Access road to golf course, lake may move

Talk about it

An access road to both Patterson Lake and the Heart River Golf Course may be moved this spring for safety reasons, a county official said.

The proposed project would take about a mile portion of Eighth Street Southwest which leads up to the Heart River Golf Course and Patterson Lake in Dickinson and move it south onto private property.

The Stark County Sheriff’s Department has responded to three crashes on or related to Eighth Street Southwest from 30th Avenue Southwest to 12th Street Southeast since 2005, according to information from the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

The road that curves around the golf course heading toward a Patterson Lake access would be straightened and then move westward.

“We’re still in the process of working on the right-of-way acquisition,” said Al Heiser, Stark County road superintendent. “If we get everything nailed down, we’re probably going to start on it this spring.”

Heiser said moving and updating the estimated 40- to 50-year-old road will make it safer.

“Pretty much everything the county does is for safety,” Heiser said. “I think there were some close calls last winter, people almost sliding off. If you get going too hectic on that road, it’s quite a ways over the river bank.”

Heiser said in some portions the road would be moved up to 2,000 feet south onto private property owned by a Dickinson woman. Heiser would not release the woman’s name.

The proposed plan would not close down the existing road while the new road is being constructed, he added.

The project is not expected to affect golf course visits, said James Kramer, Dickinson Parks and Recreation director.

“Really the only change for us is it takes the actual road instead running right by our entrance and it’s going to drop it about 100 yards south, but I don’t see it affecting the golf course much at all,” Kramer said. “What it will do is provide us with a dedicated frontage road off of the county road right to the entrance of our facility.”

Heiser said he is not sure how much the project will cost, but said county forces may do the majority of the work.

“Once we get the design done, we’ll have a better idea of how much dirt we’re going to move and we can kind of base it on that,” Heiser said.

Stark County Commissioners are “onboard” with the idea, Heiser said, and he’ll be providing updates as the project progresses.

Tags: patterson lake, heart river golf course, news, local, golf