August 30, 2024

SAFETY NEWS

CHASE Level 3 Project

Congratulations to Rachel Contracting on their CHASE Level 3 project at Ole Olson Park on West River Road in Minneapolis. The project involves exporting 31,000 tons of contaminated material, cutting out embankment to construct new trails, an overlook structure, and a pedestrian protection structure.

CHASE is a cooperative compliance partnership program with MNOSHA. Learn more

MEMBER NEWS

Kraus-Anderson Construction Celebrates 90 Years of Continuous Membership

Congratulations to Kraus-Anderson Construction on 90 years of continuous membership with AGC of Minnesota! CEO Tim Worke and Director of Member Services Merry Beckmann were on hand this week to present (L-R) Al Gerhardt, Bruce Engelsma, and Rich Jacobson with a plaque celebrating these 9 decades of membership.

GENERAL NEWS

MnDOT Letting Program Day of the Week Change

Effective January 2025, MnDOT’s letting program day of the week will change to Wednesday from Friday. The Future Letting Schedules will be revised, and all project schedules are to be adjusted accordingly (move two days ahead).

Fridays were historically designed for hard copy bidding when contractors would travel from all over the state and the Midwest to submit bids. MnDOT has been electronic bidding since 2001, and 100% electronic bidding since 2015. Electronic bidding saved contractors and the State time, money, and effort. It streamlined processes and drastically reduced bid errors, if not entirely, and made bid rejections rare. This method saved taxpayer dollars. It is now time for the letting schedule to also evolve.

The change is being made for many beneficial reasons. It will optimize workflow, create time efficiencies for contractors, department specialty offices, and construction staff. It enables contractors to submit time-sensitive documents during the business week, eliminates worktime over the weekend, and allows specialty offices to begin post-letting clearance analysis sooner, all of which increases the expediency of Contract Award. A letting earlier in the week allows selection of project start dates to be within six weeks of the letting rather than seven which advances construction. This change also creates fiscal yearend efficiencies and aligns MnDOT with surrounding AASHTO states.

Special lettings and special procurements will continue to be handled on an individual basis.

Below is the 2025 Letting Schedule at a glance:

• January 29, 2025

• February 26, 2025

• March 26, 2025

• April 23, 2025

• May 14, 2025

• June 4, 2025

• June 25, 2025

• July 23, 2025

• August 20, 2025

• September 24, 2025

• October 22, 2025

• November 19, 2025

• December 3, 2025

AGC Workforce Survey Results

Thank you to those contractors who participated in this year's AGC of America Workforce Survey!

MnDOT Constructability Review: I35W Burnsville

MnDOT is preparing plans for the reconstruction of 5 bridges on I35W between the 35E/35W split and Cliff Rd. beginning in Spring 2025. The project will require an unbonded concrete overlay in the same section. This project is currently scheduled to be let in February 2025 with an anticipated construction start date of April 2025 and continuing through 2026.

MnDOT is asking potential contractors to assist with evaluating construction staging and duration as well as construction methodology given difficult site limitations.

MnDOT cannot compensate contractors for the one-on-one meetings, or accommodations to and from the meeting. Contractors will not be disqualified from submitting bids for construction if they attend. A summary of discussions will be posted on the project web site listed below after the meetings (names and company titles will not be available for viewing).

MnDOT is looking for input with regards to:

Cliff Road Bridge Construction
Project will require removal Cliff Road Bridge and replacement with a 3-span bridge. SB portion is scheduled to be replaced in 2025 and NB portion in 2026.
Several constraints limit removal and construction operations:
3 separate High Voltage Power Lines span over proposed Cliff Road bridge on 35W. During summer clearance (between existing deck and lines) will be between 30-35’ for one of the lines in the most restrictive conditions.
Existing Union Pacific is below the bridge.

The Project Consists of:

UBOL on 35W and replacement of Burnsville Pkwy bridge, TH13 bridges and Cliff Rd Bridge. Propose Cliff Road bridge in the 25-26 construction seasons.

In addition to the above summary, MnDOT has posted information here.

September 4-10, 2024, has been selected as the Department’s desired time period for constructability reviews. There will be options to meet either in person or by remotely via Teams. Please contact Brian Tomassoni, Project Engineer, to schedule a meeting.

Met Council Request for Feedback: Blue Line Rail Extension

The Metropolitan Council is evaluating packaging and delivery method strategies for the METRO Blue Line Extension light rail transit project. The Request for Industry Feedback (RFIF) is a request for the construction industry to provide input on the potential packaging and delivery method strategies described in the RFIF and to inform the construction industry of the potential procurement opportunities with the Met Council in the future.

The Project will extend the existing METRO Blue Line light rail from Target Field Station northwest to Brooklyn Park and connect communities in the corridor. The Project is 13.4-miles long, connecting downtown Minneapolis to the communities of North Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, Crystal, and Brooklyn Park. The Project is a critical connection in the highly traveled northwest area of the Twin Cities and includes connections to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and the Mall of America. More information about the Project can be found here.

The Met Council thanks entities in advance for their participation in this outreach initiative and looks forward to receiving valuable feedback from the contracting community. It is requested that contractors and industry professionals interested in responding Click Here to view and download the RFIF. Please input this QuestCDN eBidDoc™ Number 9278613 on the website’s Project Search page. Contact QuestCDN at 952-233-1632 or info@questcdn.com for assistance in downloading and working with the digital documents.

RFIF Virtual Informational Meeting was: August 29, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. CST

Written Responses Due: September 27, 2024, at 5:00 PM CST

Questions concerning the content of the RFIF document may be directed to:

ConstructionBid@metc.state.mn.us

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & EDUCATION NEWS

Supervisory Training Program (STP) Classes

There are several more STP courses available before the end of the year! Register now for any/all of the following units:

Unit 4: Contract Documents (Sep 24-Oct 22)
Unit 6: Risk Management (Sep 25-Oct 23)
Unit 1: Leadership & Motivation (Nov 5-Dec 10)
Unit 2: Communication (Nov 6-Dec 11)

Communication Credentials Session 2:

Managing Difficult People

It can be difficult for professionals to feel heard, be taken seriously, manage critical relationships, or have the courage to address inappropriate comments at their own expense.

That’s why you need to learn and practice specific power phrases to help manage any difficult conversations at work, and still preserve your reputation.

In this session on September 19 we’ll cover:

The theory of power phrases and how they help amplify your voice while staying true to who you are.
Common biased scenarios and the power phrases you can use to change topic with ease and power.
How to respond to unreasonable requests and behaviors from clients (such as quick turnarounds, ignoring protocol, and refusing to pay debt obligations).
How to say what you want and maintain a respected position of power while overcoming project delays or errors and promoting yourself and your team.

MENTAL HEALTH NEWS

It's Time to Make Mental Health an Industry Priority

Great progress has been made in a short time to increase awareness of the construction industry’s mental health crisis. More recently, the concept of worker wellbeing has emerged, transcending an individualized focus on helping those already in crisis, and instead proactively identifying and working to mitigate the stressors found in our unique industry business model with its inherent demands.

Spearheaded by AGC, the Worker Wellbeing Initiative Strategy Team has embarked on a comprehensive strategy approach that brings together all three industry partner segments (employers, workforce, and project owners) to foster a secure and healthy work environment for all construction industry workers. Engaged and productive dialogue is being focused to identify proactive measures that can reduce industry mental health stressors before they take hold and manifest in crisis outcomes. This holistic approach aims to tackle the mental health crisis that is hindering growth within our industry by prioritizing mental health on parallel with physical safety and wellbeing.