That common ground is the impetus behind the Minnesota Department of Transportation s agreement to exchange transportation-related knowledge and information with the Finnish National Road Administration. Through the agreement, which focuses on infrastructure, operations, safety, organizational structure and land-use practice, MnDOT is finding efficiencies in road construction, maintenance and traveler information practices that can be adopted in Minnesota. The agreement, which has been in place since 1991, was renewed earlier this month.
Similar agreements exist with national transportation agencies in Sweden and Norway.
For example, Finland has perfected a technique that allows construction crews to pave roads more quickly with cold asphalt, Linzie said. Finns also tend to be sensitive about building highways through populated areas, with an emphasis on bike trails and pedestrian ways. By looking at the Nordic countries, you can find out how they ve taken the knowledge from the U.S. and applied it differently, Linzie said. MnDOT has already sent a bridge designer to Finland for three months to look at how they design bridges and bring back ideas. Marthand Nookala, MnDOT s assistant director for program support, said the state s transportation department has used de-icing information gleaned from Europe to improve safety on a heavily traveled bridge near the University of Minnesota.