Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute

Thank you to the North Dakota Association of County Engineers for presenting UGPTI with the 2025 Friends of NDACE Award last week! The Friends of NDACE award is given to a company, organization or person that shows outstanding leadership, contributions and assistance to county government. UGPTI Director Denver Tolliver accepted the award on behalf of UGPTI from Allen Heiser, Stark County Road Superintendent and past president of NDACE. The award recognizes the long-term work that has benefitted the local transportation system across the state. Efforts include state-wide county, township and tribal road and bridge investment needs studies; the Geographic Roadway Inventory Tool which is an easy-to-use asset management program developed for county road managers; the North Dakota Local Technical Assistance Program which provides training and technical assistance to local road staff; and various other rural road and traffic safety research efforts.

Researchers with the Center for Transformative Infrastructure Preservation and Sustainability will present nearly 50 research papers at the 104th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in Washington, D.C. January 5-9. See a full list of scheduled presentations by CTIPS researchers including locations and abstracts. https://lnkd.in/gmnD7Cfh

UGPTI Director Denver Tolliver outlined prospects and challenges facing deployment of autonomous trucking in North Dakota and other rural areas during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Summit in Denver, CO, this week. His presentation was a part of a session on state best practices and innovative projects. The Summit attracted more than 160 attendees from regulatory agencies, universities, law enforcement, and the trucking industry. The event was co-sponsored by UGPTI and the Colorado State Patrol. #WSCSummit2024

The Colorado State Patrol presented the colors to open the 2024 Commercial Vehicle Safety Summit in Denver. Port of Entry Officer Josiah Huerta performed the National Anthem. The event is co-hosted by UGPTI and the Colorado State Patrol. #WSCSummit2024

Can drones help save billions in road maintenance costs? https://lnkd.in/g6sE8762

UGPTI researcher Raj Bridgelall and Russ Buchholz, Innovation Manager for the North Dakota Department of Transportation , discussed infrastructure planning for autonomous vehicles at the Autonomous Trucking in North Dakota conference yesterday. Bridgelall described the advanced digital infrastructural capabilities needed for AVs to operate universally over an extensive public road network. Buchholz outlined the physical infrastructure requirements and enhancements that would facilitate autonomous trucking and how transportation departments are working with private industry to advance safe deployment of autonomous vehicles. The first-of-its-kind conference in North Dakota was organized and hosted by North Dakota State University's Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute and drew more than 100 researchers, law enforcement personnel, regulatory agency staff, business representatives and policy makers.

Congratulations to Brant Malsam, winner of UGPTI's Lifetime Achievement Award. Brant dedicated his career to supporting infrastructure projects and engineering industry professionals. With decades of experience supporting public and private projects of all sizes and complexity, Brant has impacted not only the engineering profession but specifically transportation and municipal practices. The award was presented by Sheri Haugen-Hoffart, chair of UGPTI's Advisory Council, October 10 at UGPTI's Annual Awards Banquet.

UGPTI Associate Director Brenda Lantz led a panel discussion of "Safety Preparation and Planning for Autonomous Trucks" during the second day of the Autonomous Trucking In North Dakota Conference being held in Bismarck today. Other panelists included Brian Routhier of the Technology Division of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and John Sova of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. The panelists discussed safety oversight and inspections of autonomous trucks and training and preparation needs. The conference is planned and hosted by North Dakota State University's Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute.

A panel discussion on Autonomous Trucking in Agricultural Logistics was a highlight of the Autonomous Trucking in North Dakota Conference today in Bismarck. The panel was moderated by Greg Lardy, Joe and Norma Peltier Endowed Vice President for Agriculture at North Dakota State University. Panelists included Maynard Factor of Kratos Defense and Security Solutions Defense, Darrell Oscarson of Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative, Jason Heitkamp, Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative, Mike Steenhoek of the Soy Transportation Coalition, and Jeff Zueger of Harvestone Low Carbon Partners. More than 100 attendees representing research, business, law enforcement, policy makers, and regulator agencies are attending the two-day conference which is hosted and organized by UGPTI and continues tomorrow(10/17).