The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded the Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory (TOPS Lab) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) a two-year $625,000 grant to create a Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) Center.
Wisconsin has 11 federally recognized tribes, the most of any state east of the Mississippi River.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) will work through the TTAP Center to support transportation investments on tribal lands and other tribal initiatives.
The agency’s Tribal Affairs program works on tribal relations and transportation-related issues. The agency’s efforts include dual-language highway signs, an Inter-Tribal Task Force, a Tribal Labor Advisory Committee, and an annual Tribal Transportation Conference.
The task force is a policy advisory group focused on transportation issues impacting tribal communities.
The committee develops strategies to enhance Native American job opportunities on state and federal highway projects and other transportation projects.
The conference features presentations on safety, business and labor, cultural and environmental and general transportation programs.
Other efforts include projects that focus on historic preservation and environmental issues, and WisDOT Region Tribal Liaisons.
The UW-Madison TOPS Lab could receive $300,000 annually for three years to continue the TTAP Center if the Federal Highway Administration renews the grant.