Funding Grows for UGPTI Programs

The long-term accomplishments of UGPTI are being recognized by state and federal decision makers, says UGPTI director Gene Griffin.

"The investments made in our programs have paid big dividends over the years," Griffin notes. "Congress, legislators and funding agencies are recognizing the value of what we do and are recognizing our excellence by increasing their investments in our programs."

Developments are in place which will increase the annual budget of UGPTI significantly. These developments include:

• An increase in funding for the competitively selected regional transportation centers, the Mountain-Plains Consortium, from $1 million to $2 million per year. MPC will need to compete with other universities and consortiums for the funding. MPC won recompetitions in 1991 and 1998.
• Expansion of the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center from $400,000 to $1.2 million annually.
• Development of a Masters in Military Logistics which will attract 30 to 40 students each year.
• Establishment of an associate degree in transportation by Bismarck State College in collaboration with UGPTI.
• A new Rural Transportation Safety and Security Center with an annual budget of $500,000.
• Expansion of the Transportation Learning Network focusing on technical training for four regional state DOTs, including North Dakota.
• An increase in core funding for the Institute from $243,000 per year to $400,000 per year.

"While the establishment and expansion of our programs is exciting, what really is important are the results they yield for rural and small urban transportation in the Upper Great Plains and across the nation," Griffin says. "The added funding carries with it an added responsibility to do top quality work that improves the mobility of people and freight.

"None of this would happen without a highly motivated and extremely qualified team of people working toward the goal of creating a premier university transportation research and education center," he added. "The client-driven nature of our program integrated with innovative research and technology puts us in an excellent position to continue to grow into the future."

Rural Transportation Safety and Security Center Established

A new Rural Transportation Safety and Security Center will address the unique safety and security issues of rural transportation in the north central United States. The research and outreach center is a collaborative effort between UGPTI and the NDDOT with funding from the Federal Highway Administration.

"To date, most resources for addressing safety and security needs have been concentrated in urban areas," notes Gary Berreth, director of the new Center. "But rural areas face substantial challenges in meeting safety and security needs. The infrastructure in rural areas is vast and the rural portion of the system plays an important role in the nation's economy, defense, and quality of life."

The Rural Transportation Safety and Security Center will develop a thorough understanding of the dynamics of safety and security of transportation in a rural environment and translate that understanding into a safer, more secure transportation environment through research, education, and outreach. "Our programs will be geared toward rural areas, agencies and organizations in ways that will make them easy to use and afford," Berreth says. The Federal Highway Administration will provide about $1.7 to $2 million to fund the first five years of operation (FY2005-2009).

The Center will be unique in three main areas:

• Its activities will have a rural focus and will include technology transfer programs for state and local entities as well as tribal governments.
• Its activities will integrate safety and security concerns.
• Consideration will be given to both freight and passenger transportation across highway, rail and other modes.

Research will focus on the risks to rural transportation safety and security, technology and techniques to address those risks, and data needs to quantify those risks. The Center will also work with the NDDOT to develop its Strategic Highway Safety Plan.

"Initially we will focus on North Dakota and border areas, but as the program develops we anticipate that the influence and services of the Center will be expanded to include other rural states and provinces," Berreth says.

Why the focus on rural safety and security? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that from 1994 to 2003 about 42 percent more fatal crashes occurred in rural areas than in urban areas. The agency found that more multi-fatality crashes occur in rural areas and when the number of fatalities is calculated per mile traveled, the rate is about double that of urban areas.

North Dakota has a 300-mile border with Canada with only 18 staffed border stations and about 200 local road or backwoods crossings. The state has six bridges and a major dam along its 300 miles of Missouri river. There are three major railroad mainlines crossing the state. Truck transportation is significant in the state and the region is crossed by pipelines.

"Sparsely populated areas, miles of marginally protected border areas, corridors with high volumes of commercial traffic, limited security staffing, and the general trusting nature of people in rural areas may be a draw for terrorist acts," Berreth notes. "Particularly as urban areas implement more deterrents."