MnDOT study: Roundabouts significantly reduce fatal accidents

November 7, 2017 12:21 pm Leave a comment

The roundabout at Portland and 66th Avenue in Richfield. Photographed on Friday, November 3, 2017. (John Autey / Special to Finance and Commerce)

State and local traffic engineers have long believed that roundabouts can improve safety at busy intersections — and now they have more data to back up those claims.

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Minn. Gov. vetoes road-funding bill, calling it ‘inadequate’

May 17, 2017 8:46 am Leave a comment

A deal on transportation funding hit a bump in the road in Minnesota when Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed what he described as a “wholly inadequate” Republican-backed bill that focuses largely on road and bridge improvements.

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MnDOT wage rule draws lawsuit from trucking company

May 16, 2017 10:03 am Leave a comment

A row of big semi trucks in various colors parked at a truck stop at sunset.

A St. Cloud-based trucking company has filed a lawsuit to stop the Minnesota Department of Transportation from enforcing a new prevailing-wage mandate that requires contractors on MnDOT projects to reimburse workers for food, lodging and travel costs beyond their basic wage and benefit rates.

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Bid comes in high for I-35W bridge anti-icing fix

May 9, 2017 12:40 pm Leave a comment

The Minnesota Department of Transportation may seek new bids for a project that would upgrade the anti-icing system on the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. (BridgeTower Media Newswires photo by Bill Klotz)

The Minnesota Department of Transportation wants to improve the anti-icing system on the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, but the federally funded project has hit a snag after a contractor bid came in over budget.

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MnDOT plans 211 road projects in 2017

April 14, 2017 10:56 am Leave a comment

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is planning $1 billion worth of road and bridge construction this year, including this $46 million project on Interstate 94 between Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center. (BridgeTower Media Newswires photo by Bill Klotz)

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has announced plans for spending about $1 billion this construction season on more than 200 new and ongoing road and bridge projects statewide.

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Debate over earmarks looms in Minn. transportation funding fight

April 11, 2017 10:27 am Leave a comment

There's another debate brewing in the fight for road and bridge repairs beyond its final size and funding mechanism: Who should pick which projects get the money?

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Zenith Tech low bidder for Minn. bridge

March 9, 2017 10:20 am Leave a comment

$Zenith Tech submitted an apparent low bid of $63.4 million Wednesday for the construction of a new bridge between Red Wing, Minn., and Hager City, Wisconsin. The new Red Wing bridge will replace a 56-year-old fracture-critical bridge.(Submitted rendering: MnDOT)$

Coming in well below the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s estimate, Waukesha-based Zenith Tech on Wednesday submitted the apparent low bid of $63.4 million for the Red Wing bridge project in southeast Minnesota.

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Pinching pennies: MnDOT cites $134M in ‘efficiencies’

January 11, 2017 9:14 am Leave a comment

The new MnPASS lane carries traffic on northbound I-35E in St. Paul at the exit for Wheelock Parkway and Larpenteur Avenue. The Minnesota Department of Transportation says in a new report that it has saved about $134 million over the past two fiscal years by finding “efficiencies” on programs and projects like this I-35E project. (Staff photo: Bill Klotz)

Amid calls from transportation policymakers for more “efficiencies,” the Minnesota Department of Transportation says in a new report that it’s finding innovative ways to save money on road and bridge projects.

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Winona Bridge rehab underway

September 23, 2016 1:53 pm Leave a comment

A rehabbed historic Highway 43 Winona Bridge is expected to reopen in fall 2019 or early 2020, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. (Rendering courtesy of MnDOT)

A major rehabilitation of the historic Winona Bridge is underway, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation says the project’s initial construction costs are slightly lower than expected, based on the most recent estimates.

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New Winona Bridge to open ahead of schedule

August 12, 2016 12:17 pm Leave a comment

The new Highway 43 Winona Bridge over the Mississippi River, left, is scheduled to open ahead of schedule this month. But a planned rehab of the adjacent existing bridge is lagging behind. (Submitted photo: the Minnesota Department of Transportation)

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — When it comes to being on time and on budget, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is seeing mixed results on its $188.5 million Winona Bridge project, a massive undertaking making use of a slightly unusual project-delivery method. The new crossing will carry Highway ...

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