Transportation along the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway in western North Dakota will be the topic of a series of public input meetings scheduled for today and Thursday.

The designated route begins in Rapid City, S.D., and runs along U.S. Highway 85 north to Williston, where it turns to follow U.S. Highway 2 and then up Montana Highway 16 into Canada. It is the northern third of a highway network known as the Ports-to-Plains Alliance. Including the Ports-to-Plains Trade Corridor and the Heartland Expressway, the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway is part of a 2,300-plus mile, nine-state multi-lane divided highway system connecting Mexico with Canada.

Increasing numbers of heavy trucks on the roadways have placed stress on a highway system that was put into place when North Dakota's main source of freight traffic was agriculture. However, with the advent of the oil and gas boom that came to the state in recent years, oversized loads have become all too common, with now-infamous impacts on the condition of many township, county, state and federal highways.

The Theodore Roosevelt Expressway runs directly through Williston, which has long been home to numerous oilfield service and transportation companies. Traffic in that area has only increased as activities did, with a swell of almost explosive proportions once companies began to develop effective strategies to exploit the massive Bakken shale formation located in most of western North Dakota and eastern Montana.

Kadrmas, Lee and Jackson Inc. and Ulteig Engineers have been chosen to conduct the study, which is sponsored by the North Dakota Department of Transportation and Williams County.

The study will be conducted in three phases. The first phase will consist of the public input meetings, designed to inform the public and to identify the transportation needs along the corridor. Representatives of the N.D. Department of Transportation, Williams County, Kadrmas, Lee and Jackson Inc., and Ulteig Engineers will be on hand at the meetings to provide information and to respond to questions and discuss any concerns with members of the public.

Meetings are scheduled to be held in Bowman and Belfield today. Additional meetings will be held Thursday in Watford City and Williston. The Watford City meeting will take place at City Hall, located on Second Street Northeast, from noon to 2 p.m. (CDT). Then, from 5 to 7 p.m. (CDT), a meeting will be held at Williston State College, located 1410 University Ave., Room 106.

Phases II and III will be the development of a corridor master plan and environmental document, respectively. Any projects that might arise will be subject to the amended National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and any other applicable environmental regulations.

"The corridor study will define the purpose of recommended improvements and prepare projects for entry into the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program of other implementation strategies," according to the official Web site of the expressway group, located at (www.trexpressway.com). "The end product of the corridor study may be a proposed package of strategies and improvements to achieve the goals for the corridor and promote the safe and efficient movement of people, goods and services."

For anyone unable to attend the public input meetings, written statements and comments can be submitted by mailing Bob Shannon, project manager for Kadrmas, Lee and Jackson, at 128 Soo Line Dr., Bismarck, ND 58501, or by e-mail at bob.shannon@kljeng.com with "TRE Public Input Meeting" in the subject line.