Technology transfer among federal, state and local agencies is critical to ensuring the nation’s roadways are built, maintained and renovated in a safe and cost effective manner. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on Aug. 21 awarded a contract to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) to assist in providing this information through administration of the FHWA’s Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Clearinghouse.

ARTBA-TDF assumed the Clearinghouse contract management effective Aug. 31, 2006.

More than 3 million road mi. and 29,000 bridges in the United States are maintained by counties, cities and towns. Keeping them safe and navigable requires design, maintenance and rehabilitation. Limited resources for workforce training and professional development at the local level creates a significant need for technical assistance for the more then 38,000 local communities across the United States. FHWA recognized this need in 1982 by creating the LTAP.

The ARTBA-TDF will provide technical support through development and distribution of publications, facilitation of communication and outreach to the 51 LTAP and 7 Tribal Technical Assistance Program centers nationwide. ARTBA member, The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI), which is located at the North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, will help manage day-to-day operations of the Clearinghouse Web site and provide other technical services. Founded in 1967, UGPTI is one of the nation’s leading transportation research facilities.

“We are absolutely delighted to be working with the LTAP,” said ARTBA-TDF Chairman Dave Kraemer, a highway and bridge contractor from Wisconsin.

“The LTAP mission is aligned well with several strategic goals of ARTBA and the ARTBA-TDF. These include helping accelerate and facilitate the transfer of information on new technologies, products and techniques from the academic arena and transportation research laboratories into the field. Working together with the ’mission driven’ participants of the LTAP, we are confident we can make a difference, providing an even safer and more efficient U.S. transportation network and giving taxpayers an even greater return on their transportation capital investments,” he said.

LTAP is composed of a national network of centers — one in every state, Puerto Rico and the seven regional centers serving tribal governments. The LTAP/TTAP centers enable local counties, parishes, townships, cities, towns and tribes to improve roads and bridges by supplying them with a variety of programs, an information clearinghouse, new and existing technology updates, personalized technical assistance, and newsletters.

For more information, visit www.ltap2.org.

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