Minnesota Highways, November 1952

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VOL.  2,  NO. 1
1246 University Ave., St. Paul 4, Minn.
NOVEMBER,   1952
past two years has given a very
substantial improvement to the
system.
This work has been widely distributed over the entire state.
Much of the work has been done
on TH 61, with one of the largest
grading contracts ever awarded by
the department let in the early
part of 1952 for the grading, base
and bituminous surfacing from
Red Wing to Lake City. Another
heavy project, which will be nearly completed this biennium, will
be   from   Duluth  to  Knife   River.
In terms of mileage, a comparison between the construction contracted
during the past biennium and that placed under contract during the previous biennium is shown by types of work involved in the following summary:
Type of Work Unit
Grading Miles
Culverts     No.    of
Bases      Miles
Aggregate   Surface        Miles
Bituminous  Surface    Miles
Concrete   Surface     Miles
Shoulders     Miles
Bridges     No.    of
The larger increases are to be found in more mileage of base construction,  aggregate  and   bituminous  surfaces  and  in  concrete   pavement.
Percent
1948-50
1950-52
Increase
871.67
918.41
5.4
237
212
11.7S
993.62
1441.77
45.10
281.21
486.71
73.08
1047.91
1472.47
40.51
174.30
218.23
25.20
182.52
289.38
58.55
78
114
46.15
Big Jump in Construction Contracts for Biennium
Dollar Value of Road and Bridge
Work Almost Doubled
The dollar value of road and bridge projects on the
Trunk Highway System placed under contract during the two
fiscal years ending June 30, 1952, showed an increase of 46.5
percent over the previous biennium.
This was shown in the report prepared by the Construc-
Division for inclusion in the biennial report of the Commissioner of Highways to the next Legislature.
The total amount of contracts let was $60,508,104.
In addition on the County Federal-aid Secondary System, $14,-
903,155 worth of construction contracts was awarded, an increase of
65 percent over the previous two
year period.
That the Construction Division
was a busy one was indicated by
the total of 2,395 bids received on
431 projects advertised for letting
on the Trunk Highway System,
averaging 5.56 bids per project.
Labor  Costs   High   Item
Approximately 30 percent of
the highway dollar is paid directly
to the labor engaged on the project, approximately $18,000,000.
Increased production or more efficient operations have maintained
this ratio practically at a constant
ne rate of increase in labor
costs rose sharply beginning with
1950, ranging between eight and
ten percent per year. During 1951
the average hourly rates paid to
labor employed on construction
division projects was:
Administrative   $2.97
Skilled       2.17
Intermediate         1.58
Unskilled        1.31
The increase of 1952 over 1951
will be approximately the same as
that of the previous year.
Amounts   of   Work    Increased
Reconstruction of inadequate
sections of the Trunk Highway
System to carry more satisfactorily heavy volumes of traffic continues to represent a large portion
of the construction program. Nearly a thousand miles of new grading and nearly 1500 miles of new
- and bituminous surface con-
'tion    completed    during   the
Reconstruction, widening and re-
paving adjacent to La Crescent and
across the river bottoms to the La-
Crosse bridge is another TH 61
improvement, as is the double lane
between St. Paul and White Bear
Lake. Principal gaps on the Twin
Cities-Duluth highway are to be
reconstructed.
TH 10 from Big Lake to St.
Cloud and TH 12 from Minneapolis to Wayzata represent two other
projects which will permit rapid
and safe movement of traffic which
Our fotog stopped long enough in the northwestern corner of the state to picture these two men who probably work as far away from the Central Office as one
could get. Erik Erickson, who has 29 years of highway ssrvice, and Phillard Ryd-
berg, are working on TH 75 at St. Vincent. They are Maint. Dist. 5 Crookston, employees working  from   Humboldt to  Noyes.
has been seriously and dangerously congested on some of the heaviest traveled sections of the TH
system.
Tables of contracts let during the
period do not adequately reflect
the actual amount of construction
done on Minnesota highways. The
extremely wet seasons of the past
several years resulted in more carry-over of incomplete contracts
than before. However, the increased capacity of the construction industry has not only taken on the
increased dollar volume of programmed work awarded the past
biennium, but also appears to be
able to catch up to a large extent
in reducing the amount of carryover work to be expected this fall.
Steel shortages, caused by great
demands for this critical item, required some modification of plans
for some structures. In some cases,
bridges particularly, certain projects had to be eliminated by a system of priorities from present programs. However, the outlook is
much brighter for the immediate
future that this tight situation will
be lessened.
Competition in bidding on highway projects has been satisfactory,
with the result that prices have advanced at a slower rate than in
most other lines of business activity. The potential capacity of the
industry is greater than the amount
of work which can be put under
contract. This acts as a brake on
any unreasonable advance of construction costs, favorable to the
expenditure of the highway con?
struction dollar.