Minnesota Department of Transportation
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The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT, pronounced "min-dot") oversees transportation by land, water, and air in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state's trunk highway system (including state highways, U.S. highways, and interstate highways), funding municipal airports and maintaining radio navigation aids, and other activities. Minnesota's lieutenant governor, Carol Molnau, is currently head of the department (Commissioner of Transportation).
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[edit] History
The agency's history can be traced to the state's Railroad and Warehouse Commission which emerged slowly from 1871 to 1905, and the State Highway Commission created in 1905. However, the Highway Commission was abolished in 1917 and replaced by a Department of Highways. For air transport, the Minnesota Aeronautics Commission was created in 1933. Much of the railroad oversight was transferred to the Minnesota Department of Public Service in 1967. Two years later in 1969, the Department of Public Safety was established and took over the Highway Patrol and Driver's License Bureau. Mn/DOT finally came into being in 1976 and took over the functions of the aeronautics and highway departments, plus transportation-related duties of the State Planning Agency and Department of Public Service.
[edit] Services and projects
Mn/DOT operates networks of ramp meters and traffic cameras in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in order to manage traffic flow. In 2000, the ramp meters were turned off for a study period mandated by the Minnesota Legislature. The bill was backed by Republican State Senator Dick Day of Owatonna, Minnesota, who has often been critical of Mn/DOT policies and projects. The study showed that ramp meters reduce the number of crashes on highways, and marginally reduce travel time in many cases. However, the study also showed some places where the meters were more of a hindrance, and metering strategies have been altered since that time. There are about 430 ramp meters and more than 280 traffic cameras.
The department has also put up informational electronic signage along highways to provide alert messages. Message boards have been in Rochester, Duluth and the Twin Cities for some time. Part of the reason for the Rochester signs is occasional flooding of U.S. Highway 52. The department expanded use of the signs after Amber Alert legislation allocated funding for larger networks. In the Twin Cities, Mn/DOT began using them to display freeway travel times in 2003 or 2004 to help drivers plan alternate routes to avoid heavy traffic if necessary (although a generic message like "buckle up for safety" is often encountered).
Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) station KTCI channel 17 has been used for many years to display weather-related information that is funded by Mn/DOT. The department also had a long-standing partnership with KBEM radio (88.5 FM) in Minneapolis to relay area traffic information, although that relationship is coming to an end. After public outcry, the term was extended, but it is unclear how long the two organizations will continue the relationship. Mn/DOT paid KBEM US$400,000 per year to provide the information, about half of the station's annual budget. Video from traffic cameras is also shown on cable television systems in the metro area (at one time, this had also been shown on KVBM channel 45, today known as KSTC).
Snow plows used on trunk highways are also operated by Mn/DOT.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Minnesota Department of Transportation
- 511mn.org (state 5-1-1 webpage)
- Twin Cities traffic map
- Twin Cities traffic cameras
| Metro Transit and other mass transit in the Twin Cities | |
|---|---|
| Goverened by the Metropolitan Council | |
| Transit Agencies: | Metro Transit • MVTA • SW Transit • Plymouth Metrolink • Maple Grove Transit • Shakopee Transit • BE Line • Anoka County Traveler • Prior Lake Laker Lines • Northstar Coach • Metro Mobility |
| Light Rail: | Hiawatha Line • University Central Line • Southwest Line • Southstar Knob Line |
| Bus Rapid Transit: | U of M Transitway • Bottineau Boulevard • Cedar • I-35W |
| Commuter Rail: | Northstar • Red Rock • Rush Line |
| Other: | Bus Routes • Go-To Card • U-Pass • MNDOT |
| Italics denote proposed lines | |
