Contacts
-
Mary McFarland
651-366-4280
Location
Minnesota Department of Transportation
Office of Communications
395 John Ireland Blvd.
Mail Stop 150
St. Paul, MN 55155-1899
 |
News Release Search | |
| |
Search Statewide News | |
Minnesota performs well with bridge safety, snow and ice removal
ST. PAUL, Minn. --Traffic fatalities are declining and bridge conditions are improving, according to the Annual Minnesota Transportation Performance Report released today by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The report provides measures of various aspects of Minnesota’s transportation system, indicating areas where the system is working well and areas where it is not meeting performance targets.
“MnDOT uses this data to make transportation investment decisions,” said Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel said, “Performance data helps ensure we are good stewards of the taxpayer’s dollar and that the investments we make meet the current and future needs of the traveling public.”
MnDOT continues to build on its strengths, and is meeting its goals for clearing snow and ice from roads, maintaining safe bridge conditions, providing good pavement quality on major highways and providing statewide travel connections.
State highway pavement condition improved in 2010 due to increased funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. To further improve pavement condition, MnDOT initiated in spring 2011 the Better Roads for a Better Minnesota initiative, which will improve more than 700 miles of poor highway pavements during the next four years.
“The Better Roads program is an important example of MnDOT’s response to system performance trends,” Sorel said.
The department has been using performance measurement since the early 1990s to guide investments, measure progress, evaluate trade-offs and stimulate innovation. The department sets targets levels that:
- Reflect the needs of transportation customers
- Assure safety and sound engineering
- Extend the life and minimize the cost of transportation assets
- Support the state’s economy and quality of life
MnDOT’s measures reflect what Minnesotans have said they expect from their transportation system and are similar to those used by other states and USDOT. The report uses 22 performance measures to track progress on nine policy goals:
- Traveler safety
- Infrastructure preservation
- Maintenance
- National and global connections
- Statewide connections
- Twin Cities mobility
- Greater Minnesota metropolitan and regional mobility
- Community development and transportation
- Energy and the environment
MnDOT issued the state’s first transportation performance report in 2008 and has been recognized nationally for excellent transportation performance reporting. The 2010 Minnesota Transportation Report is available online at www.mndot.gov/measures/.
###
