Murphy’s Law Blog 2023 | #30
NDLTAP/Northern TTAP

You may not know about the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI), an elite transportation research center we have in our state. As a partner with NDSU, UGPTI provides research, education and outreach across North Dakota.

A division of UGPTI, titled the North Dakota Local Transportation Assistance Program (NDLTAP) partners with the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) as part of the Federal Highway Administration to deliver knowledge and other assets to North Dakota cities, counties and townships. Another part of this is the Northern Tribal Technical Assistance Program (Northern TTAP). These institutions are heavily used and few folks outside of the transportation realm would know about them, but they are substantial contributors to the systems that are used to move about the state. 

Recently, the longtime head of NDLTAP retired and NDSGA Executive Director Nancy Johnson tasked me with filling a spot on the screening and interview team to find a replacement. Others involved in this task were people who directly work with NDLTAP and Northern TTAP staff. The screening and interview team consisted of myself, a county engineer, the Township Officers Association leader, the head of Northern TTAP, a representative from the MHA Nation, the Western Dakota Energy Association and a representative of UGPTI who led the effort.

As the representative for agriculture, I considered our role to be more general as an industry heavily impacted by the viability of our transportation system.

The search took several hours to narrow from six applicants to four for interviews. The interviews took an entire day which was filled with learning for me as to what NDLTAP/Northern TTAP do and what it takes to deliver those services well. I remain ignorant as to the final choice for the position as it was made back in the UGPTI.

Congratulations to your organization for being tapped to represent agriculture for the NDLTAP screening and interviews.