Lake of the Woods County received a Minnesota Mousetrap award last year for its modified shear attachment for excavators. It’s also one of the projects in the national Build a Better Mousetrap Showcase 2022 video. Other Mousetrap submissions from Minnesota and around the country are honored in the 2022 national program booklet.
Lake of the Woods County’s attachment provides a quicker, safer process for removing trees from the right-of-way. Previously, crews used hand saws and chainsaws, which was both time-intensive and unsafe. It was also expensive to buy a logging equipment set-up and only use it for a short time each year. The county’s solution? Buy a used shear head from a logger and retrofit it to attach to their excavator.
Another Lake of the Woods project—a modified dozer blade for an excavator for clearing ditches—is in the national booklet. Also included are three submissions from Crow Wing County (Pick a Mile roadside clean-up program, Sandbag Quick Filler, and “Where’s My Snowplow” app) and one from the City of Rochester (nurse tank for collecting and reusing brine).
Other states weren’t lacking in ideas. Projects ranged from a sand/salt loading ramp to a skid-steer squeegee for easy shop clean-up. The FHWA has received 300 nominations since 2009 for the recognition program; entries represent LTAP/TTAP centers from around the country.
The video and booklets from past years are available on the FHWA Center for Local Aid Support website.
If you have ideas for Minnesota’s 2023 Mousetrap program, please submit an entry form by May 15. The Minnesota competition is sponsored by the Minnesota Local Road Research Board and administered by Minnesota LTAP.
Learn more:
- Build a Better Mousetrap Showcase 2022 video (YouTube, 2:03)
- Build a Better Mousetrap 2022 booklet (PDF)
- FHWA Center for Local Aid Support
- Submit your ideas to Minnesota's Mousetrap competition
- Minnesota Mousetrap contact: Katherine Stanley, 612-626-1023