The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) boasts a proud history that grew in step with the advancement of the automobile.

It spawned during the Taft Presidency, in 1913, when a three-member panel, headed by Governor L.B. Hanna, styled a State Highway Commission. The car boom quickly overwhelmed the Commission, forcing it in 1917 to balloon to a five-member panel in order to better work the Washington circuit and attract available federal funds. The panel's efforts paid off, for by 1923 more than 1,000 miles of highway had been ribboned across the state.

In 1935, the Commission recognized the need to better monitor its road traffic and began issuing driver's licenses.

The state's highway expansion stalled during World War II when many of North Dakota's engineers exited for the armed services. But when they returned, many had witnessed the advantages and brilliance of Germany's Autobahn, helping ignite the charge for developing an interstate system.

In 1956, the first interstate construction contract in North Dakota was issued for U.S. 10 between Jamestown and Valley City. It was the start of a gargantuan project that continued into the 1980s. When North Dakota's interstate system was finally completed, focus shifted from expansion to maintenance.

In January of 1990, The North Dakota Highway Department revamped its name to the Department of Transportation and, in the process, incorporated the Motor Vehicle Department into its fold under the title of Motor Vehicle Division.

Today NDDOT is divided into eight separate districts: Bismarck, Valley City, Minot, Grand Forks, Fargo, Williston, Dickinson and Devils Lake.

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