Welcome to the Western Transportation Institute

Founded in 1994 by the Montana and California Departments of Transportation in cooperation with Montana State University-Bozeman (MSU), the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) has grown from a small, university research office into a nationally recognized center of excellence in rural transportation research and education.  The U.S. Department of Transportation designated WTI as a University Transportation Center (UTC) in 1998. This status has helped WTI achieve a national reputation for developing effective solutions to the real transportation challenges facing rural America. Renamed a UTC in 2005, WTI continues to develop and enhance the capabilities and expertise of its research program, the size and diversity of its educational programs, and the effectiveness and reach of its technology transfer program. WTI's research focuses on safety and operations, winter maintenance and effects, road ecology, infrastructure maintenance and materials, systems engineering development and integration, mobility and public transportation, logistics and freight management, and transportation planning and economics. It has research and demonstration projects in more than 30 states.

Located in the College of Engineering at MSU, the Center currently occupies 16,000 square feet in a building leased by MSU on the southern edge of the campus.  This space is used for office, laboratory, and meeting/training purposes.   The Center also has professional staff and student office space in Cobleigh Hall, which is one of three interconnected engineering buildings at MSU.  Approximately 30 professional staff and faculty and 30 students work out of these two facilities.  A large (200 acres) field test facility is currently under development in Lewistown, Mont., and eventually some personnel may be temporarily assigned to this site. WTI has an annual budget exceeding $5 million.