COVID-19 Factors into Road and Bridge Investment Needs StudyPosted: Jun 1, 2020 UGPTI researchers are adding additional analyses to the statewide study of local road and bridge investment needs to account for the drop in energy prices in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers added two scenarios to their travel demand model that take into account lower oil production numbers based on recent drops in oil prices, which resulted from plummeting demand stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The model estimates traffic based on traffic counts and estimates of cropping, oil production, and manufacturing data. The analyses will also include data from traffic surveys across the state, updated condition reports on roadways, and survey results related to the cost of maintaining local roads from all 53 North Dakota counties and more than 900 of the state's 1,300 townships. The researchers have begun drafting a final report to the ND Legislature detailing results from their study. The final draft report is expected to be complete in July and will be posted to the UGPTI website. |