MnDOT's FIRST team marks 30 years of helping stranded motorists

Dave Eenigenburg had the misfortune of getting a flat tire while driving to work Tuesday morning and sat helplessly on the shoulder of Interstate 94 near the W. Broadway exit in north Minneapolis.

"I haven't changed a tire in 30 years," said the pediatrician, who works for Allina Health.

Mike Ahlman came to his rescue.

Ahlman is a driver with the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Freeway Incident Response Safety Team (FIRST), which on Friday marked its 30th anniversary of providing roadside assistance to motorists.

"I love helping people. I love my job," said Ahlman, who changed Eenigenburg's flat in a matter of minutes. "This is a great program."

For three decades, drivers such as Ahlman have crisscrossed the metro area in yellow pickup trucks to jump dead batteries, fix flat tires and provide fuel to motorists who have run out of gas. FIRST drivers help clear crash scenes, pick up debris blocking traffic lanes and open and close the gates controlling the reversible carpool lane on Interstate 394.

In 2022, FIRST drivers responded to more than 21,700 incidents, which included more than 15,000 stalls, 3,300 crashes, 118 vehicle fires and 82 medical situations, MnDOT spokesman Kent Barnard said. All 21 drivers are trained as first responders.

"I do everything from flat tires to flatline," said Julie Todora, who, with 23 years of service, is FIRST's longest-tenured driver. "People are never unhappy to see you."

Julie Kunkel of Minneapolis was ecstatic to see Ahlman pull up behind her as she sat shivering in her car on the shoulder of eastbound I-94 near Lowry Avenue. FIRST had helped her once before when her car's alternator failed. On Tuesday, she had run out of gas.

"I'm so happy they are in the metro area," Kunkel said as Ahlman poured 2 gallons of gas into her tank.

MnDOT launched the "Highway Helper" program as a pilot in the late 1980s with three trucks. The program was started as a way to manage incident-related congestion and prevent secondary crashes. On Feb. 24, 1993, the agency officially made it a permanent service and changed the name to FIRST.

Trucks roll along 11 routes covering more than 200 miles of metro-area freeways and highways from about 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, plus some coverage on weekends. Ahlman, who has driven a FIRST truck for four years after making a career change, is among the first drivers to hit the road, clocking in at 4 a.m. Monday through Friday.

Each day, Ahlman loads his truck with spare gas, a jack, flares, bungee cords, duct tape, shovels, tow straps, brooms, a defibrillator and anything else he might need to render assistance. He scans the roads looking for drivers in distress as he rolls along his assigned routes on I-94, I-35W and Crosstown Hwy. 62, covering an area stretching from near the University of Minnesota to the western suburbs of St. Louis Park and Edina. On a busy day, he'll put on between 100 and 200 miles, he said.

On Tuesday, Ahlman opened up the eastbound I-394 carpool lane gates, cleared debris from a hit-and-run crash in Edina and changed two flat tires. He rolled up to what he thought was a stall, but it turned out to be a motorist parked on a freeway entrance ramp talking on the phone. Ahlman shooed him away.

"You just never know what you are going to get," Ahlman said

That variety is what he likes about the job.

"It's a daily challenge," Ahlman said. "It's a great public service. We are helping people out there."

The program, which is provided to motorists free of charge, costs MnDOT more than $2 million a year.

Eenigenburg said it's money well spent.

"It's great," Eenigenburg said. "It's 30 to 40 minutes faster than calling AAA. It gets me off the scary highway."