Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP)

Road Scholar Program

The Road Scholar Program was designed to serve as a core knowledge base for those actively involved with Indiana's local roads. This program provides attendees with foundational information about road care and allows opportunities for networking with peers and industry leaders.

Participants attend 12 core courses, elective conferences and workshops to accrue credit hours. Once the 12 courses are complete and 300 credit hours have been obtained, participants are awarded the title of Road Builder. The title of Master Road Builder is awarded once 600 credit hours have been accrued.

The 12 core Road Scholar courses are offered on a rotating basis over periods of approximately two years. Each time a course is offered, the presentations are tailored to the most relevant and current material for the subject.

How to Enroll

Visit your profile on our Learning Management Sytem, click the white lock under Road Builder. Then, click the green button ("Enroll in Road Scholar") on the dialog box. 

Core Courses

All Road Scholar participants must complete each of 12 core courses, which form the knowledge base for the program. These include:

  • Core Course #1 – Asset Management for Street and Highway Departments: Learn the concepts of asset management as it relates to local transportation agencies. These concepts will include the principles, benefits, requirements and implementation of a successful asset management program.
  • Core Course #2 – Liability and Risk Management: Discuss tort liability claims and transportation liability and learn OSHA requirements and commercial driver's license (CDL) requirements.
  • Core Course #3 – Highway Funding: Learn the inner workings of the Motor Vehicle Highway (MVH) account, Local Road and Street (LRS) account and several other local and federal sources of highway and street revenue.
  • Core Course #4 – Public Purchasing: Receive updates from the State Board of Accounts and learn proper protocol for emergency purchasing.
  • Core Course #5 – Roadway Safety: Learn low-cost safety measures that can greatly decrease crash rates on local roads. Learn how to obtain crash data and how to put it to good use.
  • Core Course #6 – Basics of a Good Road: Learn the fundamentals of road design, how to select concrete and asphalt materials, and basic drainage laws. 

  • Core Course #7 – Temporary Traffic Control: Learn the safety requirements for developing a temporary traffic control plan for worksites, as well as implementation and design of a work zone. 

  • Core Course #8 – MUTCD: Learn how to use the Indiana Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. 

  • Core Course #9 – Bridge Basics: Discuss basic structure types, bridge terminology, design, maintenance, inspection and funding. 

  • Core Course #10 – Drainage: Discuss drainage laws, basic hydrology, structure types, and hydraulic design and sizing. 

  • Core Course #11 – Road and Bridge Plan Reading: Learn vocabulary, symbol definitions, and specifications for bridges and roads. 

  • Core Course #12 – Estimating Local Road Maintenance Work: A math refresher followed by lessons in calculating area, volume, quantities and costs.

Elective Courses

  • All other LTAP training events are considered electives and will be given credit according to the number of hours of training provided. Half-day and full-day workshops will typically be worth three and six credit hours, respectively. Credits given for multiple-day events vary by event.

On-the-Job Credits

  • The value of on-the-job work experience with a local government agency or office is recognized and will be given credit at the rate of 30 hours for each year of experience. This is similar to the work experience requirement for registration as a professional engineer. Up to 300 credit hours can be earned through work experience.