MINNESOTA HIGHWAYS

-.

I'

~~~~~~inllá\ ~~OOOOWLiW~

VOL, 7, NO.9 Minnesota Department of Highways, st. Paul JUL Y, 1958

;

First Interstate link

Will Be Opened Aug. 21The official opening of an 8.3 mile portion of the Interstate route north of

Owatonna, (Route 390) August 21 wil mark the beginning of a new era of high-way construction in Minnesota. This will be the first portion completed of 888

miles scheduled to be built in Minnesota within approximately 13 years.

This is the first major roadway inMinnesota with fully controlled access.There are no grade crossings or anycross traffic facilties other than over-head grade separations. Traffic canonly enter at specificallY controlledaccess points and wil merge with theexisting traffic. The controlled accesshas posed problems, never before en-countered in right of way negotiations.Some property owners will now have totravel several miles just to get to theirproperty on the other side of the high-way. To completelY control the accessphYsically it will require that the en-tire roadway be fenced and it isanticipated that the fencing contractwill be awarded in the near future.

Construction Cost $3,100,000

The construction cost alone for thisproject amounted to over $3,100,000.Breaking this down: The grading, boxculverts, and grave 1 contract amountedto over $1,100,000; the paving andbituminous shoulders amounted to over$1,500,000; and the six bridges amount-ed to over $490,000.

In order to cope with the large scaleoperations conducted on this projectit W'lS necessary to use a much largerstaff of inspectors and it was necessaryto place a senior ins pector in chargeof the entire group to coordinate thevarious inspection duties with the con-tractor s' operations. It became necess aryto uue four field parties for surveywork and this work also was coordinatedby the senior instrument man.

It was necessary to train a group ofdensity inspectors to properly classifythe various types of soils in order touse the corresponding Proctor test fordensity evalu'ltion. Our density in-spectors took over 1,900 density testsand the gradation inspectors took over1,200 gradation tests. It was necessaryto use 20 Proctor curves in order tocompletely classify all the variancesin soils on the project although the areawas predominatelY in the clay-loamranges. Various types of compactingequipme nt were used and it was a con-clusion that the 60-inch dual-drumsheepsfoot roller could readily get 100per cent or more of Proctor density inthese soils without too much diffculty.It was also concluded that design

shrinkage factors should vary pro-portionately with the size of the cut

Cove r P ictu rePhotographed from the ai r while

under construction, this diamond,

traffic interchange is on InterstateRoute 390, just north of Owatonna.

The eight-mile project of which itis a part will be the first interstateroad project to be completed inMinnesota. The interchange carries390 over the road conne.cting Owatonna

and the Owatonna airport. (See articleabout the project on this page.)

2

By DON LARSONResident Engineer

areas encountered, with the highestshrinkage factors applying to the verylight "scratch" balances and the small-est shrinkage factor applied to thelarge, heavy balances., Densities were taken of the clay-loammaterial in its natural state approx-imately 30 feet below ground in oneof the cuts and it was found that itaveraged 104 Ibs, per cubic foot. TheProctor test for this material was108.6 Ibs. per cubic foot. A majorityof this material was specified to becompacted to 95 per cent Proctor or103.2 Ibs. This would indicate thatthis portion of the material should nothave been designed with a high shrink-age factor as it actually indicates aswe 11.

395-foot Right of Way

The wide construction area consist-ing of two main roadways and two ser-vice roadways on most of the projectwith a basic right of way width of 395feet brought about a problem of whereto put the survey construction stakes.The roadways were not individuallybalanced so all roadways had to beconstructed at the same time. It wasagreeable with the contractor to putthe stakes near the right of way linein the heavy excavation areas and tosupplement them with early shoulderblue-tops. This made it difficult forthe contractor's grade men to get therough grading very close using hand-levels as has been common practice.The contractor finally began using adumpy level and had a greater measureof success.

Wide areas such as were encounteredin this type of construction points tothe need for contractors to staff theirown organizations with a small fieldparty. This could eliminate much re-handling of materials due to miscellaneouserrors incurred in using hand operatedinstruments not intended for use inthis range.

Six Figure QuantitiesOf special interest in this type of

construction is the magnitude of allitems: Close to two milion yards ofearth were moved; one of the largestbox culverts ever to be buil in thestate had to be constructed over CraneCreek (Cl1-14-11 x 14T) containingover 1,500 cubic yards of concrete;and over 590,000 tons of gravel wereused on the roadways. The pavingportion which consisted of two parellel24 foot wide slabs uniformly 9 inchesthick was completed in nearly recordtime with the contractor placing nearly235,000 square yards of paveme ntbetween August 5 and October 8, 1957.On a good paving day the contractorwas using five to six railroad cars ofcement, 20 to 25 cars of rock, and 700to 800 tons of sand.

An indication of part of the expensesincurred by the contractor to process ajob of this type can be given as follows:The grading contractor had equipmentvalued at over $1,500,000 on the pro-

ject at one time; he also used over102,000 gallons of gasoline, 238,001gallons of diesel fuel, and 7,400 gallonsof motor oiL. Also the paving con-tractor's payroll would run between$14,000 and $16,000 weekly.This, of course, indicates the boost

given to a local community's economicsas it is estimated that 500 persons weregiven a direct measure of employmentduring the construction. Although allwere not local citizens, they all residedin Minnesota.

Gala Program Setfor Road OpeningThe offcial opening of Minnesota's

first completed road construction pro-ject in the Interstate highway networkwil be fittingly celebrated Thursday,August 21. The project is the 8.3-milestretch of four-lane divided highwayextending northward from Owatonna.The new highway, Interstate Route 390,generallY follows T.R. 65.The Owatonna Chamber of Commerc

is arranging a gala official openir.ceremony to start at 2:30p.m. and tttake place at the diamond interchangejust north of the city. (See cover photo.)Paul .Mathews is general arrangementschairman.

Plans call for participation in thehighway history making event by GovernorFreeman, Highway Commissioner Zimmer-man and other state highway officials,and representatives of local governmentalunits and civic organizations.

A luncheon for the official party andcommunity representatives is plannedto take place in Owatonna just precedingthe ceremony opening the newly con-structed eight miles for traffc.

~

Don Lar son ha s been in charge ofthe i. R. 390 construction near Owatonna,first as project engineer and morerecentl y as a resident engi neer.

MINNESOTA HIGHWAY'~

J,¡i¡ I qSß

I

Placing of side forms and leveling of the subgrade to specifications were typicalearly steps in construction on the I. R. 390 project.

Concrete for the deck of this bridge at ClintonFall s was del ivered to its pouring position by acrane standi ng on a completed section. At top iscompanion bridge for traffic in the opposite direction.

Construction on

Network Project

Jvi¡iqsg

Big machine for big job! Laying of concrete moved at a fastdip as the hopper poured it from 'the big boom, just ahead ofthe level ing screed. Visible in the foreground is the checker-board of steel mesh reinforcement. Concrete thickness: Nineinches, uniform.

The screeds leveling the concrete were suspended between wheels trove'l-ing along the side forms, dose behind the mixer.

The eight-mile stretch of highway indudes several grade separationbridges suc'h as this one, shawn as it neared completion, with I.R. 390

. passing under the intersecting highway.

The two 24.foot north and southbound roadways shown above are separatEat this point by an approximately 40-foot depressed median strip, and ha,10-foot outside and six-foot inside shoulders --- important in traffic safet'The shoulders have a two-inch bituminous surface.' The mediàn strip wihave a grass cover. T. H. 65 is at the extreme left.

New Interstate Paving Begun

*****Diamond

tipped, motorizedsaws are used incutting joints inthe hardening con-crete on I. R. 35 inBloomington. Thesaws shown werein action imme-d i ate I y south ofthe Ninety. fourthSt. grade sepa.rati on.

¥ :i ¥ .. If

*****

" ,

Three men withmo ¡or res p 0 n 5 i..bility for the i. R.35 paving projectare, L toR, EdCarsberg, depart.ment concretee n gin e e r; RingB e i t 0, pro i e c tengineer in charge,and Warren Wood.ridge of the Wood.ridge ConstructionCo. the pri me con-tractor.

Jf Jf :I .. ..

First Interstate network paving operation in the Twin Cities area is well under wayon a 6.3-mile project on Interstate Route 35. The $1,654:592 job for a four-lane dividedhighway extends from Fify-sixth st. in Minneapolis, through Richfield to One Hundredsixth st. in Bloomington. The north 1.3 miles, Fify-sixth to Sixty-sixth sts. ,runs alongT. .H. 65 (Lyndale Ave. S.) The remaining distance veers slightly to the west and thensouthward toward the Minnesota river, paralleling T. H. 65. The prime contractor is theWoodrich Construction Co., Hopkins. The project, which includes minor grading, gravelbase, plant mixed bituminous surfacing of frontage roads and approaches, and concretepaving, was begun in August and is scheduled for completion by next July 11.

Federal Aid Boost LEGION APPOINTMENTS

The extent to which the United Stateswil increase its federal aid to highwaysin the next few years was described byBertram D. Tallamy, federal highwayadministrator, in an Associated Pressdispatch from Washington, D. C. Theincreased aid is expected to speedrecovery from the business recession atthe same time that it accelerates high-way improvements throughout the nation.Tallamy said spending on road con-

struction and improvements will approach$6%, billion this year, compared withslightly under $5% bilion in 1957.

An even sharper increase, to more than$7 billion, is expected next year. withhighway outlays of more than $8 billionforecast by 1962.Federal aid will pay for about 29

per cent of this year's projects, and forabout 40 per cent next year. The federalaid is then expected to increasegradually until it is stabilzed at about42 per cent. .

The spurt in federal contributions,the AP reported, will stem fromacceleration of work on the 41 ,ODD-mileInterstate highway network on whichthe federal government will pay 90per cent of the cost.

Newiy installed as commander ofof Highway Post, American Legion, forthe 1958-59 year, Ed Heinen of Con-struction, has appointed the following:

Chic Boelter of Lands and Right ofWay, as adjutant; Pat Patterson, Con-struction, chaplain; and Walt Haefemeyerand Ted Keeler, both of Road Design,Americanism and child welfare chairmen,respe ctivelY.

HOUSECLEANING TIMEIt is now approximately two months

before the start of moving personneland their equipment into the new High-way department headquarters buildingon the capitol mall. The transfer periodwill be from November 21 to December13, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.Packing. labeling, unpacking and

installng wil be quite a job. The taskwil be considerablY lightened for thefolks who, well before their movingdate, thoroughly houseclean theirdesks, cupboards and filing cabinetsof obsolete and otherwise useless items.

4

Just for LaughsModern Version

Early to bed and early to rise - - -And your girl goes out with other guys.

. .. .. ..

Sad SituationJudging by widespread accounts of

juvenile delinquency, the reason someparents spare the rod is because Junioris probablY carrYing one.

* * * *

The Good Old DaysThe teacher was tellng her second

graders about a famous American."When he was your age," she said,

"he lived in a litle cabin in the' country,

and every day he had to walk six milesto the schoo ¡hous e."

Came a shout from a tot in the backof the room. "Crazy kid kept missingthe bus, huh?"

* * * *

Bored is what people drink to over-come being --- then they wind up beingstiff as a --.

* * * *

.,"'Be Yourself

Two ducks walking; oneother, "Oh, quit trying towoman wearing slacks."- * * * *

says to the\val Ii like a

Before The Storm"Congratulations, my boy. You will

always look upon this as the happiestday of your life."

"But I'm not getting married untiltomorrow.' .

"Yes, r know."* * * *

Plain StupidAnyone who thinks marriage

50-50 proposition either doesn'tstand women or fractions.

is aunder7

* * * *

What Next?Small boy explaining a broken window

to policeman: "r was cleaning my sling-shot and it went off."

* * * *

New Excuse"I'm really not late, boss," said the

tardy secretary, hanging up her hat. "rjust took my coffee break before comingin. ti

Bridge Unit ChangedTransfer of the Bridge Maintenance

section from the Bridge division to theMaintenance Central Offce division,was announced by CommissionerZimmerman. All Bridge Maintenancepositions, personnel, and equipmentwere included, with George Flynn, Sr.,continuing as bridge maintenance super-visor ..

The building structural design unit,handling construction and remodelingof Highway department buildings, wasmoved several months ago from theBridge Maintenance section to theMaintenance division's Plant andEquipment section.

Recent RetirementsArthur A. Christianson, Erskine,

HMM II, Maint. Dist. 5 .... C. L.Hendricks, st. Paul, Hwy. Tech. II,Construction Field 9.

MINNESOTA HIGHWAYS

Sep IqS3

Ceremony at Owatonna

Formal opening of the first completed Minnesata link in the Interstate highway net-work was ci imaxed by the cutting with a four-foot pair of steel shears of a ribbondecorated with red, white and blue roses. L to R: Deputy State Highway CommissionerFrank Marzitelli, State Treasurer Val Bjarnson, Highway Cammissioner Zimmerman,Congressman Eugene McCarthy of St. Paul, Dan C. Gainey of Owatonna, master afceremonies, (partially hidden); Gavernor Freeman, State Representative John A. Hartle,Owatonna; Ira E. Taylor of Kansas City, Mo., assistant regianal engineer of the Bureauof Public Roads; Mayor Glen Myers of Owatonna; and State Senator Harold S. Nelsonof Owatonna, (behind the mayor).

THIS IS SECTIONTHE FIRSTOF THE

NATIONAL SYSTEM OF INTERSTATEANi) DEFENSE H IGHWA YS

TO BE COMPLETED IN MINNESQTADEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS

THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC

Members of the Highway department who were on~the~site workers for Minnesota'sfirst completed link in the Interstate highway system: L to R n. Front row, G. ,W. Jahn-son, R. C.. Wandrey, M. L. McGowan, Tom Fawler, M. G. Johnson, and D. L. R., Kahnert;second row, I. B. Anderson, A. L. Sotebeer, I. L. Andersan, Don Larson, residentengineer; E. N. Erickson, R. K. Kenow, A. R. Baud, and E. J. Reyer; third row, G. E.Cain, T. H, Duerre, J. M. Larson, J. E. Mracek, H.. J. Haglund, and C. M. Sommerstad.All except Don Larson are highway technicians.

SEPTEMBER, 1958

i. R. 35Link Opened

Formal opening August 21 at Owatonnaof Minnesota's first completed link inthe Interstate highway network washailed by Governor Freel~Jan andCommissioner Zimmerman as the startof a new era in the state's highwayfacilities.

They were the principal speakers atthe dedication ceremonies for the 8.3miles of four-lane divided highway ex-tending northward from Owatonna to amile inside Rice county, along T.H. 65.The governor said the new freeway

wil influence the people's thinking andhave far reaching social and economicconsequences. He saw the road asopening Minnesota recreational facilitiesto more tourists, envisioned a strikingeffect on industrial development andpredicted creation of new industriesand commercial centers to serve theinterstate traveler.

To Be State PatternCommissioner Zimmerman declared

that "The tremendous amount of workwhich will follow on the Interstatehighways in, our state will use thepattern est'llished here in the con-struction of this first section which weare dedicating today.""In every sense of the word." he

said, "this is a highway for the future."After stressing the importance of the

Owatonna project, the commissionergave credit to the people concerned inits planning and construction in thefollowi ng words:"Uncountp-d hours of labor and de-

votion to duty have gone into what wesee here today. Few of us realize howhard others have worked that this pro-ject may be completed and made avail-able for the use of motorists."I think it is only fiting that we

salute these workers, both employeesof the Department of Highways and theemployees of the several contractors,who did such an excellent job intranslating plans into this finishedhighway and beautiful structures. Thisis truly a monument to their labors.."

The commissioner said he called theInterstate link a highway for the futurebecause it was designed and constructed"so that it will serve for many yearsto come." He said no effort had beenspared "to make this not only a beautifulhighway, but also the safest that humaningenuity can devise."

BPR Praises MHDAt a civic luncheon in Owatonna which

preceded the dedication ceremony, Ira E.Taylor of Kansas City, assistant regionalengineer for the Bureau of Public Roads,said Minnesota is "particularlY fortunateto be served by one of the outstandinghighway departments in the nation."He said the MHO's advice and

council "has always been most helpfulto the Bureau of Public Roads and hasbeen sought by many of the other statesin the develo¡:ent of modern practicesin the field of highway administrationand design."

More than 100 persons, includingstate officials, state legislators andcivic leaders attended the luncheon,presided over by Charles E. Cashman,Owatonna attorney. More than 200persons were at the dedication ceremony,where Danie i C. Gainey, president ofthe Josten Manufacturing Co., Owatonna,was master of ceremonies. PaulMathews, Jr., was chairman of thededication committee.

5

rM~~~~~rmll£ ~~OOOOWLiV~

VOL. 8, NO.5 Minnesota Department of Highways, st. Paul MARCH, 1959

~~";"!~.,~~.-' If' ,.~~,,- ','..,.._. . "____"f~i!~ . "", ,,,,._.~~L.l.._--"~"~~;";;~t --~:' ','- -~:';~~~:~~~~.~-' ,-;,:,;~~~~:.;:'~:.-~:----~" .~~~~ --.:~"~'~~~~'~ ~:::

Highway People Win Six Awards

George E. Flynn

Better map folding, protection of theinterior appearance of the new StateHighway building, and safety promotion--for employees and the public --- arethe subjects of six new state EmployeeSuggestion awards made to MHDpersonne 1.

The awards:To Dale M. Peterson, highway

technician in the Rochester districtheadquarters, $50 and a certificate onhis proposal for a device to be used infolding large maps into the 8% x ll-inchfolder size. The device is intended tospeed and improve neatness of thefolding, with less experience requiredfor the work.

COVER PICTUREBloomingtonB ri d g e

Scheduled for completion by July 1is the l,387-foot steel deck girder,four-lane divided bridge (at right)over the Minnesota river on InterstateRoute 35W, at the south edge ofBloomi ngton. Stee I work and rivet-ing was completed early this monthand work on concrete forms was toget under way immediately. Thebridge, begun in mid-1957, willhave two 27-foot roadways and clearlow water level of 55 feet to permitpassage of cargo vessels. The viewis southward.

The construction contract is for$2,857,683, with the IndustrialConstruction Co. of Minneapolis, asbuilder. Because the bridge is onan interstate route, federa i fund swill pay 90 per cent of the cost.

To the left of the new structureis the 39-year old, 791-foot liftspan bridge now serving T. H. 65(Lyndale Ave. S.). Since T.H. 65will be moved to I. R. 35W throughthis section, the old bridge will bewrecked after completion of thenew one.

Route 35W runs from Duluth toLaredo, Texas, with alternate legsthrough Minneapolis and St. Paul,35W being the Minneapolis leg.

z -"t

Pat Chandler Guy Chil son

ToG uy Ch ii son, fie clerk in theConstruction division headquarters,$10 and a certificate for his proposalto install rails or buffer strips to pro-tect walls above the mail conveyorcounters located on each floor of thenew building. The rails are intendedto keep the metal framed conveyorbaskets from scuffng or gouging thewalls when the baskets are movedabout on the counters. The conveyorsystem moves documents and officesupplies from floor to floor on an end-less belt, picking up and dischargingthe baskets by electric controls.

To George E. Flynn, bridge mainte-nance engineer, a certificate for aproposed safety slogan design usableas a highway sign, in shops andoffices, and on mobile equipment. Thedesign consists of an outline map ofMinnesota with the slogan, "Be Care-ful Today," inscribed within thestate's border line. The design isadaptable for use in stencils and decalsof any size, and in p'rnted matter.

Harry Sieben, state highway' safetydIIector, has announced that Be CArefulToday signs are to be placed on thedashboards of all Highway departmenttrucks, cars, graders and other vehicles,on all machine tools in shops andlaboratories, and as po sters in shopsand offices. He suggested that theslogan, framed with the outline of thestate map, is particularly suitable foruse in all departments of the stategovernment.

To Pat Chandler, project engineer inthe Metropolian district, $25 and acertificate for a simple safety tunicto be worn by highway flagmen, and bysurveyors working along establishedtraffc routes. As suggested by Chandler,the tunic would consis t of front andback panels of red or orange cloth,having a head opening and snaps orties to fasten it around the body. Flag-men now generally are protected bywhite Sam Browne belts, in additionto their flags, and surveyors are pro-tected by warning signs marking theirworking areas.

To Lawrence W. Purrington, automechanic at the Windom Maintenancedistrict headquarters, two awards. Onewas $10 and a certificate for a uniformdesign for warning poles on maintenancetrucks. It includes a permanent hingedmounting on the unit body permittinginclination to a horizontal position and

a 30-inch copper tubing for upper section,permitting bending for low clearancedoorways, tree branches, etc.

Purrington's second award was $15and a certificate for a proposal for ashop-made hood to be attached to rotarysand spreaders used in spreading sandfrom trucks onto the highway. Throughan opening in the movable hood, sandmay be spread in any given directioninstead of in full circle, as with theopen spinners. The hood is intendedto provide increased efficiency andeconomy through the greater controlof distribution.

Suggestion WorkWins Plaudits

Generous praise has gone to fiveMHD employees for four years of exten-sive and successful service to theState Employees Suggestion Awardprogram. The five have completed theirperiod of offcial duty in the continningrecognition program.Governor Freeman and Commissioner

Zinmerman tossed verbal bouquets toIng Morehouse, director of the depart-ment's Data Coordinating division- lng,in turn, expressed appreciation of theirgood services to Hi Damsgard, Metro-polian district office manager; L. J.Koalska, St. Paul Park maintenancedistrict foreman; Mrs. Connie Koch,clerk steno in Drivers License; andCount Ilstrup, consultant design engi-neer in Road Design.Morehouse served four years as a

member of the state Merit Award board,including two as board secretary, andhe was the first chairman (for two years)of the Highway department's SuggestionAward committee.

The other four all have served fouryears as members of the MHD SuggestionAward committee, with Damsgard beingthe chairman the past two years.

Appointment for PearsonMorehouse has been succeeded as

Merit Award board secretary by CarlVorlander, research and planningdirector of the Department of Administra-tion, Governor Freeman also hasannounced the appointment of KenPearson, MHD assistant maintenanceengineer, as a member of the five-manMerit Award board, Robert Whitaker,tleputy state public examiner, is thechairman.No appointments have been made

for a new Suggestion Award committeein the Highway department.

Established by the 1955 State Legis-latur e at the ins tigation of GovernorFreeman and the Department of Admin-istration the Merit Award board decidesthe granting of suggestion awards andadministers the program. The MHDSuggestion Awards committee receive'sand evaluates suggestions from Highwayemployees, submitting them, withappropriate recommendations, to theMerit Award board. Evaluations obtainedfrom qualified MHD offcials andemployees are used in formulating therecormend ations.

Legion Sets New RecordHiway post of the American Legion

has passed a 200 membership total for1959, thereby exceeding by more than30 its assigned quota of 170 membersfor the year. The figure was 201 onMarch 1. The highest previous year'stotal was 201.

MINNESOTA HIGHWAYS

/'Ia,x IQS9

Help for Motorists

Freeway Motorists ServicesConstruction of interstate and state

trunk freeways for "non-stop" travelis posing a serious problem - -- that ofproviding needed services for themotoring public.

On these faster, limited access high-ways, how will motorists obtain road-side emergency repair service? Howcan the location and accessibility ofgas stations, restaurants and lodgingbe planned to benefi both the travelerand the commercial int erests cateringto his needs? How can these privateenterprises advertise their serviceswithout marring the scenery?

Where can the driver stop safely andconveniently to obtain highway informa-tion or make telephone calls? Whatfirst aid and ambulance service willbe Quickly available?

For the best answer to these Questions,foresight will be much more efficientand less expensive than hindsight!With its increased emphasis on

planning ahead of need, the MinnesotaHighway department has acted to solvethe freeway motorist's service problemson a statewide uniform and equitablebasis.

As the first step, nearly a year ago,the MHD through its Roadside Develop-ment division, enlisted and organizedthe aid of well Qualified civic andbusine ss leaders, safety and healthagencies, and state, county and localofficials, as well as authorities with-in the Highway department.

Comm ittee FormedA Minnesota Motorist Services

committee of 62 members was formedto develop statewide policies, guides,and standards for such services. Thechairman is John H. Mullen, executivesecretary of Minnesota Good Roads,Inc., and former MHD chief engineer.Hugh Craig, executive secretary ofthe Minnesota State Automobile associa-tion, is vice chairman and HaroldOlson, MHD roadside developmentengineer, is executive secretary.

The committee has three subcommitteesfor study in as many maj or fields ofmotorist services.. Heading the planningand zoning subcommittee are GuyKelnhofer of the state Department ofBusiness Development, and RalphKeyes, of the State Association ofCounty Commissioners, as chairmanand vice chairman. The emergencyservices and communications sub-committee is headed by Earl Larimer,safety director of the Arrow InsuranceCo., and former chief of the MinnesotaHighway patrol, and Keith W. Vogt,Minnesota Telephone association.Heading the personal services sub-committee are Fred Haverland of theMinnesota Motel association, andV. B. Edwards of the Pure Oil Co.The other members of the committee

bring to its deliberations years ofexperience ín other fields servingthe highway traveler - -- restaurants,public garages, hotels, street lighting,ambulance firms, advertising agencies,chambers of commerce, county,municipal and private engineers, build-ing contractors, architects, food re-tailers, safety organizations, the U. S.Bureau of Public Roads, resort owners,peace offcers, trucking firms, firedepartments, and the state Departmentsof Business Development, Education,Health, and Highwa,s.In many instances, the members arE.

designated representatives of stateassociations in their respective businessand professional fields.

To Study Land Use

The Planning and Zoning subcommitteehas been directed to study land use onfront age roads and on roads intersect-ing interstate routes and major trunkhighw a,s, for the most advantageousus e of such land.

The subcommittee will study thepossibilty of step s for zoning landalong approach roads to bar unsafe,unsightly, and otherwise unsuitableinstallations.

Are PlannedThis subcommittee also is to seek

to determine easy methods for trafficto get on and off the interstate andtrunk highways without disrupting localland use and values.The subcommittee on Emergency

Services and Communications is chargedwith setting up suitable procedures forproviding automotive repairs and servicesfor the benefi of distressed motoristsand the Quickest removal of their vehiclesas traffc hazards.Planning for ambulance service and

fire protection on the highway is anotherresponsibilty of this group. It. alsois to make recommendations on varioustypes of communication such as way-side telephones, advance notice signsfor rest areas and information centers,and the use of "send help" flags hymotorists with breakdowns, flat tiresor other emergencies.The Personal Services subcommittee-

is to study the location and constructionof comfort services and rest areas, withproper maintenance, and the placing ofsigns to direct travelers to food andlodging off the highways.,

Information, Centers PI annedA major step in motorist services

contemplated by highway officialsand motorist services committeesorganized in Minnesota and in someother states is the establishment ofinformation centers at designated inter-vals along int erstate routes and statetrunj freeways.At these centers it is possible to

consolidate certain services such ascomfort stations, telephones, picnicfacilities, and the like.Permissable services at these cen-

ters vary between the interstate routesand state trunk highways.

Federal regulations prohibit commercialestablishments on the interstate rightof way, such as gas stations andrestaurants, and advertising is sharplyrestricted.

(Cont. on page 4)

This information center, including no commercial features,is designed for use on either interstate ar state trunk freeways.Besides facilities for comfort stations, telephones, and parking,

MARCH, 1959

lodgi n\¡, and resorts.

it has uniform sign boards for advertising nearby restaurants,

3

NService Need FeltEvidence from other states of the

need for well planned and regulatedmotorist services on the freeways:

A postcard survey of portions of theOhio turnpike showed that 50 per centof all motorists stopped at least onceat a service plaza,.:Ul.per cent patronizedrest rooms, 21 per cent took on gasoline.Mechanical diffculty was experiencedby 4¥. per cent of the vehicles, chieflyflat tires, motor trouble, and out ofgas.

Every fifth vehicle breakdown on thePennsylvania turnpike during June,1958 was caused by an empty gasolinetank: A total of 4,957 vehicles ran outof gas.

Phone booths along some toll roadshave had to be doubled and tripled inrecognition of the tremendous need bymotorists for making. calls to home,offices, customers, for reservations,etc.

Experience on high-volume controlled-access highways indicate that aboutone automotive breakdown can be ex-pected per mile of highway per day.

Freeway ServicesPlanned(Cont. from page 3)It is probable that commercial ser-

vices to the motorist will be locatedon frontage, service, and intersectingroads near interchanges.

The interstate informational centers,themselves, may have picnic tables,comfort stations, telephones and thelike.

Brooder Services PossibleAddressing a recent meeting of the

Minnesota Motorist Services committee,Deputy Highway Commissioner FrankMarzitell pointed out that the infor-mation centers on state trunk freewayswill be able to provide car servicingand restaurants, as well as telephones,rest rooms, and similar items.

Plans are under study for providingspace at these informational centersfor installation of signs giving noticeof lodgings, eating establishments,and resorts in the immediate area.Regulations would be established forthe size and types of signs.

The information centers would bescreened from the highway and designedfor best appearance. They might besponsored by local governmental bodies,civic organizations, or private enter-prise, under strict regulations as toproper maintenance and use.

Establishment of information cen-ters and other motorist services alongmany miles of freeways will add totheir cost. But, according to HaroldOlson, the committee's secretary, theheavy volume of traffc which will usethe freeways calls for such services onan organized basis not only for theconvenience of the traveling pUblicbut for its safety, and also for theprotection of the appearance andproper use of the right of way and theadjoining areas.

A married couple reminisced aboutthe "old days." "By the way," musedthe husband, "what ever became of theold-fashioned girls who fainted when aman kissed them?"

"What I'd like to know," retortedthe wife, "is what happened to theold-fashioned men who made them faint."

4

10 Steps UrgedIn Supervision"One of the most challenging and

neglected sources of improvement inany organization is getting more pro-fitable action from its executivès.."

This was an opening assertion fromF. G. Emrick, vice president of SchlehAssociates, Inc., Twin Cities manage-ment consultant firm, at the MHD annualEngineers' conference in the Pick-Nicollet hotel, Minneapolis. He wasthe key-note speaker for the three-dayprogram, centered on management pro-blems.From his initial statement, Emrick

went on to recommend steps by whichmanagement personnel can better ful-fil its supervisory fiïnction. He center-ed his discussion on 10 supervisoryfunctions:

Set objectives for workers.Give fair assignments.Bè responsible for training of workers.Check progress.Take disciplinary action as required.Follow up on achievement of

objectives.Stimulate employees by showing

sincere interest in their work andideas.

Expect to find some mistakes.Don't keep workers' nosestothe grind-

stone.Call employees to account as circum-

stances indicate.Make It Crystal Clear

According to Emrick, a new employee'sgreatest problem often is the failure ofhis supervisor' to make entir ely clearwhat the employee is' expected to do.Sometimes that is because the employee 'simmediate supervisor has not himselfbeen properly briefed, or because thesupervisor explains more at one timethan the employee can digest, or lacksclarity in expression.

Emrick advised that all significantinstructions be stated in writing toavoid misunderstanding.

A supervisor's procrastination ingetting an employee started properlyon a jOb is apt to make the employeefeel that either he or his Job is notconsidered of much importance, Emricksaid.

"Most employees don't need to betold several times how to do a job."he said. "What they need and want isto be told once so clearly that they canfully understand it.

"When you tell a worker no mistakeswill be tolerated,' you won't get muchwork from him. He'll play it safe.Where there is" a normal amount of think-ing to be done; there wil be a normalamount of mistakes.

"It is well to remember that peoplewil incline to do things the way theyalready know how to do them unlessthey receive proper directions to dothem otherwise. People can learn thingsthey don't know.

"When a worker asks you, as hissupervisor, to help him with a problem,don't hand him a dictatOrial, hard andfast procedure. Give him the help withwhich he can work it out himself."

Interest Beats PressureOther thoughts expressed by Emrick:To operate productively, all managers

must be given an organization frameworkbased on sound "results" objectives,

clear-cut accountability,. and a systemof current controls that provide arealistic pictue of how well they aremeeting their objectives.Because most people seek to do a

good job, a sincere interest in howthey are getting along is a betterstimulant than are pressure tactics oreven prizes and similar rewards. ~utthis interest cannot be properly dis-played if a supervisor is responsiblefor too many employees.

A worker whose nose is kept to thegrindstone has litle time to think, toimprove his job or himself.

Records should be geared to the manwho can use them most, the man doingfirst-line supervision.

On the importance of amicable relationsbetween management and workers,Emrick said "The man who gathersthe honey doe sn't fight with the bees"

Guest SpeakerPlan Popular

A new format. designed for the MHD1959 Engineers' conference appearedto win wholehearted approval fromthe 400 engineers attending the,February 23-25 assembly in the Pick-Nicollet hotel, Minneapolis.

New this year were a central dis-cussion theme, expounded throughtwo and a half days of general sessions,and a preponderance of speakers fromoutside the department, authorities intheir respective fields. Performanceof management functions was thecentral theme.

Previously the conferences haveconsisted mostly of group sessionsfor discussion of technical problemsin construction, maintenance, right otway, traffic and planning, etc.

Last month's conference was attendedby staff, district, assistant district,resident, project, materials, design andsoils engi neers.

The Keynote address, "The Engi-neer's Role as a Manager," was byFranklin G. Emrick, vice presidentof Ed Schleh Associates, Inc., TwinCities management consultant firm.

Other guest speakers included GeorgeS. Odiorne, General Mills; Arwood'Miller U. S. Corps of Engineers;Theodore R. Lindbom, of Rohrer, Hib-ler and Repogle; Albert M. Fulton andJohn R. Borchert, University ofMinnesota; J. B. McMains, NorthernStates Power Company; Robert Hunter,Missouri Highway department; andJ. W. Clark. Minnesota Department ofBusiness Development.

Commissioner Zimmerman headed agroup of MHD executives and adminis-trative engineers who participated asspeakers or meeting chairmen.Highway post of the American Leg;on

was host to members of the conferenceat its annual Engineers' stag partyFebruary 24 in the Pick-Nicollet.Sixty-five persons attended. Rob ertHanson of Madison, the Legion'sMinnesota department commanderspoke.

Federation Meeting

The Minnesota Federation of Engi-nee ring Societies conducted its thirty-seventh annual meeting February 25-27at the Pick-Nicollet, including pro-fessional sessions, a luncheon session,dinner, stag party, and dinner-dance.

MINNESOTA HIGHWAYS

/VO\r iqs~

Governor Speaks

5 Miles Opened on 35W

~ _...Á. ~.- r'i!'~W;"

_. r,.,:~~;:._G_:.'",~

i,,t-..

~ij

A full platoon of happy top MH¡) officials turned out for the dedication of five milesof i. R. 35W August 17. Deputy Commissioner Frank Marzitelli, left center, extendedhis IIand to congratulate R. C. Beito, right center, project engineer for the newlycompleted link.

The others: L to R, Arnie Wahlroos, assistant construction engineer; AssistantCllief Engineers C. C. Colwell and J. C. Robbers, Maintenance Engineer George Meskal,ôridge Engineer A. E. Laôonte, Construction Engineer Stan Eker~, Harold .Va~ Krevel~n,assistant district engineer, Metropoliton district; Vince Bovitz, public informationdirector; Chief Engineer John Swanberg; E. J. McCubrey, district. engi~eer: Metropolitandistrict; and Don McFadden, assistant district engineer, Metropolitan district.

Governor Freeman headed the groupof distinguished people who celebratedthe opening for traffc of a five-milesection of i. R. 35W southward fromMinneapolis Augu st 17. He was theprincipal speaker at a dedicationceremony conducted at the Eighty-sixthst. interchange under auspices of theMinneapolis Area Chamber of Commerce.

. The section extends from 56th st. in; Minneapolis through Richfield to 108thst. in Bloomington. It is the secondInterstate section opened in Minnesota,the first having been eight miles oni. R. 35 northward from owatonna,opened a year ago.

With E. Wiliam Boyer, chapterpresident, presiding, the prominentguests included Mayors P. KennethPeterson of Minneapolis; Irving Keldsen,Richfield; and Gordon W. Mikelthun,Bloomington; and Deputy CommissionerFrank D. Marzitell, who spoke brieflYfor Commissioner Zimmerman who wasunable to be present.

Addressing a crowd of several hundredpersons, including a delegation of adozen MHD officials, Governor Free manstressed the economic betterment theInterstate Highway system will bring tothe country, as well as its travelconvenience, safety, and importancefor national defense.

Torchy Peden of Bloomington, formerworld' bicycle road racing champion,pedaled through the barrier ribbon toformally open the highway link. TheBloomington city band played.

SEPTEMBER, 1959

More Cash forSuggestions

Bigger cash awards are in store forMinnesota state employees who submitacceptable proposals in the stateEmployees' Suggestion Award plan.

Also, processing of the suggestionsis to be streamlined to speed theissuance of awards.

These are two major changes madeby the State Employees' Merit Awardboard in a recent revision of its regula-tions and operating procedure. Theboard wants more suggestions and willpay well for them.

The changes are of particularimportance to the Highway departmentbecause it has exceeded any otherunit of the state government in thenumber of acceptable suggestions sub-mitted by its personneL.

The board plans to grant larger cashawards than previously to better

CASH for IDEAS

Try for a

Suggestion Award

represent value of the proposals to thestate government, according to KenPearson, MHD assistant maintenanceengineer and a new member of theMerit Award. board. For this purpose,the $50 maximum for any award hasbeen eliminated, he said. No cashaward wil be for less than $10.To speed action on the awards, the

board has ass umed broader responsibiliyfor the evaluation of suggestions sub-mitted, with the assistance, as required,of qualified state personneL.

Suggestions, as submitted, wil beassigned to individual members of theboard for study and recommendationfor approval or rejection, Pearson saidlProposals relating to MHD procedureswil go to Pearson.

As announced when the Suggestionprogram was instituted, its prupose isto improve "efficiency, economy andcharacter of state services" and toincrease employee understanding ofproblems of administration.

Robert Whitaker, deputy state publicexaminer, is chairman of the MeritAward board; Carl Vorlander, researchand planning director in the Departmentof Administration, is secretary.

Have Any Ideas?In every organization, large or

small, there is always room forimprovement. It is well to keep inmind that no one of us is assmart as all of us and that is whyyour suggestions are needed.

For efficiency, economy, improve-ment of service in the MHD, andfor cash awards, send your ideasto Ken Pearson, MHD SuggestionAwards chairman, via Maintenancesection.

Suggestion LeaderThe Highway department has been the

pace setter among all units of the stategovernment in the Suggestion Awardprogram.

Of six 1958 suggestions listed by theMerit Award board of outstanding, fourwere submitted as MHD employees. Theboard estimated that the six suggestions,for which awards totaled $440, wilresult in continuing savings of approx-imately $20,000 per year.The four top MHO awards were for

improved marking of guard rail posts, anew format for preparation of highwayfinancial data, for a simplified methodof grid coordinate platting" and develop-ment of better soil testing equipment.

The format for preparation of highwayfinancial data for the Bureau of PublicRoads has been recommended by thefederal government for use by theother 49 states.From January 1, 1958, through May

of this year, cash awards were grantedfor 29 MHO employee proposals as com-pared with 21 made to Public Welfaredepartment employees, the secondlargest group for that period. Awardstotaled $850 for the 29 MHO awards,$640 for the 21 Public Welfare awards.

LIP SERVICECute Step.o: "Your wife w"lnts a kiss

over the phone, sir."'3oss: "Take the message. I'll get

it ¡roen you later."

7

) Interstate Estimates Sought

-v

Task Force Studies Costs

Newest unit in the Highway Depart-ment is the Task Force, organized bythe Engineering Division to make acurrent estimate of the total cost tocomplete Minnesota's portion of theInterstate Highway System.Put in operation last month, the

Force is to submit its completed re-port to the Bureau of Public Roads inWashington, D.C., on or before August i.

Such a study is required periodicallyin each state by the 1956 NationalHighway Act which provided for theestablishment of the nation's 41,000-mile Interstate Highway System. Fromthe total findings of the current study,factors will be made by the BPR forthe apportionment of each state'sfederal aid Interstate System fundsfor the fiscal years 1963-64-65-66.

ßPR Cooperating\ The BPR's st. Paul Divisional offceY is cooperating with the Minnesota

study.The Minnesota Highway Departme nt

made its first cost estimate studyunder the 1956 act three years ago.The next one is to be made five yearsfrom now. The periodic estimates areto keep cost information up to date indetermining the apportionme nt factors.Chief Engineer John Swanberg dele-

gated respons ibility for the currentstudy to Assistant Chief EngineerJ. C. Robbers, with Assistant RoadDesign Engineer M. E. Hermansondesignated as full time Task Forcechairman. L. E. Lybecker of the BPRst.. Paul Division offce, is co-chairman.

To conduct the study, Robbers assign-ed a full time staff of 12 people, engi-neers and specialists, and arrangedfor assignment of additional personnelfor part-time service, as needed, allfrom within the MHD. The Task Forceis quartered in Room 407, State High-way Building.To obtain a comprehensive and

fully accurate knowledge of anticipatedcosts for the 875 miles remaining tobe completed in Minnesota's share ofthe Interstate System, the Task Force

) must carefully study each constructionproject to be undertaken, except pro-jects committed for letting up to 1960,Hermanson said.Hermanson and Lybecker must make

an on-the-site review of each mile ofthe Minnesota Interstate System, as toline location and interchange andseparation sites in local road systems.Other supporting personnel wil go

on field trips as necessary to obtaininformation for their particular tasks.

Cover Every Pha seThe completed cost estimates must

cover every phase of Interstate con-struction, planning, design, right ofway, general road construction, inter-changes, separations, fencing, land-scaping and every other necessarypiece of work in the 15 years plannedfor completion of the Interstate.

Highway constnlction unit costs forfiscal 1959 are the basis for computingthe cost estimate.Early in the study, a jOint meeting

of MHD and BPR offcials determineddesign policies for the study, )ncludittgMinnesota Interstate constructionstandards to be used in the êstimating.

\FEBRUARY, 1960/-/

M. E. Hermanson

Supervisory and "working" membersof the Task Force include experiencedspecialists in varied fields from theConstruction, Planning and Programming,Administration, Road Design, BridgeDesign, Traffc Engineering, and Landsand Right of Way Sections.Full cooperation, of all Highway

Department personnel, as may be need-ed, was called for by Robbers so that,as he expressed it, "Minnesota willhave the best possible estimate of itsrevised needs."

"I cannot emphasize the importanceof this too much," he said.

Special Tasks AssignedNecessary specialist responsibiliies

to augment and support the Task Forceinclude: For the Planning and Pro-gramming Division, BPR program statusdata, traffc data, drafting charts andstrip maps, and printing and bindingreports. For the Road Design Section,cost estimates on earthwork, surfacing,etc" on utilities and roadside develop-ment; and support on photogrammetry,survey data, and preliminary designlayout data.

For the Traffc Engineering Section,lighting and signing cost estimates.For Administration, IBM computerservice for estimates. For the Bridgeand Right of Way Sections, cost estimatesin their respective fields.The Minnesota Highway Department

was one of seven state highway depart-ments invited to assist the BPR inpreparing the operating manual for thecurrent study. Swanberg and Rob bersrepresented the MHD in this activity,in Washington, D.C., last November.

IIQh,

with meii HowIt La sf

my towel

I know my wifethis time."is that? Whatnight she mademarked HIS."

is through

happened?"me turn in

Tech Exam OpenA forthcoming examination for the

Highway Technician II classifcationoffers a promotional opportunity forlower level technicians.. Separatetests wil be given for three HT IIactivity fields- --right of way, traffc,aiid draftsman. The examination, forwhich applications will lbe accepteduntil February 17, wil be open toHTs I and II who have permanent orprobationary Civil Service status.

The Personnel Section reports thatapproximately 15 vacancies in thedraftsman catagory wil be filed inthe near future. No vacancies pre-sently exist in the right of way ortraffc fields. However, successfulcandidates will qualify for eligibilitylists from which future appointmentswill be made.Candidates for Highway Technician

ILL, right of way and traffc, may notbring materials to the exams. ButHT ILL draftsman candidates may bringto the exams trigonometric functions,logarithmic tables, functions of curves,

a straight edge, stadia reduction table,steel handbook, and slide rule.

Applications are now open for exam-ination for the welder classification.

An examination is scheduled forFebruary 27 at various locations inthe state for qualification for theclassification of Highway MaintenanceMan ll. Applications for this test, ifnot already fied, must be submittedimmediately. This classifcation isopen continuously for examination.

Examiners Honored

Colonel Murphy andZimmerman

Commissioner

The United States Army has awarded"Certificates of Achievement" to twomen of the MHD Drivers LicenseSection, Cletus Effe and WoodrowMadsen. The recognition is for theirvoluntary assistance in recommendingArmy service to qualified young menand for referring such men to the ArmyRecruiting Service.Colonel Daniel J. Murphy of

Minneapolis, commanding officer forArmy recruiting activity in most ofMinnesota and western Wisconsin, pre-sented the certificates to CommissionerZimmerman for later formal presentationto Effe and Madsen.

As driver examiners, Effle and Madsenhave had frequent contact with alertyoung men seeking driver licenses.Madsen is stationed at Wilmar, whileEffle, formerly an examiner at Hutchin-son, has recently been promoted toexaminer supervisor at Detroit Lakes.

3

-v

Patrol Studies Interstate DutyPatrollng of Minnesota's 888 miles

of Interstate ,Highway routes, whencompleted in about 15 years, wil callfor an additional 183 men in the High-way Patrol, in the belief of Chief LeoSmith and other patrol supervisorypersonneL.

This force would have to be builup gradually in pace with the openingof newly completed segments of theInterstate routes.

Their conclusion is based on extensivestudy of the experience of patrol unitson turnpikes and freeways now in usethroughout the United states and on thepresumption that the patrol wil bethe only traffic enforcement arm operat-ing on the Interstate routes.The estimated total of 183 me n in-

cludes 160 patrol offcers, 19 sergeants,three captains and one inspector.

Heavy Traffic ForeseenPresent authorized strength of the

Highway Patrol is 331 men, considereda minimum for adequate patrollng ofthe state's present l1,OOO-mile trunkhighway system. Greatly increasedtraffic and other problems' are the rea-son for a higher proportion of patroloffcers recommended for the Interstateroutes. When completed Minnesota'sInterstate routes are expected to carryone fifth of the state's total motorvehicle traffc.That the patrol is giving definite

thought to its func tions in traffcsafety on the Interstate System andlegislation required to prepare forperforming those functions properlywas revealed at a meeting of theMinnesota Motorist Services CommitteeFebruary 1 in the State Highway Build-ing.

Captain Jame s Stevens, patrol plansand training offcer, told the comm itteethe patrol's plan to meet the new pro-blem is to ask the State Legislatureto authorize the Comm issioner of High-ways to add additional uniformedpersonnel, as needed, to patrol theInterstate System, the need to bedetermined according to the mileagerequiring protection.He pOinted out to the committee that

p,eriodic legislative authorizationsfrom biennium to biennium for specifcincreases in patrol strength would pre-sent a problem because the highwayengineers do not expect to be able tomake long-range forecasts on whenvarious sections of the interstate routeswill be ready for traffc.

Close ConformityWith a standing authorization through

the Interstate construction period, theCommissi oner could appoint additionalpatrol offcers in direct conformitywith the need, the captain said.

captain Stevens explained that thepropos ed 160 patrol offcers for the888 Interstate miles by completiontime would provide one offcer foreach 25 miles of freeway, permitingone-half hour patrol frequency for 16hours of each day, and one offcer onevery 50 miles during the eight hoursof lightest traffc. Also included inthe computation are two accident in-vestigation units in the Twin Citesmetropolitan area."This is somewhat less than the

absolute minimum of one half hourpatrol frequency recommended' by the

states we have contacted who arepatrollng this type of highway at thepresent time," Captain Stevens said.

6

The patrol's plan for the Interstateroutes also provides additional trainingfor offcers assigned to freeway duty"so that they can cope with the specialservice problems of this type ofoperation. "states with extensive freeway

patròlling have reported that at leasthalf of patrolling time is spent handlingautomotive breakdowns and otheremergency situations causing safetyhazards.

Captain stevens advanced threepurposes for freeway traffc law en-forcement being delegated to a singlestate agency, namely the HighwayPatrol in Minnesota:

To establis h and maintain regularpatrol frequencies, to eliminate over-lapping jurisdictions and inconsistenciesin enforcement policies and operation,and because' a statewide communicationsystem, such as that already in operationby the Highway Department, is "anabsolute necessity in providing theservices and enforcement required onthe freeways."

$781 in March of DimesThe st. Paul March of Dimes annual

campaign headquarters praised theHighway Department for employee con-tributions totaling $781 in the driveconducted January 11-15 in the stateHighway Building, Central Shop, andoffces at 1246 University Ave. MotorVehicle Division employees in theState Highway Building were included.George Larson of Traffc Engineering,was chairman, with 21 volunteersolicitors participating. Nine Toast-masters volunteered as st. Paul campaignspeakers.

E. C. WicktorStrickenWord has been received of the death

January 21 of Elmer C. Wicktor, 61, ofRoyal Oak, Mich., veteran employeeand former chief accountant of the High-way Department. His position was theforerunner of the present post offinancial services director. Mr. Wicktorwas in the Highway Department from1917 to 1936, as chief clerk and chiefaccountant. He was a charter memberand the first adjutant of Hiway Post,American Legion, serving also as vicecommander for two years and historianfor three years. Mr. Wicktor is survivedby his wife, a son and a daughter, twograndchildren, and a brother Howard,who is a Highway Patrol officer atst. Cloud.

RetirementsJohn A. Deis, Gaylord, HMM i. Maint.

Dist. 14 ... Ansel Fadden, Wayzata,Maintenance Foreman I, Maint. D--st. 9... Raymond E. Huber, st. paul, HMM II,Maint. Dist. 11 ... Harry Lieder, North-field, HMM II, Maint. Dist. 13 ... OlafNelson, st. Paul, bridge worker,Maintenance Bridge... Clarence Lien,Cottonwood, Signman i. Maint. Dist.15 Harold E. Norton, Ortonville,Highway Maintenance Foreman II, Maint.Dist. 10 ... Roy H. Shepherd, Bemidji,HMM II, Maint. Dist. 3.

BPR Division Chief

W. W. Fryhofer is the new St. Pauldivisional engineer of the U, S. Bureauof Public Roads. A picture was notavailable when his appointment tosucceed A. L. Over bee, retired, wasannounced in last month's MinnesotaHighways. Fryhofer was with the MHDbefore he joined the B PR in 1934.Before taking his present appointment,Fryhofer was regional design engineerin the BPR's regional headq uarters inKansas City, Mo.

Just for LaughsA new employee reported for work and

the resident engineer told him to pickup the broom and sweep out the fieldoff ceo

IIBut, sir, I'm a co.llege graduate,"

the youth said."Oh, well," said the R.E., "giveit ta me and I'll show you how."

\Modern psychology tells us that it's

bad to be an orphan, terrible to be anonly child, damaging to be the young--est, crushing to be in the middle, andtaxing to be the oldest. There seemsto be no way out, except to be bornan adult.

'.

Many a small boy is the kind of kidhis mother wouldn't want him to playwith.

.

The Feline Touch

The butcher was busy waiting on acustomer when a women rushed in andsaid, "Give me a pound of cat food,quick.,"Turning to the other customer, she

said, "I hope you don't mind my gettingwaited on before you."

"Not if you're that hungry, the otherwomen repl ied.

(Cont. on page 10)

MINNESOTA HIGHWAYS

Fe6 /% 0

The How and Why

BPR Engineer

i-

Explains Contract Controls

In his keynote address at the MHD Engineers Conference, E, H. Swick, regionalengine.er, Bureau of Public Roads, K'lns'ls City, Mo" outlined the purpose andoperation of the new contract control program for federal highway 'lid. He commend-ed the MHD's type of participation, incIudin~ its conduct of public hearings.Here 'lre pertinent excerpts from his t'llk:

Most of you have heard about thecontract control program for federalhighway aid. But even if you haven't,your day to day operations over thelast several months have been influenc-ed by contract control provisionsand limitations......

You may want to hear from a Bureauof Public Roads representative aboutwhat those contract controls are thatour organization had to institute lastfalL. Actually, we don't call themcontract controls; we call them re-imbursement planning. It seems a muchgentler term, somehow.

I wi 11 try to tell youcontrols are, why theylong we may expect towith them.

Over the 40 years of federal aidhighway activity between the 1916act and the Federal Aid Highway Actof 1956, which set up the Interstateprogram, public roads to all intents andpurposes had a blank check on theUnited states Treasury insofar as re-inbursements to the states were con-cerned. This blank check had as itsceiling the amount of the federal aidauthorization. . . . .

what contractare, and howhave to live

Pattern Was ChangedThe. Federal Aid Act of 1956 changed

all this. It set up annual authorizationsof funds over a 13-ye ar period to com-

,plete the Interstate System and it ear-marked certain new and increasedfederal excise taxes on highway users,to go into the Highway Trust Fundto provide revenue for the program. '

~hen the legislation was beingwrrtten, a balance of authorizationsand revenues was anticipated over a13-year period. Such a balance was notanticipated on a year-to-year basis.It was recognized that a surplus ofrevenues would build up the first

, few years; that would be followed by

, i1 number of deficit years, and then,finally, there would be sufficient sur-pluses toward the end of the programto overcome the earlier deficits. Infact, a clause was included in thelegislation permitting repayable advancesto, be made to the High way Trust Fundfrom the general funds of the Treasury.

However, another clasue was writteninto the 1956 Act that took precedentover the provisions for advances. Thiswas the pay-as-you-go clause or, asmore commonly known perhaps, the Byrdamendment.

It limited the amount of each annualInterstate authorization to the anti-cipated capacity of this Trust Fundto pay the cash needed to reimburs~the states promptly for the work thathad been accomplished. In effect itrequired a year-by-ye ar balancing' of

e~tima~e~ ~evenues and expenditureswith llmitations on Interstate apportion-ment to the amount that could beliquidated from the Trust Fund.

N~w the: Interstate program, of course,required time for organization.....

MARCH, 1960

And so, as anticipated, the TrustFund idea worked fine for the firstcouple of years. A day of reckoni.ng

with the Trust Fundwas hastened by thepassage in 1958 0 flegislation which con-siderably increasedhi g h way authoriza-tions to combat a re-cession, which nevergot here. This legis-lation deferred for itsparticular authoriza-tion this pay-as-you-gO concept and pro-vided that we had toapportion the money E. H. Swickto the states whether we had it or not.Meanwhile, the Interstate programreally began rolling and we started toreceive vouchers in a large way.

These facts all added up in July,1959, to the fact that the BPR wouldbe' out of money to reimburse the statehighway departments on or about thefirst of October unless Congress in-creased the revenues reaching theT~ust Fund or, as an alternate, per-mitted borrowing for the Trust Fundfrom other revenues of the federalgovernment.

To meet these certain deficits, Con-gress was asked to increase the federalgasoline tax by one and one-half cents.Congress saw fi to limit this to a one-cent increase which didn't becomeeffective unti the first of October, 1959.

As a result of this smaller taxing feeand the smaller receipts reaching theTrust Fund from them, it becamenecessary to impose artificial ceilingson obligations of federal funds thestates could incur. These are contractcontrols.

They were required if the states wereto be assured of prompt reimbursementof bill.s presented by them and, inciden-tally, in many states they were necessaryif the contractors were to be assuredof prompt payment of their estimates.I don't believe that was true inMinnesota.

Now these procedures did providethat if a state was "flush", as youmight say, it could go ahead and spendits own money on federal aid projectswith the understanding that the re-

Conference Sp3echesThis and other pages of this issue

of Minnesota Highways carry full orpartial texts of four of the addressesdelivered at the annual MHD EngineersConference February 22-24 in st. PauL.

The conference attracted more than200 persons, MHD engineer and staffmembers, county highway engineersand representatives of the Bureau ofPublic Ro~ds. This year's programgave prominence to guest speakersfrom outside the Highway Department.

imbursement would be made if andwhen it could be. That wasn't a verygood procedure and to many states,of course, it gave no particular dateon which a state could receive re-imbursement. This is what is known as"E" proj ects.

How Long? Is ProblemNow this brief discussion is attempted

to outline generally the "how" andthe "why" of contract control. The"how long" is anybody's guess.

If there is no change in the presentfinancial structure of the Highway TrustFund, contract controls of some kindwil be necessary until about the middleof 1963. Before then, however, therewill have been four annual sessions ofCongress. Anyone of these couldchange the picture completely, of course.

To be specific concerning Minnesota,at the end of January yoU had availablein unprogrammed, programmed, orotherwise unobligated federal moneyincluding Interstate, about $80 milion:However, between now and July 1.according to our records, you will bepermitted to obligate only about $27milion of federal money, or about onethird of the funds that we have to yourcredit .

Now this is simply a deferral offund availability, not a loss of fundsto Minnesota. I want to make that clear.In this connection, the Minnesota High-way Department has complete freedomas to whether the $27 milion of con-tract authority is spent on Interstateprojects or on primary or secondaryproj ects.

Now if you are interested in ourguess as to the legislation which willbe enacted by the Congress whichwent into session last month, it isour feeling that there wil be no addition-al basic legislation affecting theInterstate program this year. The rea-son for this predictiun is that PublicRoads has to present to Congressearly in 1961 a comprehensive studyof the whole highway tax structure.Some of you may have heard of thisas the 210 study.

New Cost EstimatedThere also has to be a new estimate

of the cost of completing the InterstateSystem, that used to be called the 108Bstudy. parenthetically, there, we aremuch gratifed at the way that theMinnesota Highway Department is gear-ing itself to make this new estimate. . . .It is probable that Congress will

await these two reports before it makesany further revision in highway financingprocedure that will be' necessary ifthere is to be muc h change in Interstateconcepts.

There must be, however, in the pre-sent session, legislation continuingthe authorization for the primary, se-condary. and urban programs--thatswhat we call the ABC fund. The lastauthorized funds were those that havebeen apportioned to the fiscal year1961.Our present guess is that we may

expect a continuation of the se pro-grams---these ABC programs--atabout tlle present rate which is $925

(Cont. on page 5)

3

The Finished Contour System and theelectronic computers do not stand opposedto one another, but rather most certainlycomplement each other.

Many state highway departments inthis country are uSing Aerial Photo-grammetry to some extent; however,no organization is using it to its fullcapacity. In many cases the attitudehas been one of reluctance to branchout to a more complete use of aerialphotographs. This is unfortunate inview of the tremendous highway con-.struction task facing us.

Perhaps it would be of some interestto the listener if I would list some ofthe uses in which various engineeringagencies in this country have employedAerial Photogrammetry. The first onethat comes to mind is in the field ofreconnaissance studies. This was per-haps the original major use in highwayengineering work. Aerial photographshave been used very widely in thisrespect, especially in states possessingrugged terrain. A complete picture ofthe land with its natural passages and'obstacles has proven very helpful inthe selection of new highway routes.

Determination of drainage areas hasbeen another popular use in whichAerial Photography. has been calledinto the picture. Along this same linewe may mention its usage for bridgesite maps, also for surveying flooddamage to highways and structures, aswell as terrain in close proximity.The City of Los Angeles has a

traffc use that might be of interest tothe listener. Street intersections that areshowing congestion problem s are photo-graphed with large scale photographyat peak hours. These photographs arethen enlarged to a scale of one inchequals 20 feet. Traffc flow ánd possiblesolutions are then studied directly fromthe photographs.The state of Indiana has done very

well in putting to use aerial methodsfor materials investigation. In thisfield, most states have entirely neglectedthe use of aerial photographs in spiteof the fact that valuable aid can beobtained towards the location of marshysites, slide possibiliies, and borrowpits.

New Jersey has employed the flyingtechnique in maintenance studies. Aerialphotographs with a scale of one inchequals 80 feet are obtained. They arein turn enlarged to one inch equals 20feet. The flying height employed is

\ 660 feet with an 814 inc h focal length; camera. The enlarged photographsshow complete details of pavementcracks and the conditions of sideditches. Their goal was a complete sur-vey of New Jersey highways by thismethod. At this time the project isprobably close to completion.r....ifornia is employing the Finished\.ontour System quite extensively toobtain earthwork quantities, and, Imight add, with very favorable resultsas far as accuracy is concerned. Cum-bersome stacks of cross section sheetsare deletec! from the plans in thismethod as well as gaining advantage asfar as placing drainage pipes on theplans. The contours give a much moreaccurate picture of drainage thereforecutting field change orders on pipesconsiderably.There are of course m'any more uses

to which Aerial Photogrammetry andthe Finished Contour System can beemployed to advantage, such as in thefield of roadside development. However,I believe I have listed ample examplesto present somewhat of a case. Theseuses have proven themselves to be both'

MARCH, 1960

economical and accurate. and thereforefeasible by various engineering organiza-tions throughout the country. Let usset about to prevail upon its manyvalues and adopt it as an integralpart of our engineering technique.

VContract Controls(Cont. from page 3)

millon annually on a nation-widebasis) Right now, it 'looks' as if theInterstate apportionment for the nextfiscal year should be about $2 billionas against the $1.8 bilion which wasapportioned for the last fiscal ye ar. ....

If I may presume to do so, I wantto leave one thoUght with you MinnesotaHighway Departme nt enginee rs heretoday. .... it is simply that you exertyour every effort toward a better publicunderstanding of our greatly expandedhighway program. This program is alarger one than we have ever had. Forthe first time, everyone is interested,everyone is looking over our shouldertrying to tell us how it ought to bedone. Yet, lacking public support, wemay expect the program to face rathercertain curtailment in the next yearor two. ..., The hard fact is that,without salesmanship, we may go outof business, or at least we may go outof this big business.

Publ ic Relations Are Broad

As I analyze it, the important peoplein gaining this public support aren'tonly those who have the top spot andwho have to meet with the press andaddress large gatherings. Fully asnecessary is the support gained by arural survey crew or by the engineerwho spends a litle time answering thecity resident's questions about thosestakes on the back of his lot. Mainte-nance men can be among our best orworst public relations people.Public hearings on highway locationsam a device that can be used mostsuccessfully if used carefully andsincerely. . . . . It is very important,of course, that there be an adequatepreparation for a hearing, that there beunderstandable exhibits and somebodythere that knows the facts.

Minnesota, in our analysis, is oneof the states that has done the mostto develop public hearings into a realaid to public understanding of ourmutual programs. .... We do wis h allof our states did as well on thisparticular thing as Minne sota does.In closing, I want to express for

Public Roads our appreciation of thefine relationshi p that has marked ourjOint endeavors over almost half acentury, particularlY during the ratherhectic last four or five ye ars.

Disaster Defense(Cont. from page 2)

first aid. Schon commended the depart-ment for its present program to providebasic first aid training for all MHDfield employees.

For increased knowledge of personaldisaster steps, Schon mentioned thathis offce has a variety of pamphletsavailable for distribution.

"Organization and training alreadyis under way outside the HighwayDepartment," said Schon. "The stateHealth Department has completed itsorganiiational and training procedure.

Public service utilities leaders areworking together now on the job theywould have under disaster conditionsto repair and maintain vital electricpower and other facilities.In concluding his talk, Schon

emphasized that operation of the High-way Department on a disaster basiswould be terminated as quickly aspossible.

Bergstralh Leaves

Kermit L. Bergstralh

Kermit L. Bergstralh, MHD personneldirector for the past six years, isleaving the Highway Department April 1to accept a position with the Bureauof Public Roads, in Washington, D. C.He submitted his resignation toCommissioner Zimmermann February 26

In his new post, Bergstralh willestablish and administer a new BPRservice for state, county, and municipalhighway departments. Its function willbe to conduct research in management,organization, staffng, and personneladministration, and to provide counsel-ing in the se areas.

He will report in Washington April4. Mrs. Bergstralh and their two sonsand daughter wil move to Washingtonin June.

Bergstralh joined the MHD inDecember, 1952, as a personnel officer,He served also as an administrativeassistant for four years. Previous tojoining the MHD, he was in the CivilService Department for four years.

In accepting Be.rgstralh's resignation,Commissioner Zimmerman expressedfor himself and Bergstralh's associatesin the MHD and Civil Service Depart-ment, "appreciation for all you havedone for the Department" and "ourbest wishes for a happy and productivefuture. ..

Mockenhaupt Leaves MH 0

Chuck Mockenhaupt, personnel officerin MHD since 1957, resigned March 11to take a personnel administrative postwith the Fingerhut Manufacturing Co.of Minneapolis, maker of auto seatcovers.

5

How and Why

The Federal Aid PictureNearly everyone has learned something of the serious problem which has

developed in recent months regarding adequate funds for federal aid forhighways. But a comprehensive, clear-cut explanation of the total situationand its syecific effect on Minnesota has not been generally available to the

majority of MHD employees.. Such an explanation is given by Chief Engineer

John Swanbe,g in the following address which he delivered at a meeting ofMinnesota Good Roads, lnc., a civic federation for the ¡xomoti"On of goodhighways:

Federal aid legislation is not a newdevelopment in national-state relations.The first Federal-aid Highway Act wasenacted in 1916. The motivating forcewas the fact that the highways beingdeveloped by the states did not mee tat state lines and interstate trafficwas being penalized. In 1921 anotherFederal-aid Highway Act was passedwhich required that the monies be us edby the states on a conne cted road systemfor the national good, '

These legislative actions by theCongress initiated the national-staterelationship in the road building pro-grams which has continued as a mutuallybeneficial association since that time.As a result of that relation'ship, as wellas the activities of regi onal andnational highway offcial organizations,there have been developed nationalstandards of design, construction andoperation which have made the Americanhighways the finest in the world. If wemay be pardoned for saying so, webelieve that Minne sota has made sub-stantial contributions in that develop-ment and that its highway system com-pares favorably with that of other states.The 1956 Federal Aid Highway ActIn 1944 the Federal-Aid Highway Act

was passed which created the Inter-state System.. This bil required uniformhighway signing on Federal-aid projectsand recognized the Urban highway pro-blem. It was war time, however, and thenation's efforts were directed to thewinning, of the war so no great stridesforward were accomplished. However,an Interstate system was agreed uponwhich formed the basis for the presentInterstate System.. This Departmentdevoted considerable study to thisprogram.

In 1954, recognizing the immensity ofthe need, a substantially acceleratedhighway program including that of anInterstate system, the President of theUnited states, proposed his "grand high-way plan" and appointed a nationalcommittee, popularly known as the ClayCommittee. At about the same time thestate highway department, in cooperationwith the Bureau of Public Roads, pre-pared a cost estimate of needs for allFederal-aid systems, other state high-ways and all other roads and streets inthe United States. This constituted thebest and most complete highway estimateever made up to that time and was thebasis for the Clay Commitee study. Thiscommittee made its report in 1955 butthe legislation implementing it was notpassed until 1956 and became knownas the Federal-Aid Highway Act of1956,Provisions of the 1956 ActContrary to popular conception, the

1956 Act was not concerned primarilywith the Interstate freeway program. It

4

was an overall program and concerneditself also with the so-called ABC pro-gram of primary, seco nd ary and ur banhighways. In fact, it should be pointedout that the 1956 and subsequentlegislation provides that the ABC fundsmust come out of the Trust Fund first,before the Interstate monies can beapportioned.

The Act provided for a 13-year pro-gram for the co nstructi on of the Inter-state System and a continued programfor the other Federal-aid roads. Apportion-ments were lXovided for the fiscalyears of 1957, 1958, and 1959 for theABC program. The apportionmentsnationally were $850 milion for 1958and $875 milion for fiscal 1959. Theseamounts were to be increased annuallyby $25 million up to a total of $1bilion annually. These amounts havebeen increased in subsequent legislation.On .the, basis of the 1954 estimates ofcost for the cons truction of the rnter-state System,' the authorization forappropriation for the 13-year periodwas made totaling for that period about$24,825 milion do lIars.

The Interstate mileage involved atotal of approximately 41,000 miles ofwhich Minnesota has about 890 miles.On the ABC systems the proportion ofFederal participation remains at 50percent and on the Interstate Systemsthe Federal participation is 90 pe rcent.

The Act I'rovided for the setting upof national minimum standards. Thesewere developed and adopted by theBureau of Public Roads and the states.On the basis of the approved standards,the Secretary of Commerce, in coopera-tion with the states. was directed toprepare periodic detailed estimates ofthe cost necess ary to complete the

Interstate System. This first estimatewas due and presented to the Congressin January 1958. Because of increasingcosts of materials, labor, etc. sincethe 1954 estimate, the estimated cost(of Federal participation) increasedfrom $24,825 milion to about $34,000millon. The next estimate is re-quired in January, 1961.

The law also requires that studiesbe made to determine maximum desir-able dimensions and weights of motorvehicles, a safety study to determinethose e~ements which are vitally con-cerned with the saving of human lives,as well as studies to determine theequitable distribution of the tax burdenamong the various classes of users onthe highways.

The law also provided for publiche arings and the application of theDavis-Bacon Act which has to do withthe establishment of wage scales oneach individual Interstat e proje ct.

Title II of the 1956 ActTitle II of the Act provided for the

financing of the program. There wasset up a Trust Fund to which thededicated portions of highway-usertaxes were to be assigned. This fundwas set up so that, in the words of thecormittee, the existence of this Fundwil insure that receipts from the taxeslevied to finance this program will notbe diverted to other purposes. Thisshould not mislead the listener to be-lieve that all of the Federal highwayuser taxes go into the Trust Fund.

For the first year of operation, fiscalyear 1957, certain adj ustments wereprovided for.. Subsequent to that datethe following portions of the taxes list-ed wère to be placed in the Trust Fund.

Motor fuel tax 34:gal. 100%Tires for highway

vehicles BB/lb.All other tires 5et/lb.Inner tubes 9et/lb.Tread rubber 3et/lb.Trucks, buses and 10% of manu-

trailer excise tax facturers' price 50%Vehicles of over $1.50 per 1000

26,000 Ibs. gross Ibs. annual tax 100%It was an tici pated tha t the above

taxes would yield $38,498 milionbetween 1957 and 1972.

This Act also authorized appropria-tions to the Trust Fund as repayableadvances of such additional sums asmay be required to make the necessaryexpenditur es to me et the authorizedappropriations. It should be pointed outthat the Trust Fund was made liablenot only for the future Federal-aidexpenditures but also for previouslyauthorized funds unexpended on the dateof the institution of the Trust Fund andwhich amounted to $1,980 millon.The Byrd Amendmen t

Although the Highway Revenue Act.as passed by the House, authorized theborrowing of money (as repayableadvances) from the General Fund tomeet the requirements of the TrustFund, the Senate added an amendment,generally referred to as the Byrd Amend-ment, which amounts to the placing ofthe program on a pay-as-you-go basis.It is this restriction, together with thelack of adequate receipts, which inrecent months has substantiallY retardedthe national highway program.

The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1958The Act of 1958 established the

apportionment for the ABC system for1960 as $900 milion and for 1961 as$925 milion which was in accordancewith the 1956 Act which provided for$25 milion annual increases.

In view of the recessionary situationfor 1958 and with the view of alleviatingthe situation to some extent with worth-while construction projects, the Inter-state authorizations for 1959, 1960 and1961 were increased $200 milion,$300 milion, and $300 milion respective-ly for a tot al of $800 milion for thethree years. In addition, there was pro-vid ed a supplement al inc rease of $400milion in the A BC a p p 0 r t i 0 n-ments for fiscaI 1959 with the stipula-tion that this be placed under contractbefore December 1, 1958, without re-tarding the regular ABC programmedprojects. under this $400 millonapportionment, Minnesota received $91hmilion of which $2 milion was allottedto the counties. This was to be matched

100%100%100%100%

(Cont, on page 10)

MINNESOTA HIGHWAYS

Iy\(i~ L q (Q 0

vFederal Aid Picture(Cont. from pa~e 4)

on the basis of two-thirds Federal andone-third state funds and all wereplaced under contract before the specifieddate with no delay to the regular ABCprogram.In order to successfully accomplish

the se additional apportionments it wasnecess ary for the Congress to suspendthe Byrd Amendment for the fiscalyears of 1959 and 1960 and to borrowfrom the General Fund required on thebasis of subsequent reimbursement.

Although much worth-while andnecessary construction was accomplish-ed it did cause considerable drain fromthe Trust Fund which has been increas-ingly apparent this last ye ar.The 1959 Highway ActThe 1956 Act with its Highway Trust

Fund anticipated that in the early yearsunder the Act the receipts would exceedthe expenditures, but that subsequentlythe reverse would be true. There wouldcome a time when it would be necessaryto go to the General Fund and obtainrepayable advances that would benecessary to balance the receipts andexpenditures. However, it wil beremembered that the Senate added theso-called Byrd Amendment which putthe Federal-aid program on a pay-as-you-go basis. It could be expected thatunless additional monies were provided.such as putting all of the highway-us erstaxes into the Trust Fund, that the pro-gram would be later curtailed.

Then, to compound the increase inexpenditur es resulting from the 1958Act and its waiver of the Byrd Amend-ment, the Interstate program was placedin serious jeopardy in this fiscal year.On the basis of predicted receipt sandexpenditures we were advised that theprogram would be about $400 milionin "the red" about Octob er 1. Und erthe waiver of the Byrd Amendm ent untiJuly 1, 1960, borrowings could be madeuntil that date but in view of thesituation apportionments were held upunti the 1959 legislation had beenpassed.

Interim Tax AdoptedAs you wil recall, there was con-

siderable furor in Congress and else-where until the legislation had beenpassed. The Administration stronglyrecommended a 1Yz-cent increase inthe Federal gas tax. Other proposalsincl ud ed bohd s, the placing of allhighway-user taxes in the Trust Fund,repealing of the Byrd Amendment, etc.As you know, a compromise bill waspassed which was subsequently signedinto law which is known as the FederalAid Highway Act of 1959. This Actprovided that there would be an increaseof 1 cent per gallon tax on gasolineand diesel fuel which would be in effectfrom October 1, 1959, until July 1, 1961.all of which would go into the HighwayTrus t Fund.After June 30, 1961, one-half the

revenue derived from the 10 percentexcise tax on trucks, buses, cars, etc.and five-eights of the 8 percent tax onautomctive parts and accessories willbe transferred to the Highway TrustFund for three years.

It is generally agreed that the currentlegislation will not. keep the programunder way as contemplated in the 1956Act, As stated above, the ABC program,at least as presently provided for, is

10

to be financed first and wil be of aboutthe magnitude indi cated in the 1956 Act.

The pinch is being presently feltbecause of the diminished Federalapportionments. Minnesota's apportion-ment for fiscal 1961 is a total of$54,092,000. This reflects the reductionin available funds, and is presentlybeing committed to contract, engineer-ing and right of way purchases. Itscommitment is further restricted bythe Administrator of the Bureau ofPublic Roads to a $19,575,000 totalto October 31,1959, $4,907,000 fromOctober 31 to December 31, 1959.$14,805,000 from January 1. 1960 toMarch 31, 1960, and the same amountfor the last quarter of the fiscal year.Thi s is known as contract control.

We do not know what the apportion-ment may be for the next year but wehave hopes that it may be greater. Theapp orti onme nt of $54 milion for thecurrent fiscal year compares with a .tot al of $68 milion the previous year.Balances from previous apportionedfunds which were not committed as ofJuly 1, 1959, are being held in abeyanceby the Bureau but it is hoped thatthese may be subsequently released

We would like to point out that as ofJuly, 1959, we were the only state inthe Union which had committed all ofits 1960 Federal apportionment of ABCfunds. On the Interstate apportionmentsMinnesota has used up all of its 1959apportionment and a portion of its 1960apportionment except as indicated above.

It can be expected that there wil beco DSiderable activity in the comingyear to do something on the revenueaspects of the current highway legisla-tion. To maintain the Int erstate prog ramas projected in the 1956 Act wilrequire increases in revenue over andabove that presently provided. Toaccomp lish the objectives of such aprogram will require the thoughtfulconsideration and actions of interestedgroups such as this one.

DISTRICT NEWS~tÅl€J(Øtæ~" ~~bb t '\- ~ ~ ~~VIQ"GINIA ",i ~

By EARL PERR Y

Hi folks, remember us, MaintenanceDistrict 1. It's my fault if you don't.What a lousy' correspondent I turnedout to be, so all my relations tell me,but here goes on another effort.

We are enjoying a beautiful spring--sunny and warm. Come up North hereand get away from the tough winters.seriously. we've had a milder winterthan the southern part of the state, andmuch less snow.

But, we haven't been just whilngaway the time. We've been producingaggregate most of the winter and havehad our bituminous plant in operationfor the past month. It's been phenomenal,the summer production completed in thepast several months and the boys en-joying productive work rather thanfighting snow balls.

Congratulations are in order for thefollowing promotions: James Melterudfor mechanic, Laurie Muhonen toHMM II in Virginia, and James Hastingsto HMM I at Effe.

Recent new employees include A. H.Stevens and Almon Johnson, janitors,Recent retirements are Arthur Carlson,HMM II at Tower: Ole Nelson, HMM Iat Tower; and John Lemettinen, longtime laborer at Hibbing.John B. Martin, equipment service-

man, is enjoYing an extend ed vacationin caliornia.

Re.y South has returned to work aftera four-year hitch with the United StatesNavy.

Einar Koivisto, project engineer, isconvalescing from a heart attack andwi 11 be out of commission for a monthor so mor e.

Jalmer Nyberg, retired, drops in fre-quently for a visit. Seems he miss es theold grind. We see J. G. Johnson, re-tired, occ aSionally do wn at the bowlingalley. He no longer is an active bowler,but is stil muc hint ere ste d in hi sfavorite sport. Guy Grang er drops infor coffee every now and the n. He stilllooks in wonderful condition,

We have a charming new steno,Denise Metsa who, we hope, will takeover the duties of correspondent andgi ve us better representation.

COfGÚtacÙQU'D3~~Brainerd --

(Including Maintenance District 4)

By ROSANNE LARSON

At this writng, Jane Moyer, our newsreporter, is enjoying a three wee ks'trip, destination Corpus Christi. Texas.In her absence Lily Byrne, Clif Bullerand Bob Nelson feri"eted out the Mainte-nance District 4 news while Ray Wurdel-man, Harold Homme and myself compiledthe lowdown on happenings in Con-struction District 3.

This gives us an opportunity to thankJane for her faithfullne ss in prepar-ing our news every month. Most of usare not usually very responsive whenshe asks for news. but she always seemsto scrape togethe r enoug h for a col umn.We appreciate it, Jane.

K. V, "Ken" Pearson, has joinedour forces as our new ConstructionDistrict engineer. He was previouslyassistant maintenance engineer in theCentral Office. We are very glad to havehim with us,

To Mr. and Mrs. Herb Seline, a son,born December 27, last. Mr. and Mrs.Gerald McGuire also became the parentsof a boy, born February 7. Both Herband Gerald are from our Sauk Centreoffice. Our belated congratulations,

Roy Walz and Lawrence Terwey en-joyed a two-week vacation to Floridaand parts unknown.

Gerald McGuire was hospitalized atSa uk Centre and Minneapolis during mostof March for treatment of an infection.We hope he's back to normal again.

Ed Larson was out of circulation fora while after undergoing an emergencyappendectomy, March 28 at st. Joe'sin Brainerd. We hope he's feeling betterand that he had many pretty nurses.

Louise P. Anderson, Clerk II atBrainerd, left us in mid-April to accepta clinical secretary position with theBrainerd State School and HospitaL.

Karen and Al Jacobsen have startedplanning for a new spli level home,whi ch the yare go ing to build thi ssummer on Crosby Beach.

Frank Loidolt. HMM I at Pierz, re-tired April 20.

MINNESOTA HIGHWAYS

MCt~ l q(uO

New MaintenanceDistrict Formed

Vernon Harty Holger Palmer

Impact of the new Interstate highwaysand growing state trunk highway traffc'in the Twin Cities area was evidencedin the establishment late last monthof a new MHD maintenance districtto serve the Interstate and state high-ways in the Minneapolis-St. Paulmetropolitan area.

Commissioner Zimmerman appointedHolger (Red) palmer, veteran highwaengineer, to head the new maintenancedistrict as assistant district engineer,maintenance, in the Twin Cities Metro-politan Construction District, of whichE. J. McCubrey is district engineer,

To replace Palmer as assistantdistrict engineer, maintenance, at st.Paul park, the Commissioner pro-moted Vernon Harty, resident engineerat Albert Lea. In the Highway Depart-ment since 1931. Harty has been aresident engineer 3¥. years and was aproject engineer' for s'everal years pre-viously .

Palmer has been in charge at st.Paul Park since 1957. Before that, hewas a county engineer successivelyfor Wilkin, Wadena, and Dakota counties.He was an MHD location engineer1927-29.The area for the new maintenance

district wil coincide with that of theTwin Cities Metropolitan ConstructionDistrict, encompassing the Twin Citiesand general suburban area, previouslyserviced by the Golden Valley and st.Paul Park Maintenance Districts.

The new maintenance district head-quarters wil be at 1246 University Ave.,st. Paul, the Metropolitan Districthe adqua rt er s.

Skjervold DinnerFollowing the resignation June 17 of

Paul Skjervold as deputy attorneygeneral heading the MHD legal staff,60 of his friends and associates inthe Highway Department and stategovernment gave him a farewell dinnerJune 29 at the Commodore Hotel, st.Paul.Speakers included Attorney General

Walter Mondale, Commissioner Zimmer-man, Deputy Commissioner FrankMarzltelli, Rolf O. Slen, Skjervoldssuccessor as deputy attorney general;Ray Faricy, president of the MinnesotaBoard of Realtors; Skjervold and others.Paul Doerner, special assistant attorneygeneral in the Highway Department,pre sid ed.

Skjervold was presented with a wristwatch.

4

1963 I nte rstateProgram Given

A $50,547,000 Interstate highway con-struction program in Minne sota for fiscal1963 was announced by Governor OrvileL. Freeman and State HighwayCommissioner L. P. Zimmerman. Thisprogram wil continue the Interstateconstruction on virtually the samedollar level as planned during the 1962fiscal year.

The 1963 program on the regulartrunk highways -- the ABC program ""was to be announced later, accordingto Zimmerman.

Included in the Interstate improve-ments are 38 miles of concrete baseand surfacing, 92 miles of grading,38 miles of gravel and gravel base,32 miles of fencing, lighting, signingand planting, and 113 brid ges. Thisdoes not include other necessary workon ramp s, legs and frontage roads orother miscellaneous construction.

The listing of the fiscal 1963 Int er-state projects (1962-63 fiscal year)shows that about 39 per cent of thework (by dollar value) wil be locatedoutside the Twin Cities Metropolianarea. Initial Interstate constructionwas heavy in the Twin Cities areabecause of the proportionately heavytraffic the re and because the metro-politan area is a hub for travel on I.Rs.94 and 35, crossing the state east-westan d north to Duluth.

New Radio System(Cont. from page 2)

ins tallation of some 40 repeater stationsrequired for total state coverage, andinstallation in up to 350 additionaltrucks. This would include about 110mobile units for the ConstructionSection (project and resident engineers).

This phase would cost an estimated$1,525,072, of which $1,218,262 wouldbe for the stationary equipment and$306,810 for the mobile units. Thehigher cost of the second phase, com-pared with the first is due to the largeramount of stationary equipment in-cluded.

Although a separate system" thenew radio network would be tied inwith the existing MHD Highway Patrolradio system for integrated comm unica-tion. Thus, a patrol officer could calla maintenance district headquartersto report a flooded or iced highwayand the headquarters then could radioto its maintenance unit ne arest thescene, or maintenance men couldradio a report of a traffc accidentthrough their headquarters to the near-est patrol unit.

Letting of contracts for the firstphase construction awaits approval ofallocation of federal funds.

Mobile units to be equipped in thefirst phase would include 43 for districtand assistant district engineers; 16for district foremen; 50, highway fore-men; 186, maintenance trucks; 143,special units (heavy and seasonalequipment); 16, field me chanics; 16,sign trucks, 15', Central Offcespersonnel; and 15; radio service units.

ItCo u n ty S i g n

Schools

A relief model highway is used byGeorge A. Larson, MHD fie Id trafficengineer, to demonstrate proper establish.ment of no pass ing zone s.

Promotion of unuorm traffic markingand signing of all public highwas andstreets in Minnesota was a major ob-jective of the third annual series ofCounty Sign Schools conducted by theMHD Traffic Engineering Section.

The eight one-day schools, at Crooks-ton, Morris, Windom, Rochester, Wil-mar, Brainerd, Hopkins and Virginia,drew an attendance of 231 highwayengineers and signmen from 59 countiesand 16 of the larger citie s.

Counties sent 145 representatives.the cities. 30, and 56 MHD employeesattended. The MHD assistant districtengine ers, state aid, were active inpromotion of the schools, and presided,George A. Larson, MHD traffic fieldengineer, supervised the project,

Instructors were Larson, discussingno passing zones and the MinnesotaSign Manual, the Ie gal authority foruniform signing and marking; Armandperrault, MHD signman supervisor,offering practical shop and fieldsugg estions and talking on city sign-ing; and the assistant district engi-nee rs, state aid, discussing state,county, and city cooperation. Signmenfrom the MHD demonstrated tools andequipment.

Bruce Kalb Stricken

Bruce M. Ka1b of st. Paul, 62, a civilengineer II in Lands and Right of Way,died suddenly early Sund ay, July 10,at Hoffman, apparently of a heartattack. He had just started his annualvacation. Masonic funeral serviceswere conducted July 13 at Alexandria.

Mr. Kalb was in the ConstructionSection from 1924 to 1953, working invarious positions, including projectengineer. In 1953, he transferred toLands and Right of Way. He was aWorld War II veteran. Surviving ishis wife, Maude.

MINNESOTA HIGHWAYS

Jul10Ceù

r-Picture at Left

President Eisenhower, no less, cut the ribbon opening thenew Minnesota-Wisconsin bridge over the Mississippi Riverat Red Wing, with representatives of the two states observing.L to R: Lieutenant Governor Phileo Nash of Wisconsin; UnitedStates Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota; PTesidentEisenhower, Governor Orville L., Freeman of Minnesota, andMrs. Freeman.

, ,

the Twin Cities circumferential route. L to R: DeputyCommissioner Frank Marzitelli, Walter Schultz, staff assistant;Patrol Officer Henry Zagda, Sergeant Conrad Erickson, OfficerEdward Confal, Commissioner Zimmerman, W. L. Hunziker,resident engineer, cutting the ribbon; Chief Engineer JohnSwanberg, District Engineer E. J. McCubrey, MaintenanceEngineer George Meskal, Ellsworth Johnson, assistant districtengineer, construction; Assistant Chief Engineer J. C. Robbers,Construction Enginee'r Stan Ekern, Vern Harty, assistantdi stri ct engi nee r, mai ntenance; Pau I Staffel d, planni ng andpragramming engineer; and Assistant Commissioner ClaytonSwanson.

Picture at Right

A sizeabl e delegation of MHD representatives attended theSouth St. Paul opening of a section of Interstate Highway 494,

Eisenhower OpensRed Wing CeremonyThe new Hiawatha hignway bridge

over the Mississippi River at RedWing, between Minnesota and Wisconsin,was formally dedicated and openedOctober 18 by no less a personage thanthe President of the United states.

His presence, plus the interest in theopening of a modem structure to replacea long out-dated bridge drew an estimated20,000 spectators.

Many Minnesota and Wisconsin stateand local officials were present to ex-tend an offcial welcome to PresidentEisenhower and to pay tribute to theimproved highway link between the twostates. From Minnesota, the group in-cluded Governor Freeman, SenatorHumphrey, Congressmen Albert Quieand Walter Judd, Mayor Harry Rardin ofRed Wing and Highway CommissionerZimmerman and other MHD offcials.Lieuten'ant Governor PhileoNash head-ed the Wisconsin party. Henry Swansonof the Red Wing Chamber of Commerce,was chairman of the event.

In his dedicatory address, deliveredfrom an ope n air ros trum in the Red Wingbusiness district, President Eisenhoweridentified the new bridge as "anothereffective example of Federai-Statepartnership in meeting both local andnational needs."

He dipped into history of an estimated400 years ago to recall that the bridgeis named for an Indian chief who wasone of the founders of "the first UnitedNations organization in America."

10

Bridge

That nation, composed of five iroquoistribes, was organized, said the president,"for the purpose of stopping for alltime the shedding of human blood byviolence." Its Constitution, he con-tinued, "had as its founding principlesjustice, righteousness, and power, orauthority----". He called on his listenersfor the degree of international cooperationand sense of justice which wil insurethe success of the present UnitedNations. "

After his address, President Eisen-hower was escorted to the bridge wherehe cut a red ribbon to officially open itfor traffc. He then was driven over thestructure to the Wisconsin side and backto Red Wing, from where he left forAbilene, Kan., his boyhood home.

So. St. Paul ProgramThe South st. Paul Chamber of

Commerce sponsored a ceremony andluncheon October 17 for the formalopening the re of a 1 ¥.-mile section ofInterstate Highway 494. The four-lanedivided concrete pavement, extendingwestward from the new South st. Paulbridge over the Mississippi River. isa liiik in the Twin Cities Interstatecircumferential route. The project in-cluded three bridges and the contracttotaled $1,441,474. W. L. Hunziker wasthe resident engineer in charger.

Commissioner Zimmerman was theprincipal speaker at the luncheon,

/\

given in the South View Country Clubfor civic leaders, state and highwayoffcials, and members of the Chamberof Commerce.

The commissioner pOinted out thatthe im proved beltlne highway wilgreatly benefi the meat packing andlivestock industries centered in SouthSt. Paul through its connection withtrunk highways serving Minnesota andWisconsin.

New Cage LeagueThere's a new look to the upcoming

basketball season for the MHD st. Paularea--- and it looks like a good time formore players and spectators than pre-viously. The good time will be lacedwith some strong factional rivalry.

Instead of entering a single Highwayteam this season in the st. PaulCommercial League, the Hiwayan Clubis sponsoring a Highway seven-teamintra-mural league playing two gamesa week. Fred Maurer, Hiwayan president,reported.

The seven teams represent thePlanning and Research, Bridge Design,Lands and Right of Way. ManagementServices, Road Design, and Materialsand Research S~tions, and the TwinCities Metropolian District.

Games are played Mondays and Thurs-days at 5 p.m. at the Palace playgroundgymnasium. Jefferson and View, inSt. PauL. The season is from November7 to January 31, with each team playingat least one game per week- A suitabletrophy wil go to the season's champion-ship team.Co-chairmen for the project are Jim

Knutson and John Schorn. both ofManagement Services.

MINNESOTA HIGHWAYS

Nov IQ(io