Minnesota Highways, July 1956

              ■HBMHI
mm
warn
VOL.  5,  No.  9
1246 University Ave.,  St. Paul 4, Minn.
July,   1956
Reorganization   Progresses   Rapidly
76 Resident Areas
Being Established
Action for the creation of resident areas for the Construction division, on which initial plans were
reported in the June Minnesota
Highways, has progressed to the
tentative establishment of 16 such
areas throughout the state. Their
headquarters will be in the same
communities in which the Highway
department's 16 maintenance district offices are located.
In addition, according to C. C.
Colwell, chief construction engineer, resident areas may be established with headquarters at Minneapolis and St. Paul. More resident areas are expected to be set
up as the increasing construction
program warrants, Colwell said.
Each resident area will be in
charge of a resident engineer who
will supervise activities of the project engineers and be responsible to
the district engineer of the construction district in which his area
is located.
There is a two-fold purpose for
inaugurating   the   resident   areas.
(Continued  on  page 3)
Reorganization within the Highway department to meet
requirements of its rapidly expanding construction and maintenance activity is progressing rapidlv. Most recent steps
include the start of establishment of resident areas, appointment of a second assistant chief engineer, reassignment of
engineer aids and civil engineers I to V to higher salary
ranges, and steps within certain divisions to meet their specific expansion problems.
The changes are aimed at improvement of both the operation of the department and of conditions of employment.
Current reorganization activity is reported in this issue.
Second Assistant Chief
Engineer Is Appointed
Rapid and coordinated top level
handling of the department's expanding highway program is the
aim of an important step in the reorganization program.
Commissioner Hoffmann has increased from one to two the number of assistant chief engineer positions and has appointed C. C. Colwell, previously construction engineer, to the new post.
In the new division of responsibility under Chief Engineer L. P.
Zimmerman, J. C. Robbers, who
has been assistant chief engineer-
since 1952 now will devote his major  time  to pre-letting phases   of
construction—plans and surveys,
right of way acquisition, traffic
and planning, materials and research, and bridge plans.
Colwell will be mainly concerned with post-letting activities-
supervision of Construction, Maintenance, and County divisions, the
district engineers and their various
activities.
Robbers has been in the Highway department since 1919, serving principally as office, division,
district, and assistant chief engineer. Since joining the department
(Continued  on  page  3)
Salaries Boosted
In Engineering
Both classes of engineering aides
and civil engineers I-V, inclusive,
in the Highway department will be
advanced to higher salary ranges
August 1 as a major step in the
reorganization procedure. Also included in the upward salary reassignment are graduate engineers. The change was approved by
the state Administration and Civil
Service departments upon the request of Commissioner Hoffmann.
Approximately 1,300 employees
are affected.
The salary advances are coincidental with the establishment of
resident areas in the department,
permanent assignment of field employees to specific resident headquarters, and elimination of the
payment of subsistence allowances.
Actual expenses will be paid to
field men during periods in which
they are located beyond daily
commuting distance to their resident headquarters.
Four-Fold   Purpose
The four-fold purpose of the salary   reassignments   was   expressed
(Continued  on  page  2)
J.   H.   Swanberg
C.  C.  Colwell
J.  C.  Robbers
C. K.  Preus