Tag: Minnesota: Page 4

Roadbuilding

Komatsu, NCDOT team up to give students first-hand look at construction jobs at Extreme Sandbox

Thanks to a grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Fund, 40 Warren County High School students from Warrenton (16 girls and 24 boys) took a 20-hour bus ride to the Extreme Sandbox in Hastings, Minn., to learn about construction industry jobs and learn to operate heavy equipment. The students were able to hop […]

May 1, 2017

Roadbuilding

FHWA awards grants to 7 states to test mileage-based user fee collection methods

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has awarded $14.2 million in federal grants to seven states—California, Delaware, Hawaii, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, and Washington—to figure out how best to charge drivers for miles driven rather than gasoline consumed, Bloomberg BNA reports. The grants were made possible by the Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives program, part of the Fixing America’s […]

September 9, 2016

Roadbuilding

Two interstate highways buckle due to excessive heat in South Dakota

The early-June heat has been so intense in South Dakota that it has caused some roads to buckle, ksfy.com reports. On June 9, a portion of the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 on the South Dakota-Minnesota state line buckled, and crews were called in to make repairs. According to a report in the Argus Leader, the South Dakota Department […]

June 20, 2016

Roadbuilding

FHWA and 6 states collaborate on pollinator habitat for Monarch butterflies

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and DOTs in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas have agreed to improve pollinator habitat along Interstate 35, which follows a migratory corridor for the Monarch butterfly. The Monarch butterflies’ birth and egg-laying cycles take them on a route from Canada to Mexico, a roughly 2,000-mile trek. The land […]

June 3, 2016

Business

Minn. bill would ease restrictions on construction material, aggregate hauling

Minnesota has laid the groundwork for a significant change in state transportation policy which would benefit everyone from companies to commuters, says Fred Corrigan, executive director of the Aggregate & Ready Mix Association of Minnesota, in a column published by the Mesabi Daily News. Currently, Minnesota businesses that haul construction materials are subject to restrictive […]

May 10, 2016

Construction Equipment

11-year-old steals concrete mixer, leads police on high-speed chase

A dangerous joyride in Minnesota provided another tough lesson on why you should never leave your keys behind in the ignition. An 11-year-old was arrested March 20 in Dodge Center after commandeering a cement truck and leading police in a dangerous pursuit that lasted for over an hour. While no one was hurt, police report that […]

March 31, 2016

Business

Komatsu becomes sole provider to Extreme Sandbox as equipment playground begins nationwide expansion

Komatsu has inked a deal with Minnesota-based heavy equipment playground Extreme Sandbox to become that company’s exclusive sponsor and equipment provider. Komatsu sees the growing company, which allows patrons to operate excavators, dozers, loaders and much more in a 10-acre sandbox, as an opportunity not only to expose more Americans to the Komatsu brand but […]

March 31, 2016

Roadbuilding

Now facing murder charge, woman recalls suicidal thoughts in moments before crash that killed road worker

A Minnesota woman was reportedly suicidal when she slammed her SUV into a parked public works truck at 80 miles per hour last week. KARE 11 reported that 24-year-old Marie Jessica Hall is facing murder and vehicular homicide charges after the Jan. 28 crash that killed Bloomington Public Works employee Tyler Lenort. Another city employee was seriously […]

February 5, 2016

Roadbuilding

Minnesota road worker killed after being struck by SUV while clearing snow from road

A Minnesota worker died days after being struck by a vehicle while he was clearing snow from a road in Bloomington. According to KMSP, Bloomington Public Works Dept. employee Tyler Lenort was taken off of life support on Saturday and died soon after, two days removed from being hit by an SUV. Lenort had been clearing up snow near […]

February 2, 2016

Roadbuilding

Minnesota continues study on raising speed limit on state 2-lane highways

Minnesota drivers might soon see an increase in the speed limit on state two-lane highways. However state lawmakers aren’t taking the consideration lightly. KDLT reported that the Minnesota Department of Transportation has entered the third of a five-year study on highways across the state to determine if raising the speed limit from 55 to 60 miles […]

January 18, 2016

Roadbuilding

Minnesota DOT gives drivers a live look at roads before venturing out in the winter weather

Drivers in Minnesota deciding weather to head out onto possibly dangerous roads during the winter might be wise to check online before braving the roads. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has nearly 900 traffic cameras installed across the state, and at any given time, you can see live footage from those roads online. The feeds, […]

December 1, 2015

Roadbuilding

2015 Better Roads Bridge Inventory: Ohio the bridge poster child; D.C. still has most SD/FO spans

No surprise: the top challenge facing state DOTs in improving structurally deficient (SD) and functionally obsolete (FO) bridges is funding, according to our 2015 Better Roads Bridge Inventory. And while maintenance was second on the list of challenges, this year staffing also mentioned as a top-level concern. The national average for percentage of SD/FO bridges […]

November 17, 2015