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April 2009
Pavement conference: innovation, investment
The Minnesota Statewide Transportation Plan for 2009–2028 projects a growing gap between performance targets and available funds, said Mn/DOT’s Tim Henkel at the 13th Annual Minnesota Pavement Conference, held February 12 in St. Paul. Other speakers described how innovation and wise investment can help close the gap.
Doug Schwartz presented the Rohrbach Award to Mark Maloney
New this year, the conference was sponsored by the Transportation Engineering and Road Research Alliance (TERRA). Cosponsors were Mn/DOT, the Minnesota Local Technical Assistance Program, the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Minnesota City Engineers Association, Minnesota County Engineers Association, Minnesota Street Superintendents Association, Minnesota Public Works Association, State Aid for Local Transportation at Mn/DOT, Minnesota Local Road Research Board, and Pavement Research Institute at the U of M. It was hosted by CTS.
Henkel, the director of the Planning, Modal, and Data Management Division at Mn/DOT, said Minnesota will require $65 billion over the next 20 years to achieve the highway system performance targets set forth in the plan. (For more information about the plan, see www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/stateplan/index.html.)
Conference topics included transportation investment strategies, risk analysis, intelligent compaction, and trends in the concrete and asphalt industries.
Tim Worke, TERRA co-chair and director of the highway and transportation division of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, opened the conference and moderated the morning plenary sessions. He introduced Tom Sorel, Mn/DOT commissioner, who gave welcoming remarks.
Mark Maloney, a member of the TERRA Board, received the 2009 Gerald Rohrbach Minnesota Pavement Conference Award. Maloney is the public works director/city engineer of Shoreview.
A summary of conference presentations will be posted on the Minnesota LTAP Web site (www.mnltap.umn.edu) later this spring.