No Copyright – United States

This photograph shows the New Ulm Spring site, circa the late 1930s or early 1940s.

In the summer of 1964, as part of the highway reconstruction at the intersection of TH 100 and TH 152 in Brooklyn Center, a ramp was constructed to connect westbound TH 100 with northbound Xerxes Avenue. During grading operations, a six-inch sanitary which serviced a portion of a nearby shopping center. If this ramp were to be constructed according to the planned grade, only about 2 1/2 feet of cover would remain over the six-inch diameter pipe at the ditch bottom and 3 1/2 feet under the roadway surface. This was not considered to be sufficient cover to prevent the low velocity material flowing through the pipe from freezing.

Quality guidelines describing recommended levels of service for various maintenance operations have been prepared for the purpose of promoting greater uniformity in maintaining interstate and trunk highway systems statewide. Guidelines for snow and ice control contained within this report result from a joint effort by the Snow and Ice Committee, the Maintenance Division and the Maintenance Standards Section. These recommended levels of service should be interpreted as Highway Department policy for maintenance operations although it is expected that the Area Maintenance Engineer will continue to exercise judgement in situations where maintenance requirements deviate from the guidelines set forth in this report. While variations in local conditions must be considered, consistency must be exercised in an effort to comply with policy.

This study was conducted to develop a uniform set; of standard specifications covering underground utilities for cities, counties, and other public agencies in the State of Minnesota. In the past it has been the practice throughout the State of Minnesota that each of the governing bodies have their own individual specifications for public works. This has caused confusion, inconvenience and increased costs to consultants, material suppliers, contractors and the public officials. It also resulted in static specifications even though major advances have been made in the public works field. This specification is the cumulative result of the input of specifications from many sources. The sources included, but were not limited to municipalities and consultant organizations, the American Public Works Association, and many working specifications in use throughout the country. To insure the workability of the final specifications, meetings were held with inspectors, foremen, and engineers who were employed in the field of underground utilities. It Is assumed the general conditions of the governing agency will be used in conjunction with these specifications. In the future, statewide general conditions may be published

This report summarizes the Minnesota Department of Transportation's progress and accomplishments in achieving the transit and transportation system management (TSM) goals set forth in the 1977 legislation. Recommendations for the Department's on-going transit and TSM activities are also included.

This report documents the Minnesota Department of Transportation's (Mn/DOT) progress and accomplishments in achieving the transit and transportation system management (TSM) goals set forth by the 1977 State Legislature. Recommendations for Mn/DOT's on-going transit and TSM activities are also included. As defined by Mn/DOT, TSM is both a process to optimize the operation of existing transportation systems and a program of projects which must be implemented to achieve optimization. In using this definition of TSM, Mn/DOT recognizes that a determined effort be made to increase not only the efficiency of vehicle movement but also to increase the number of people transported by the system. Consequently, this report can all be viewed as a part of the total TSM effort.

This commentary is prepared by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) to address recommendations contained in the report entitled 'The Use of De-icing Salts in Minnesota". The report was authored by Mr. Patrick L. Reagan, a consultant for the Science and Technology Project as required by House Advisory No. 4 introduced in January 1977. House Advisory No. 4 proposed a study be undertaken with the objective of replacing or significantly reducing the negative effects of salt on vehicles and the environment.

This study was undertaken to determine the comparative effectiveness of chloride salts and abrasive-chloride salt mixtures for ice removal. It was also desired to study the storage characteristics of sodium chloride, calcium chloride and mixtures of these materials. Controlled field ice removal tests were run on 15 combinations of materials within three temperature ranges. Data were collected on thickness of ice; actual quantity and location of chemical or abrasive applied; and periodic condition of the ice with regard to amount of ice removed. The outdoor storage characteristics of seven bulk materials and one packaged material under a light polyethylene sheeting were studied. The materials were sampled for moisture, crusting and caking for a period of 10 months.

This study is a pilot attempt to determine the noise abatement needs of those people residing in homes adjacent to the Twin Cities metropolitan area Interstate freeway system. It was first requested by the Federal Highway Administration as a means of assessing the relative merits of noise abatement treatments for which federal funding might be requested. The study is an attempt to classify residential areas as to their need for further-in-depth traffic noise investigation by assigning a "noise exposure rating" to each section of residential area located adjacent to a segment of freeway. The noise exposure rating serves as a preliminary indication of relative need for noise abatement. The geographic limits of the study are Interstate 694, on the east. Interstate 494, on the west, the junction of Interstate 35E and 35W, on the north and the junction of Interstate 35E and 35W on the south. The map on page 13 outlines the Interstate highways included in this study.

The barrier has resulted in a dramatic drop in subjective noise annoyance for homes directly along the freeway. On a seven-point scale the ratings of annoyance drop from 5 (extremely objectionable) to around 3 (moderately objectionable). This is equivalent to moving these homes back one block. There is also a very striking drop in subjective annoyance for homes behind the first row. The ratings drop from 4 (very objectionable) to somewhat below 3 (moderately objectionable).