The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state's trunk highway system (including

state highways A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

, U.S. Highways, and

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

s), funding municipal

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

s and maintaining radio navigation aids, and other activities.

History

Seal of the Minnesota Department of Transportation

The agency's history can be traced to the state's Railroad and Warehouse Commission which emerged slowly from 1871 to 1905, and the State Highway Commission created in 1905. The Highway Commission was abolished in 1917 and replaced by a Department of Highways. The Minnesota Highway Department has been credited with numerous works listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. For air transport, the Minnesota Aeronautics Commission was created in 1933. Much of the railroad oversight was transferred to the Minnesota Department of Public Service in 1967. Two years later, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety was established and took over the

Highway Patrol A highway patrol is a police unit, detail, or law enforcement agency created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways within a jurisdiction. They are also referred to in many countri ...

and Driver's License Bureau. MnDOT finally came into being in 1976 and took over the functions of the aeronautics and highway departments, plus transportation-related duties of the Minnesota State Planning Agency and Department of Public Service.

Services and projects

MnDOT operates networks of

ramp meter A ramp meter, ramp signal, or metering light is a device, usually a basic traffic light or a two-section signal light (red and green only, no yellow) together with a signal controller, that regulates the flow of traffic entering freeways accordi ...

s and

traffic camera A traffic camera is a video camera which observes vehicular traffic on a road. Typically, traffic cameras are put along major roads such as highways, freeways, expressways and arterial roads, and are connected by optical fibers buried alongside o ...

s in the Minneapolis-St. Paul

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

in order to manage traffic flow. The department has also put up informational

electronic signage Electronic signage (also called electronic signs or electronic displays) are illuminant advertising media in the signage industry. Major electronic signage include fluorescent signs, HID ( high intensity displays), incandescent signs, LED sig ...

along highways to provide alert messages. Message boards have been in Rochester,

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

and the Twin Cities for some time. Part of the reason for the Rochester signs is occasional

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing of U.S. Highway 52. The department expanded use of the signs after Amber Alert legislation allocated funding for larger networks. In the Twin Cities, MnDOT began using them to display freeway travel times in 2003 or 2004 to help drivers plan alternate routes to avoid heavy traffic if necessary (although a generic message like "buckle up for safety" is sometimes encountered during special safety campaigns planned in conjuncture with the State Patrol and Department of Public Safety).

Twin Cities Public Television Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. (abbreviated TPT, trade name, doing business as Twin Cities PBS) is a nonprofit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, that operates the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities' two PBS membe ...

(TPT) station KTCI channel 17 has been used for many years to display

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmo ...

-related information that is funded by MnDOT. This service is continued on channel 2-4 following the

digital transition Digital transition refers to the process of moving an existing analog system to a digital format. Used without further qualifiers, the term normally refers to the move from analog television to digital television, the digital television transition. ...

. The department also had a long-standing partnership with

KBEM-FM KBEM-FM (88.5 FM, "Jazz88") is a public radio station broadcasting a jazz format based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, the station serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The station is operated by the Minneapolis Public Schools system ...

radio (88.5 FM) in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

to relay area traffic information, although that relationship is coming to an end. After public outcry, the term was extended, but it is unclear how long the two organizations will continue the relationship. MnDOT paid KBEM-FM $400,000 per year to provide the information, about half of the station's annual budget. Video from traffic cameras is also shown on

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

systems in the metro area (at one time, this had also been shown on KVBM channel 45, today known as KSTC). The department holds an annual contest, asking the public to name new snowplows introduced to the fleet. In 2021, 24,000 submissions were received. 2021's winning snowplow names included Plowy McPlowFace; Ope, Just Gonna Plow Right Past Ya; Duck Duck Orange Duck; and The Truck Formerly Known As Plow. 2024 winners included Taylor Drift, Barbie's Dream Plow, and (

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...

for "snowplow"). After years of mounting delays and management concerns over the Southwest LRT, the Minnesota state legislature in 2024 passed a provision giving MnDOT more oversight of light rail projects in the state.

Organization

MnDOT is led by the commissioner of transportation, who is appointed by the governor for a term coinciding with the governor's. The commissioner may appear as a party on behalf of the public in any proceeding before any governmental agency regulating public services or rates relating to transportation. The commissioner also provides technical and financial assistance to the Metropolitan Council and regional development commissions in the regional transportation planning process.

List of commissioners

Below is a list of Minnesota Highway Department (1917–1976) and Minnesota Department of Transportation (1976–present) commissioners: *Charles M. Babcock (1917–1932) *N. (Nels) W. Elsberg (1933–1938) *M. (Michael) J. Hoffman (1939–1957) *L. P. Zimmerman (1957–1961) *James C. Marshall (1961–1965) *John R. Jamieson (1965–1967) *N. T. (Nils Theodore) Waldor (1968–1971) *Ray Lappegaard (1971–1974) *Frank Marzitelli (1974–1976) *James Harrington (1976–1978) *Dick Braun (1978–1986) *Leonard Levine (1986–1991) * John H. Riley (1991) *James Denn (1991–1999) * Elwyn Tinklenberg (1999–2002) * Carol Molnau (2003–2008) * Thomas K. "Tom" Sorel (2008–2012) * Bernard J. "Bernie" Arseneau (2012), ''interim commissioner'' * Charles A. Zelle (2013–2019) *

Margaret Anderson Kelliher Margaret Anderson Kelliher (born March 11, 1968) is an American politician, City Operations Officer for the City of Minneapolis, former Director of the Minneapolis Department of Public Works, former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Tra ...

(2019–2022) * Nancy Daubenberger (2022–)

Districts

MnDOT is divided into eight construction districts, with each district responsible for highway construction projects, maintenance, and highway right-of-way issues for their area. Each district has a district area headquarters as well as a secondary maintenance area office.

References

External links

Map of Live Traffic Cameras in the Twin Cities MetroMinnesota Department of Transportation511mn.org
(state

5-1-1 5-1-1 is a transportation and traffic information telephone hotline in some regions of the United States and Canada. Travelers can dial 511, a three-digit telephone number, on landlines and most mobile phones. The number has also extended to b ...

webpage)
Twin Cities traffic map
{{authority control Transportation in Minnesota State departments of transportation of the United States State agencies of Minnesota 1976 establishments in Minnesota