The Minnesota Transportation Conference & Expo is always a great way to gain industry insight and connect with peers. This year, Alliant was proud to contribute through six presentations — providing expertise on everything from guiding MnDOT’s Planning Guidebook to the power of partnerships. If you missed them, we have put together a quick recap along with ways to connect with our presenters for more details.
Presentation Recaps
Essential Training – MnDOT’s New Corridor Planning Guidebook
Missed the presentation or have questions? Reach out to Tim Burkhardt or Hannah Johnson.
Following two years of careful development and broad stakeholder input, MnDOT’s new Corridor Planning Guidebook is in draft form and practitioner training is underway. The Guidebook is applicable to corridor planning on MnDOT roadways statewide and is intended to become the guiding document for preparing these plans. While the Guidebook is designed for use on state highways, it is also available as a resource and reference for planning on local roadways. The Guidebook is framed around the six objectives of the Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan (SMTP): transportation safety, climate action, system stewardship, critical connections, open decision making, and healthy equitable communities. Guidance is provided for addressing each objective, including combining qualitative input from partner agencies and the public with traditional technical analysis. Planners, project managers, engagement specialists and others involved in corridor planning are encouraged to attend to learn about this new resource. Participants will learn about the drivers behind the Guidebook, what’s in it and how to use it, including what is new or different from typical current practices. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide input on future needs of this tool.
Rural Roundabouts – Practical Design to Save More Lives
Missed the presentation or have questions? Reach out to Peter Harff or Abby Rieckman.
Roundabouts continue to be a key safety tool being implemented across Minnesota, especially in rural areas where high-speed intersections pose significant risks. But with each new rural roundabout comes a familiar debate: Do we really need sidewalks here? Or all that curb and gutter? Historically, MnDOT has included full walkways around roundabouts, even in rural areas with little to no pedestrian demand. This has often led to unnecessary costs, added right-of-way impacts, and frustration from local communities. This session explores how taking a more flexible approach to rural roundabouts can deliver the safety benefits while reducing costs; thereby making it possible to build more of them. Through recent project case studies, we’ll show how designers are applying new draft MnDOT guidance to right-size roundabout design.
The Power of Partnerships – St. Louis County and MnDOT
Missed the presentation or have questions? Reach out to Nick Grage.
Partnerships are a powerful force for driving safety improvements. Since 2019, St. Louis County and MnDOT District 1 have worked together toward the shared goal of zero deaths, committing to a program of safety improvements at State and County intersections throughout the County. In this session, attendees will learn how St. Louis County Traffic Engineer Victor Lund and District 1 Project Manager Alex Peritz have built a strong partnership that not only improves project delivery but also enhances funding opportunities, increases community acceptance, and helps overcome political and implementation challenges. While many counties and MnDOT districts maintain good working relationships, few demonstrate the same depth of partnership and shared commitment as St. Louis County and District 1. By jointly contributing to funding matches and presenting a united front, they show how strong partnerships accelerate progress toward zero deaths.
The Soil Health of New Construction Soils – and Lessons in Compost Topdressing Study
Missed the presentation or have questions? Reach out to Dave Bauer.
The City of Roseville recently completed construction of the Twin Lakes Trail, a multiuse path designed to expand recreation and mobility opportunities for residents. Following construction, City staff identified that the disturbed fill soils surrounding the trail offered an ideal environment to test a hypothesis with both local and global significance: Can compost topdressing restore the health of degraded construction soils while delivering measurable climate and sustainability benefits? In 2020, a three-year soil health study was launched to evaluate the long-term impacts of compost amendments on heavily disturbed soils typical of new construction projects. Compost topdressing was applied annually to selected plots adjacent to the trail, while nearby control plots underwent standard turf establishment practices. Over the course of three years, the City, supported by Alliant, collected and analyzed data on carbon sequestration, infiltration, vegetation health, soil fertility, and microbial activity. The results have been striking. In amended plots, carbon sequestration reached 13 tons per acre, significantly higher than control plots, demonstrating the potential for compost to contribute meaningfully to municipal climate action goals. Soil microbial activity increased by 500 percent, indicating a vibrant restoration of soil biology. Fertility improved, infiltration rates increased, and vegetation was both denser and more resilient to drought stress. Importantly, no adverse impacts were detected: salt levels and pH remained stable, dispelling a common concern about large-scale compost use. The study also highlighted important social and educational benefits. By incorporating volunteers into annual compost-spreading events, community members, students, and engineering professionals gained first-hand experience in applying a nature-based climate solution. These events created awareness about the connection between soil health and climate resiliency, while also showcasing a practical, low-cost, and replicable strategy. For participants, the hands-on work built a sense of ownership and pride in contributing to Roseville’s sustainability goals. The City has since extended the practice to other projects, demonstrating that compost topdressing is both scalable and adaptable. Large-scale municipal applications have been paired with educational outreach encouraging residents to adopt compost in their own yards and gardens. This dual approach, municipal leadership combined with community adoption, creates a multiplier effect, embedding soil health practices across different scales of land use.
What We Wish We Knew – Design-Build Lessons from Minnesota Projects
Missed the presentation or have questions? Reach out to Tom Jensen.
This session explored Design-Build from multiple stakeholder perspectives, focusing on real-world experiences from Minnesota projects. Owners highlighted how Design-Build has shaped project delivery, where it has improved efficiency, and where it has created unforeseen challenges. Designers and contractors discussed the pressures of carrying both design and construction accountability, emphasizing collaboration, proactive communication, and structured risk management. The panel will examined the role of General Engineering Consultants (GECs), Design Oversight Consultants, and Construction Oversight Consultants; who augment agency staff, support oversight, and help ensure successful project delivery. Together, these experts shared candid lessons learned, highlighted best practices, and provided actionable insights into what they wish they had known before starting their Design-Build journeys.
Highway 47 – Putting Safety and Community First
Missed the presentation or have questions? Reach out to Michael Kondizolka or Nick Turner.
Highway 47 in Anoka County functions as a four-lane expressway, but its design has long conflicted with the safety needs of the community. The corridor has experienced a troubling record of crashes, including multiple fatalities and serious injuries, especially involving non-motorized users crossing the road. During project development, multiple additional tragic accidents underscored the urgency to rethink the road’s role. Rather than conducting a traditional expressway-focused analysis, MnDOT and its project partners approached Highway 47 through a people-centered lens. The analysis examined the types of crashes and fatalities occurring along the corridor and worked closely with law enforcement to understand real-world conditions leading to these tragedies. Instead of asking how to preserve mobility at the highest speeds, the central question became: How can this corridor be designed to save lives? The key findings indicated that severe crashes were frequently associated with a combination of risky crossing behaviors and high vehicle speeds—comparable to those observed on freeways. This mix created unsafe conditions for pedestrians and drivers, and has ultimately led to several lives lost along the corridor. Solutions explored included reducing the number of lanes, lowering speeds, exploring lower signal cycle lengths, adding grade-separated pedestrian crossings, and incorporating roundabout-based designs with pedestrian-focused safety treatments such as flashing beacons. The project faced challenges in balancing competing visions. Some community members and agency staff preferred to maintain Highway 47 as a high-speed expressway, while others pushed for designs rooted in the Safe System approach, slowing traffic to protect vulnerable users. MnDOT had to navigate this tension, demonstrating that slower design speeds could dramatically reduce fatal and severe crashes without degrading travel times. Ultimately, MnDOT advanced the project by aligning crash data, Safe System principles, and community engagement. While funding constraints remain a challenge, the Highway 47 project offers a compelling example of how reframing the analysis can shift priorities toward saving lives.
Winter Olympics After Party
And thank you to all who attended our Winter Olympics After Party Happy Hour at Smorgie’s. The night was filled with great conversations, giveaway prizes, and laugher!
Special thanks to our co-hosts: Kismet Consulting, Inc., Transportation Collaborative & Consultants (TC2), Toole Design Group, Great Places Analysis & Design, LLC, Utility Mapping Services, Martinez Geospatial, Inc., HR Green, Inc., and Liz Wiggen.
