42 percent
By implementing a simple yet thoughtful program, the Mendocino County
Department of Transportation has achieved a 42 percent reduction
in low-volume road crashes.
Toward Zero Deaths
Conference to share best practices
"Toward Zero Deaths: Integrating Minnesota's Traffic Safety
Agenda," will be held September 13–14 at the St. Cloud
Civic Center.
Spreading the
news of winter maintenance chemicals
Wendy Frederickson and Kathy Schaefer presented a session titled
"Winter Maintenance Chemicals and Their Impact on the Environment" at the
American Public Works Association North American Snow Conference.
Environmental
group honors CTAP and Mn/DOT efforts to curtail salt, sand use
Practices such as anti-icing and pre-wetting helped Mn/DOT
earn environmental stewardship awards from the Freshwater
Society for reducing the amount of salt and sand used for winter
highway maintenance.
Information Services
LTAP Training & Events Calendar
For an up-to-date list of events in Minnesota, please see the LTAP training and events calendar