Curt Kiefer, transportation associate, and Dennis Iverson, bridge crew supervisor, demonstrate how the AutoFlagger changes its message from "Stop" to "Slow" for drivers as they wait to cross the bridge. Photo by Craig Wilkins

Motorists approaching the work zone on the Hwy 3 bridge north of Faribault discover something new—a set of remotely operated signs advising them to stop or proceed slowly through the work zone.

The device they encounter is known as the "AutoFlagger," an automated system that allows work crews to manage traffic from a safer location than on the roadway or the shoulder.

Bridge crew members use a remote control device to operate the signs from the middle of the bridge where they can watch both ends of the project. Without the remotely operated sign, two bridge workers would be required to flag on the narrow, curving approaches to the bridge.

Dennis Iverson, bridge maintenance supervisor at Owatonna, said the sign improves safety for the crew and motorists and decreases the number of crew members needed to control traffic.

"We have a pretty bare-bones crew as it is," he said. "It’s crucial for us to have as many of our highly skilled bridge workers available to do the work that’s needed."

Iverson said the AutoFlagger boosts productivity, enabling the crew to complete repairs to the bridge’s guard rails and expansion joints more quickly so the crew can move on to its next project.

A hand-held remote enables workers to control traffic from a safe location. If a vehicle violates the stop signal, the operator sounds an alarm to warn other workers. Photo by Craig Wilkins

The Rochester District is working with Maintenance Operations Research, which manages the system’s testing in the field.

"We started working on the AutoFlagger concept after a request from Dave Redig, maintenance superintendent at Rochester," said Ken Nelson, project manager, Maintenance Operations Research.

The AutoFlagger will be incorporated into the Minnesota Uniform Code of Traffic Devices which means its use will be accepted for operation throughout the state.

The device, he said, provides a low-cost way to provide traffic management on low-volume, two-lane projects such as the one on Hwy 3.

Iverson welcomes the AutoFlagger for both its ability to improve safety and to allow the crew to focus on bridge repair and rehabilitation work.

"The AutoFlagger will help the district and Mn/DOT keep its bridges in compliance with standards and retain the department’s excellent ranking in the number of deficient bridges on the trunk highway system," he said. "We’re looking forward to taking it with us when we start work on the bridge at Hwy 52 and Hwy 19."

By Craig Wilkins

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Mn/DOT's Metro District will test two ways to reduce vehicles crossing the medians on I-94: a 4,000 feet-long section of four-strand cable barrier and a 2.3-mile-long area that will be regraded to create a muddy, swamp-like area filled with cattails.

Mn/DOT received $200,000 from the Federal Highway Administration to fund the effort.

Although the occurrence of crossover crashes is low, their severity is high—often resulting in serious injuries or deaths.

The cable barrier will be installed this fall on I-94 near the exit to Weaver Lake Road in Maple Grove. This section of I-94 experienced six crossover crashes between 1996 and 2001, resulting in four fatalities.

Nancy Yoo, a Metro design engineer, said the cable barrier has worked effectively in Oklahoma and other states.

The barrier, she said, will guide vehicles back toward their original lanes. The average deflection distance is about five feet, compared with 11 feet of rebound caused by the three-strand cable barriers Mn/DOT uses.

The four-cable barrier is carried on steel posts that slide into a steel sleeve. A damaged post slides out easily to allow a new one to be installed.

The innovative, swamp-like median will be created on I-94 between Rogers and where the freeway splits into I-694 and I-494. That area recorded 200 crashes with injuries from 1996 to 2001. Four of the crashes resulted in deaths.

Loren Hill, traffic safety engineer, Traffic, Security and Operations, said several factors may contribute to the crossover crashes. They include motorists traveling at high speeds coming in from the west, relatively low congestion levels, three or more lanes of traffic in each direction and the change from a rural to an urban driving environment.

"Whatever the causes, it’s obvious we have to take steps to reduce the possibility of crossover crashes that frequently result in serious injuries and fatalities," he said.

Yoo said Metro’s maintenance staff proposed the swampy median as a low-cost, low-maintenance way to keep vehicles from crossing the median into oncoming lanes of traffic.

Maintenance crews, she said, will regrade the median and fill it with six to 12 inches of water and plant cattails and other vegetation so it will eventually become a wetland area.

Dave Engstrom, Metro traffic engineer, said a third area on I-94 which has experienced a high number of crossover crashes, Brooklyn Boulevard (Hwy152) to Xerxes Avenue, is being rebuilt and includes permanent, concrete median barriers.

"The cables and the muddy median are experiments," he said. "We’ll evaluate them to determine their overall effectiveness to reduce crossover crashes."

By Craig Wilkins

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Joining with area leaders to open the new bridge at Rushford are Nelrae Succio, Rochester district engineer (at left), and Eric Breitspecher, a project inspector, (far right). Photo courtesy of city of Rushford

Rochester/District 6 officials combined a bridge opening with a community celebration in Rushford on July 19 to link the project on Hwy 43 with the vitality and future of the Fillmore County city.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place during Rushford’s annual Rushford Days.

The new bridge over Rush Creek links Rushford with Rushford Village to the south in the scenic Root River Valley.

The new pre-stressed, concrete beam structure replaces the steel girder bridge built in 1933. The new bridge includes paved shoulders and sidewalks on both sides of the structure to facilitate bike and pedestrian travel between the two towns. Its design also features decorative railings and lighting and architecturally colored concrete.

The $2.3 million project also included construction of pier curtain walls on bridges over the Root River in Rushford and in Peterson.

Mark Anderson served as project engineer; Eric Breitspecher and John Schmidt served as project inspectors.

Mn/DOT representatives, including Breitspecher, Nelrae Succio, district engineer, and Brian Jergenson, public affairs coordinator, joined with civic leaders and elected officials from Rushford to officially open the bridge to traffic.

By Craig Wilkins

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Transit drivers from throughout Minnesota will match their skills maneuvering buses through a course that simulates the everyday challenges of operating a bus at the annual Statewide Bus Roadeo on Saturday, July 26 at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus.

Contestants will compete in two categories: the smaller buses typically operated by county transit systems and the larger buses used by urban transit systems in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud and Duluth.

Mn/DOT and the Minnesota Public Transit Association sponsor the annual event.

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