ND proposes $22M Hwy 22 improvement

Talk about it

The North Dakota Department of Transportation has recently added a proposed $22 million road improvement plan on North Dakota Highway 22 north of Killdeer.

The project is one part of the NDDOT Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. Many of the projects in this program are in their infancy and do not have specific details, Jamie Olson of the NDDOT communication division said.

The project would span from Killdeer 12.8 miles north and would involve widening, surface repair, addition of turn lanes and some passing lanes, Olson said.

Killdeer Street Commissioner Larry Boepple said the improvements are needed.

“The highway north of Killdeer is getting pretty beat,” he said.

Boepple suspects that an increase in vehicles on the highway is to blame for the rough roads.

“It is a lot of truck traffic,” he said. “The traffic poses a risk. Widening it and adding lanes will certainly help with all the traffic in the area.”

Gary Wright, operations manager of special projects at Stallion Oilfield Service, agrees.

“The larger trucks travel slower because of load weight or companies governing travel speeds and that backs up traffic,” he said. “Any time you can widen roads or add lanes it allows other traffic to pass through safely.”

However, Boepple and Wright were concerned about the quality of repairs done in previous years.

“There are areas on Highway 22 that were worked on last year that are already starting to crumble,” Boepple said.

“Some improvements were made last year, but even that is breaking up,” Wright said.

He added that timing road closures with other construction would be very important.

“Some work could be done on highways 22 and 85, which are the main trucking roads up north,” he said. “There’s a possibility they will be working on both at the same time and that will create a bottleneck, which could make for accidents.”

The plans are still being arranged, but the NDDOT plans on keeping the public informed throughout, Olson said.

“Press releases will be sent out frequently,” she said. “This is just part of the scheduling process.”

For a complete list of projects, go to www.dot.

nd.gov/manuals/manuals-publications.htm

Comments should be sent no later than May 4 to Chad M. Orn at NDDOT, 608 E. Boulevard Ave., Bismarck, ND 58505-0700, or sent via email corn@nd.gov with “2011 State Federal-Aid Roadway Projects” in the subject line.

Tags: hwy 22, news, killdeer, nddot