Minnesota Highways, June 1955

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VOL.  4,   NO.  8
1246  University Ave., St.  Paul 4, Minn.
JUNE,   1955
Department in Key Post
For Slow Down Campaign
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The Highway department is carrying the brunt of statewide activity in Minnesota's summer-long Slow Down and
Live campaign. The department's Safety, Maintenance, and
Public Information divisions are playing key roles, assisted in
ry way possible by the other divisions.
The all-out effort to reduce death on the highways has
the full backing of Governor Freeman, who is state sponsor.
He chose the department's highway safety director, Earl M.
Larimer, to be state coordinator. The campaign is nation-wide,
the opening of the
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Previous to
campaign May 27, Highway department maintenance crews erected 300 Slow Down and Live signs
along the state's trunk highways
and   the  Public   Information   divi-
^Bl; ched a stead) flow of news
sSnes and background information to Minnesota newspapers,
magazines, radio and television
stations. Illustrations, including the
Slow Down and Live emblem, also
were supplied.
700,000  Leaflets  Going   Out
From the campaign's national
headquarters in Chicago, 1,500
Slow Down and Live signs were
obtained    to   be   placed   on   the
Jfifpers of all department mobile
j.upment. The Public information division is distributing throughout the state 700,000 Slow Down
leaflets, also purchased by the department from the national headquarters.
Representatives of the Highway
department are giving numerous
Slow Down and Live talks throughout Minnesota and are promoting
local participation in the campaign.
Though the Minnesota Safety
council, local and county peace officers, the press, radio, television,
and many civic organizations are
participating, the Highway depart
•it, because of its particular re-
Jnship to the state's highway
system, has a major responsibility
for the success of the campaign,
Commissioner M. J. Hoffmann said.
"The department's Public Information   and  Safety  divisions   long
have been active for the promotion
and enforcement of safety on the
highways and its engineers have
planned and worked for construction and maintenance of the safest
possible highways," the commissioner said.
"But beyond the organized campaign activity, responsibility for the
success of the Slow Down and Live
campaign extends to every individual employee of the department.
"Employees of the department
are located and known to their fellow citizens in every section of
Minnesota.   They    are   recognized
(Continued on page 3)
Major Road Building
Season Is Under Way
Minnesota's trunk highway system now is in one of the
biggest, if not the biggest, construction seasons in the history
of the Highway department. This is shown by current contract
figures.
Contracts let or approved for letting this year through
May totalled approximately $14,700,000. Low bids received
June 3 on additional projects and still under study at the time
of writing amounted to $4,833,000. In addition, when the season started there remained to be completed a total of more
than $15,600,000 of contracts made in 1954.
This gives a grand total of more
than $35,000,000 of new and ear-
ry-over trunk highway improvements in Minnesota for which contracts have been or will soon be
signed for this season's program.
Contracts let or approved by
June 1 in 1954 totalled slightly less
than $14,000,000.
Contracts let or approved for
letting in 1955 through May included the following trunk highway improvements:
Grading of 118 miles at a cost
of $2,454,658; base construction
of 630 miles for $2,948,300;  sur-
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Helping to get the Highway patrol all ship-shape for the Slow Down and Live
campaign, Dorothy Cook, secretary to Earl Larimer, director of highway safety,
affixed the first Slow Down  sticker to the  bumper of a  patrol  car.
facing of 408 miles, $7,427,300;
shoulder construction of 203 miles,
$332,300; 14 bridges, $655,500;
and $881,800 of miscellaneous
work such as drainage and traffic
control signal systems.
Types  of Surfacing
The surfacing operations are divided into 26 miles of gravel surfacing, to cost $39,400; 280 miles
of bituminous surfacing, costing
$1,796,000; and 102 miles of concrete surfacing, costing $5,592,000.
A breakdown of the amounts bid
June 3 on the various types of work
was not practicable until the bids
could be analyzed. The total of
$4,833,000 for the low bids covered improvements planned for more
than 130 miles of trunk highways
in 19 counties and comprised one
of the largest totals of bids received
on a single date in the department's
history.
June 3 low bids on projects for
grading alone totalled $1,187,000
for 59.2 miles. Projects which included grading and surfacing, or
surfacing alone, were for work on
a total of 74.3 miles. The bids on
these multiple projects amounted
to $3,684,700. In addition, there
was a total of $11,200 for a culvert
and a traffic signal.
County  Road   Improvements
In addition to the extensive
trunk highway work for which
1955 contracts have been let or are
now pending or which was carried
over for completion this year, Min-
(Continued on page 2)