Vol 25, No 7

Presentation Synopsis: The City of Minneapolis, SEH, and URS will present an overview of the MARQ2 project. MARQ2 is a $32M project in downtown Minneapolis and is part of a $184M UPA Transit improvement project in the Twin Cities. The UPA project was approved in May 2008 with the stipulation that the work had to be completed by December 31, 2009.

Marquette Avenue and Second Avenue South are being reconstructed between 1st Street South and 12th Street South. Work started in August 2008 and will continue through December 2009. Both streets are being rebuilt from building front to building front. When the project is completed, the street will have two bus lanes and two traffic lanes (both operating in the same direction as they do today), wider sidewalks, new transit shelters, public art, more trees and more attractive landscaping and streetscaping. Several of the transit facilities will have real-time electronic departure information signs.

The presentation will discuss the project elements that were constructed, the issues the MARQ2 team encountered, and the innovations introduced that have made the project successful.

No-PDH for the technical presentation.

Presenter Bio:

Meeting Location: Fort Snelling Officer's Club near Post Road. See map at: http://www.same-msp.org/_images/934thOfficersClub.jpg

Meeting Agenda: Social time and lunch (if you so desire) will be from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM in the dining room of the Officers Club. Post Meeting and Presentation will be from 12:30 PM to about 1:10 PM in the ballroom of the Officers Club.

Luncheon Menu, Cost, and RSVP Info: The Club’s cafeteria-style lunches are typically $10.00 or less; people who partake in the cafeteria-style lunch will pay the Officers Club directly. If you come only for the presentations, there is no charge.

Please RSVP with your intent to either partake in the cafeteria-style lunch or to come for the presentation only; this will help the Officers Club staff to ensure that an adequate amount of food is prepared. Either leave a voice mail message with Jim Mosner at 651-290-5512, or click the RSVP button in the left-hand column, or send an email message to james.b.mosner@usace.army.mil

Highlights of the September Meeting

April, Tim, and Steve

Post President Steve Alm (r) thanks April Walker (l) and Tim Bertschi (c) for their comprehensive presentation of the breadth and magnitude of the record setting floods this past spring in the City of Fargo and throughout the entire Red River of the North Valley.

April's portion of the presentation covered the impacts to City of Fargo and how the officials and citizens of the city prepared for what they expected to be a potential record setter, how they held their breath when they realized that there was not going to be just one peak but there would be two peaks, both of which were of historic proportions, and who they coped with the aftermath which cost as much to clean up as did the flood fight efforts.

Tim then discussed in for detail how the US Army Corps of Engineers assisted in providing technical support consisting of geotechncial consultants, construction inspectors, and contracting services for constructing the temporary measures and then removing and cleanup of the residual mess. Tim also covered the extent of the flood fight efforts in dozens of cities throughout the entire valley.

We would like to thank the overwhelming crowd of people that turned out for this presentation, nearly double of how many typically attend out monthly meetings. It was great to see such a large, enthusiastic group. We also want to thank everyone that ended up having to wait a little longer than normal in the cafe line for the patience they showed during the slight backup that occurred. Our larger than normal group somewhat stretched the resources in the cafe.

Seeking Presentation Topics

We are interested in your ideas for meeting presentation topics and any leads that you may have for interesting presenters. Please contact Chris Erickson, our Programs Coordinator, at 651.290.5437 or chris.r.erickson@usace.army.mil with ideas or suggestions that you may have for upcoming technical presentations.

	Society of American Military Engineers

	Minneapolis-Saint Paul Post