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Fact Box

Changes at Transportation Department promote safety

A change to North Dakota's Move Over Law is requiring motorists to give extra space to snow plows and other road maintenance equipment.

Vehicles with the North Dakota Department of Transportation that display a flashing, revolving or rotating amber or white light must be treated the same as emergency vehicles. Drivers should slow down and move over to protect themselves and maintenance personnel.

When drivers approach a transportation department vehicle along a multi-lane highway outside of city limits, they must move to a lane not adjacent to the vehicle. If the lane change cannot be done safely, the driver should proceed with caution, reducing speed.

On two-lane highways, people may still pass, using caution and obeying the rules of the road. Remaining behind a snow plow is advisable if passing would mean traveling in difficult snow conditions.

Failure to comply with the Move Over Law may result in a $50 fine. If a crash results with a snow plow or other road maintenance vehicle, two points will be assessed to the drivers license.

To ensure drivers have the most accurate information on road conditions, the Transportation Department is making more information available on its online maps this year.

The map at (www.dot.nd.gov) enables users to access enhanced features, including more detailed road reports, restrictions for truck drivers and incoming weather changes. A Web camera feature enables people to view certain roads. People also can call 5-1-1 to obtain road reports.

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Winter is on its way, and the City of Minot and Ward County highway and street departments are ready for it.

After a harsh winter last year, the city and county were busy all summer, repairing roads and getting equipment back in shape.

The city's existing equipment came through last winter pretty well, with the exception of a sander that is scheduled for replacement. Alan Walter, public works director in Minot, said the city hasn't acquired additional equipment, although it is looking to buy a new sander to replace an older one.

The city also is considering buying another blade, increasing its fleet number to seven. Before it can buy extra equipment, though, the city needs to hire two part-time employees.

"If we take out all seven blades with existing manpower, we would not have enough people to run more than one sander. We need at least two," Walter said.

As for the streets, they experienced more than the usual damage from thawing and freezing cycles, and repairs went on all summer.

"We are pretty much caught up," Walter said. "There's still quite a bit of work to do, but we were able to get a lot done. We did that with some of the stimulus money and some with hired contractors to get the big patches done. We have accomplished quite a bit this summer."

Ward County also is still making road repairs while getting ready for another winter.

"We are basically about finished repairing the last of the FEMA sites on the county roads," said Dana Larsen, county engineer.

The county had 48 sites eligible for funding assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and another 25 to 30 sites needing emergency repairs. Because of flood damages, there's been less time for county crews to work on roads worn down by constant snow plowing.

"We knew we were going to be in recovery mode this year. We wanted to get a lot of gravel hauled and did some," Larsen said. "There's a lot of road out there that needs gravel really bad, but you can only haul so much. ... We are still working. We are going to keep hauling gravel and doing all of our maintenance work until, basically, we can't do it any more."

Ward County has not added any additional winter equipment or staff, although it has replaced two blades with newer equipment and is looking to replace a 1953 snow blower truck.

"We spent quite a bit of time this summer repairing some of the equipment that really took a hard beating," Larsen said.

Both the city and county buy sand and salt as it needs them, and Larsen said suppliers have considerable stockpiles on hand. The city also has 500 tons of sand and some salt on hand, along with a new storage building to house sand and salt mixtures as required under a new health code.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation received approval from the North Dakota Health Department this year to use certain oil-field brine on roads. The Transportation Department had used the brine until questions were raised about its safety, prompting the Health Department review. The Transportation Department has not determined whether it will use any of the salt solution this season, said Mike Kisse, program manager in the maintenance division.

Snow-removal on state highways in the coming year will follow the highway priority system adopted a couple of years ago, he said. Motorists are encouraged to take the priority system into consideration in planning their travel routes.

Financially, road departments are budgeting for a more normal winter this year.

Larsen said the county's maintenance revenue is limited to vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes. In years when snow removal costs are high, the county accomplishes fewer maintenance and other road projects.

"We are hoping for a mild winter," Larsen said. "But if it's not, we will try to do the best we can with the money we have and the equipment we have."

Minot replenished its depleted emergency fund, setting aside a little more money for the coming year than had been available for 2009.

Walter noted Minot is ahead of the game already this year with no snow in the immediate forecast. Winter arrived in earnest last year with a snowstorm Nov. 6.