Jeff Butler to keynote 2024 Transportation Conference
Jeff Butler is a speaker, author and workplace strategist who helps organizations create workplaces where employees thrive. He'll be the keynote speaker for this year's North Dakota Transportation Conference: Moving ND Forward.
Butler's experience spans 40 industries in four continents on how different cultures and employees interact with each other. He studies common threads of behavior in industries such as IT professionals, underground utility workers, police officers to clothing retail chains.
His ideas have made it to TEDx twice, appeared in dozens of media outlets including two books on human behavior, "The Authentic Workplace" and "The Key To The New You".
Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller is also scheduled to speak. Other sessions and round tables will address administrative topics, innovation and technology, workforce, safety, diversity and equity. The conference is sponsored by NDDOT and the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at NDSU.
Check out the new NDDOT website
Head on over to dot.nd.gov and you'll notice a new and improved website that was built with you in mind.
The new site launched mid-January and is the reflection of multiple surveys, focus groups and website testing. We hope you find it easy to use and navigate. If you have any favorite pages you've bookmarked in your browser, be sure to update them. Have feedback? Click the feedback button on the bottom of any page to let us know what you think!
Register now for the 2024 Vision Zero Partner Conference
The Vision Zero Partner Conference (VZPC) is an annual event that brings together hundreds of 4E (that's engineering, enforcement, education and emergency medical services) partners and more to provide information, best practices and networking opportunities to build capacity to advance Vision Zero in North Dakota. The agenda is filled with hot topics, keynote speakers, updates on Vision Zero and an awards ceremony for traffic safety advocates.
The VZPC will be held April 3-4, 2024 at the Bismarck State College National Energy Center of Excellence and virtually. Register now and explore the VZPC website to learn more about the 2024 agenda, hotel accommodations, and POST and CEU credits.
Mild weather leads to early load limits
Warmer than average January temperatures led to load limits that went into effect February 1.
NDDOT places temporary load restrictions on North Dakota highways to reduce damage caused by heavy loads at the time of year when roads are most vulnerable. The most significant pavement damage occurs during the first weeks after the onset of the spring thaw.
We set and adjust load restrictions as weather and roadbed conditions change throughout the spring thaw cycle. When the roadbeds stabilize, the restrictions will be removed.
Find information on current load restrictions on our online travel map, on the free NDRoads app, or by calling 511.
Email and text alerts are also available through GovDelivery.
What happens when bones are discovered on a construction site?
You knew NDDOT builds roads and bridges, but did you also know that in addition to technicians, operators and engineers, we have archeologists on staff? As part of our Cultural Resource Services (CRS) team, this small but mighty team of four is tasked with the important job of ensuring that all NDDOT projects comply with North Dakota Century Code and federal laws like the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
These dedicated and passionate individuals work with various stakeholders such as tribal partners, state and local agencies, and concerned citizens to address cultural and historical concerns about infrastructure and development. Through these partnerships, the NDDOT is able to strike a balance that delivers state-of-the-art infrastructure for the future while preserving the rich tapestry and cultural mosaic of our collective past.
They complete identification efforts for many cultural resources, review reports on cultural resource surveys, work with stakeholders to assess the potential effects of projects, and follow through with any needed resolution of adverse effects on cultural resources.
If a project has the potential for exposure of previously unidentified significant resources or burials, the team will work to ensure monitoring of construction. Prior to a project beginning, work is done to identify and avoid significant cultural resources on NDDOT road projects, gravel pits, parking and staging areas, and access roads.
For all NDDOT-involved projects, there are a series of guidelines contractors and employees must follow when cultural remains (architectural and artifacts) are encountered on projects.
Examples of architectural remains found on project sites:
- Old building foundations
- Native American stone features such as circles or animal shapes.
Examples of Artifacts found on project sites:
- Native American stone tools, arrow, or spear points, and grinding stones
- Examples of Historic items found on project sites:
- Glass items like canning jars or bottles, ceramic dishes, and crockery
- Building materials like nails or window glass
- Metal tools
- Machine parts
Recently, during the replacement of the County Highway 2 bridge in Mayville, going over Goose River, bison bones were discovered. When the discovery was made the following steps were taken:
- All construction near the bones was ordered to stop immediately.
- The CRS team was contacted, and an archeologist was sent to the site right away to assess the situation; determining the species of bones found, where they might have come from, and if there could potentially be additional bones in the area.
- The bones were then documented, photographed, and sent to the State Historical Society.
Fortunately, it was not human remains that were found. When that is the case, the county sheriff’s office is called, and several other steps are required prior to resuming construction.
Despite being a smaller team, our archeologists have nearly 60 years of combined experience in the field and play a crucial role in the successful completion of NDDOT projects across the state and the preservation of North Dakota’s rich history.