Roads

The 1997 Minnesota Legislature directed the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) to study and develop recommendations for integrating land use planning, engineering, and legal practices to maximize the operational efficiency and safety of all functional categories of roadways. Mn/DOT established the Office of Access Management in March 1997, and a report was submitted to the 1999 Legislature with recommendations for improving access management practices statewide. The goals of the 18-month Mn/DOT Access Management Initiative were to increase awareness about access management issues; assess the extent of the problem in Minnesota; identify potential barriers to the implementation of access management policies; and develop strategies to overcome these barriers.

The volume of earthwork for nearly all highway construction projects is determined during the design stage. This is done for a two-fold reason. By using the excavation and embankment yardage figures, the project may, by adjusting grades, be brought to earthwork balance. If it is not feasible to balance the project, a yardage figure, either waste or borrow is arrived at. The second reason for obtaining this yardage figure is its use as a contract bid item. The yardage quantities arrived at in design may or may not be used as final pay quantities. An accepted method for obtaining earthwork volumes in the past has been the cross-section method. The basis of this system is the average end area. There is no reason to elaborate on this method here because I feel sure that each reader is familiar with the details of obtaining earthwork quantities by the cross-section method. In the last few years a new idea for arriving at earthwork quantities has been introduced into the field of highway design and construction. This comparatively new procedure for highway earthwork volumes is frequently referred to as the "finished contour method . The purpose of this manual and subsequent instruction classes is to place this new system at your disposal. We will first introduce some basic aerial photogrammetry and terminology. We will touch lightly on ground control and then we shall develop step by step the finished contour system.

This research brief was created as part of Clear Roads project CR19-01, "Expanding Application Rate Guidance for Salt Brine Blends for Direct Liquid Application and Anti-icing," published December 2021,

As part of this research project, a literature review, a survey of practice, field data collection, and an analysis of application rates was conducted. The literature review covered application rates, performance measures, chemical products, environmental impacts, corrosion, impacts on concrete and asphalt, agro-based products, and benefit-cost analyses. A survey of practice was conducted to gather agencies’ winter maintenance practices involving materials, predominant winter conditions, liquid application rates, experience, performance measures, and interest in serving as a study site. Agencies from different geographical regions of the United States were selected for field data collection to provide a wide range of winter conditions, road types, and resources. Data collected consisted of route information and field data in terms of weather, roadway conditions, materials, application rates, and performance measures. Seventeen agencies representing nine states submitted data from 31 routes resulting in field data for 167 storms. Ranges of application rates were identified according to pavement temperature, temperature trend, road surface condition, and materials used. Guidance was developed exclusively from field data and practitioner feedback. Guidance was developed for liquid applications, blends, and “Shake and Bake” for light snow conditions (<1 in/hr., <4” in 24 hrs.). Shake and Bake is a combination of liquid and solid applications. Application rate ranges are provided in tables by material, pavement temperature, temperature trend, and supporting information regarding field data (agencies and number of storms observed).

Anti-icing (also known as “pre-treating”) is the winter road maintenance practice of applying a liquid or solid material intended to depress the freezing point of water in order to prevent winter storm precipitate from bonding to roadway pavement. Anti-icing may be performed hours (or even days) before a winter storm event begins; it can also be performed after ice or snow begins to fall in order to keep pavements as clear of ice and snow as possible. Salt [sodium chloride] brine and other chloride liquids are widely used for anti-icing. Historically, materials other than liquids, such as dry and prewetted salt/solids, have also been used by winter maintenance agencies for anti-icing. This Clear Roads synthesis project sought to learn how and the extent to which agencies use prewetted salts/solids for anti-icing, the conditions under which they are used, their effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and agencies’ response to environmental concerns about anti-icing salt use. The investigation included a national survey of state department of transportation winter maintenance experts that gathered information about materials used for anti-icing, including reasons why materials were selected, how they were prepared and applied, and their effectiveness, with particular focus on the use of prewetted solids. The results of a literature search supplemented the survey findings.

This report documents the best practices of Australia and New Zealand in maintaining and upgrading aggregate roads. Compared to the United States, Australia and New Zealand have fewer resources to invest in road construction and maintenance. As a result, both countries have developed systems for economically constructing and maintaining roads. Although differences exist in climate, traffic, and road user expectations, studying the best practices of Australia and New Zealand offers opportunities to apply relevant practices.

Contains a statistical report of the expenditures of the State Highway Department for the year 1923 with charts showing federal aid appropriations to Minnesota, construction on trunk highways by the state, distribution of trunk highway maintenance expenditures, analysis of trunk highway mileage, status of trunk highway mileage by counties, 1923 accomplishment report on trunk highway maintenance, analysis of maintenance expenditures by class and item, analysis of maintenance expenditures by commodity, traffic observations on trunk highways, summary of laboratory tests on materials, statement of expenditures, construction on state aid roads, the status report of federal aid payments on federal aid projects, maintenance expenditures on state aid roads, condition of state aid roads, abstract of annual reports on trunk highway expenditures, abstract of annual reports on state aid road expenditures. Submitted by Charles M. Babcock, Commissioner of Highways. [82 pp.]

Contains a report of the expenditures and achievements of the State Highway Department for the year 1922, road construction and maintenance, bridge construction and maintenance, road equipment, surplus war material, snow removal, trunk highway marking, traffic census, tests and inspection, highway offices and buildings, accounts, federal aid appropriations, construction on trunk highways by the counties, distribution of trunk highway maintenance expenditures, analysis of maintenance expenditures by commodity, analysis of maintenance expenditures by class and item, status of trunk highway mileage by counties, analysis of trunk highway mileage, traffic census observations on trunk highways-average number of vehicles per day, summary of laboratory tests on materials, Minnesota Highway Department financial statement, construction on state roads, state aid road and trunk highway construction upon which federal aid is applied, maintenance expenditures on state aid roads, abstract of annual reports on trunk highway and state aid road expenditures, condition of state aid roads, photos of roads and bridges, of Minnesota Highway Department-Central Office, main floor, drafting room, garage, machine shop, stock room, of Engineers' Convention Auditorium. Submitted by Charles M. Babcock, Commissioner of Highways. [117 pp.]

Contains charts showing state construction on trunk highways, construction by the counties on state trunk highways, distribution of 1921 trunk highway maintenance expenditures, analysis of expenditures on trunk highway maintenance work ending 1921, status of trunk highway mileage by counties, analysis of trunk highway mileage, 1921 traffic census observation on trunk highways average number of vehicles per day, performance and cost of operation of state owned gravel truck fleets, departments expenditures, allotment of state air road funds, construction on state roads, state and road and trunk highway construction upon which federal aid is applied, maintenance expenditures on state aid roads, abstract of annual reports on state aid road expenditures, status of improvement of state aid roads, a colored photo of State Highway no. 7. Submitted by Charles M. Babcock, Commissioner of Highways. [64 pp.]

Contains a report of activities of the State Highway Department during the calendar year of 1920, road construction and maintenance, excess war material, charts showing status of federal aid funds by states for period ending Dec. 31st 1920, construction on state roads, state road construction upon which federal aid is applied, motor vehicles on hand, motor vehicles delivered to counties, miscellaneous excess war material, etc. Submitted by Charles M. Babcock, Commissioner of Highways. [44 pp.]