Two transportation experts were recently added to the staff of NDSU’s Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute to assist local transportation planning and investments in Dunn, McKenzie, Mountrail and Williams Counties and with the Mandan Hidatasa Arikara Nation.

Matthew Johnson and Ed Ryen will be located in Williston, North Dakota, and affiliated with UGPTI’s ND Local Technical Assistance Program in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Johnson is the Western North Dakota transportation liaison. He has more than 26 years of experience in the transportation industry, serving as a project engineer with Wold Engineering in Bottineau, North Dakota. He operated his own construction engineering firm, MJ Consulting, from 2018 to 2020. Johnson will help local officials plan and enhance their regional efforts and transportation investments.

Ryen is the western transportation liaison. He has more than 40 years in transportation engineering, bringing valuable knowledge in construction, bridge inspections, planning, emergency operations and highway technology. He will assist further implementation of the Wise Road Weather station and the Toward 365 project. He will also assist with project and regional planning, help with the Geographic Roadway Inventory Tool (GRIT) data entry, and share best practices with local governments in the region.

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