This time I made it.

Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 03/16/06 at 11:03:39 pm

On Monday morning we ended up with nearly a foot of snow which caused something like 4 hour freeway delays. After watching some of the MN/DOT cameras online I decided to stay home from work. Come Tuesday I arrived at work about 40 minutes late due to the traffic. The highways were still fairly icy from the day before. In fact many portions such as on ramps and such look as if they haven’t been plowed at all.

Now let me explain what I’m getting at. If you’re a returning reader you likely know I live in Minnesota. Aside from Alaska we have some of the harshest winters in the nation. A foot of snow never used to be a big deal… It’s not like Texas or somewhere, where a few inches of snow can shut down the entire state. We have enough equipment to where we could clear off of our major highways in a matter of hours. The problem is that equipment isn’t being used. Over the last couple years MN/DOT has been whining about budget problems. Less money is going to equal less plows on the road, in fact on my 55 mile journey to work on Tuesday I saw only 2 on the freeway.

The budget issue isn’t the real problem though; it’s what’s causing them. Currently MN/DOT is working on a massive renewal project just north of Saint Paul where I694 and I35E meet. They are essentially ripping apart a semi-new freeway to put in another. Nothing is being changed, nothing is being added, and the freeway that’s being torn up is by no means in bad shape. It seems lately these sorts of projects are becoming a trend while the highways and services such as snow removal that really need the overhaul are being ignored.

I’m not going to sit here and rant about MN/DOT all night, however I could. The point is MN really needs to get their priorities straight. Not just with transit either, Inter-city public safety needs financial help (Minneapolis Police), Education funding needs help… The list goes on. What is being done about it, Light Rail expansion and new sports stadiums!

But as the title says I did make it to work today. We had another 6 inches or so dumped on us in a matter of a few hours this morning and the roads were treacherous. I left extra early to make it into work on time. But again, MN/DOT must have been sleeping in; I passed only one lonely snowplow on the way to work.

2 Comments »

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  1. That sucks man

    Comment by Kyle — March 19, 2006 #

  2. [...] Unfortunately, I still had to venture into work on Friday. It doesn’t help that MN/DOT takes their sweet time to get everything cleared up either. I’m not going to rant on about MN/DOT though, I’ve Done That In The Past. [...]

    Pingback by It isn’t over yet. » Markus Langenfeld - Weblog, Articles & Photography — March 6, 2007 #

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