Latest news with #NDDOT
The Drive
06-08-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
North Dakota's New 80 MPH Highways Come With Lower Limits Elsewhere
The latest car news, reviews, and features. As of this month, North Dakota has increased interstate highway speed limits from 75 mph to 80 mph on its many long, straight stretches of open road. At the same time, the limit was brought down to 70 near some population centers. I like this concept. For my coastal elitist friends reading this, yes, ND has population centers. Specifically, in this case, we're talking about Dickinson, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Medora, and Valley City, as confirmed by the NDDOT to the local publication, the Argus Leader. (But of course, the state's population is pretty sparse—only about 800,000 humans are living across its 70,698 square miles, making it the fourth-least-densely populated state in the union.) ND is also adjusting speeding fines (via House Bill 1298). Where the limit is 65 or higher, you can be ticketed $20, or $5 per mph (whichever is greater), and there's an extra $20 fee for speed clocked more than 16 mph over the limit. So if police catch you at 97 mph in an 80 zone in North Dakota, that's a $105 penalty. US Census Fines went up a little bit on slower roads, too—where the limit is less than 65, it's $20 or $3 for each mile per hour over the limit, whichever is greater. At the risk of sounding elitist myself, that sounds like a pretty modest fee for high-speed highway travel. But the real pain you feel as a motorist in America is the insurance hikes you're hit with after a traffic stop. That can be a rant for another day. I have mixed feelings about speed limits and their enforcement. Where I live in rural New York, speed limits are preposterously low and arbitrarily enforced, creating inconsistent speed deltas and traffic stops in dangerous areas. However, the IIHS spent a long time studying speed limits a few years ago and concluded that a 5 mph increase in limits does indeed lead to more fatalities. NDDOT on Facebook Poppy Mills Whether a 5 mph increase in some spots, but a 5 mph decrease in others, will cancel that out in North Dakota remains to be seen, I guess. But practically speaking, the idea of being able to travel swiftly on long, open straightaways through open country while reducing speeds through junctions and settlements makes a lot of sense to me. I've lost count of how many times I've driven all the way across the USA, and I say bring on the American autobahn. Just keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel when you're covering 117 feet every second. With North Dakota's limit change, there are now nine states with 80 mph speed limits. Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming all have spots where you can legally do 80, and Texas has a few where the limit is as high as 85. Got opinions on speed limits? Let's talk about it, my email is
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
South Washington Street down to two lanes at 28th Avenue South beginning June 30
Jun. 27—GRAND FORKS — South Washington Street will see lane closures at 28th Avenue South beginning June 30. The project will focus on turn lane work. The lane closures are expected to last through July 6. During construction, Washington Street will be down to one lane in each direction and traffic on 28th Avenue will only be able to make right turns at the intersection. Northbound Washington Street traffic will return to normal beginning July 6 but but southbound traffic impacts will continue past July 6. The North Dakota Department of Transportation is leading the project and will extend the left turn lanes to allow for additional queueing space. NDDOT will also do concrete panel replacement. The project will cost $209,965, with the city of Grand Forks spending roughly $15,400. The rest of the funds come from state and federal funding sources.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
At least $90 million expected to be put into 42nd Street underpass project
Apr. 28—GRAND FORKS — Discussions between the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration continue as the expected construction date of the 42nd Street underpass nears. Those discussions center on the $30 million grant that is being received for the project. NDDOT, which is the lead agency for the project, had asked if there were additional funds for the project to maintain the same funding level, as costs had increased since the grant was awarded as part of the 2022 Federal Railroad Crossing Elimination program. The FRA said that was not possible, but conversations continue about finalizing the grant paperwork. "We've had a little bit more back and forth on that," Grand Forks Assistant City Engineer David Kuharenko said. "They're looking for some additional documentation, so that hasn't been signed yet either, and that's the one we have to have signed before we can proceed on the right-of-way acquisition." Additional funding from the state was announced in March by Gov. Kelly Armstrong to ensure that the project gets completed . Those funds total $20 million out of NDDOT Flex Funds. Between Grand Forks, NDDOT, BNSF and federal funds, the project is currently projected to cost $90 million. The sources of funds currently planned include: * $30 million from the FRA grant. * $7.5 million in federal funds NDDOT receives. * $4.2 million in non-federal NDDOT funds. * $20 million from the NDDOT Flex Fund. * $1.5 million from BNSF. * $18.5 million from the city of Grand Forks. * $5.2 million from Grand Forks' urban roads program, a federal source that requires a local match. * $3.1 million in local match dollars to the urban roads program. These sources still have to be finalized in the cost participation, construction and maintenance agreement. The current plan would have those before the Grand Forks City Council for consideration sometime this summer. For the urban roads program, those funds were previously earmarked for the reconstruction of South 48th Street, but are likely going to be reallocated to fund this project. Construction for the project is expected to begin in 2026 and last through 2028. Approval of design, plans, and bids is expected to occur this summer and into fall. The design is roughly 90% complete, but there have been delays in right-of-way acquisition because of the back and forth with the FRA about grant funding. The project will dramatically change the layout of the intersection of DeMers Avenue and 42nd Street. The preliminary designs show 42nd Street going under both DeMers Avenue and the BNSF railroad tracks. A "jughandle" will connect 42nd Street with DeMers Avenue across what is now the northwest corner of UND's Ray Richards Golf Course. As an added complexity to the project, one of the city's major water pipes runs under the intersection. The golf course likely will be closed for the entirety of the planned two-year construction. The course will be reconfigured as part of the construction, and at the same time, UND is considering plans to redevelop part of the course into apartments and a new home for the UND golf team. Improving the intersection has been a long-sought priority for Grand Forks. Addressing the intersection has been discussed for over 30 years, but the project has really been making its way through its design and planning stages in the last decade. The intersection has seen more complaints than any other rail crossing in North Dakota, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said when he visited the site in 2023. Two major thoroughfares and BNSF rail converge and cause traffic congestion and concerns for both emergency responders, UND and the city.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NDDOT expects to have plans ready in 2026 for intersection, Business Loop West in Jamestown
Feb. 19—JAMESTOWN — The North Dakota Department of Transportation is expected to have plans ready to go to bid by May 1, 2026, for a project to reconstruct a major intersection and road in Jamestown, according to Wayne Zacher, urban engineer for the NDDOT. The project would reconstruct the U.S. Highway 52 and 10th Street Southeast intersection and Business Loop West from 4th Avenue Southwest to 10th Street Southeast. The two bridges on Business Loop West will also be replaced. The project includes restriping 1st Avenue South from 7th to 10th Street Southeast to help match the configuration of the Road Diet project further north in the downtown area. The NDDOT has not made a final decision on the options for the U.S. Highway 52 and 10th Street Southeast intersection and the reconstruction of Business Loop West from 4th Avenue Southwest to 10th Street Southeast. Mayor Dwaine Heinrich said the NDDOT made a recommendation to the Jamestown City Council and the council unanimously agreed with its recommendation. The recommendation included a roundabout for the U.S. Highway 52 and 10th Street Southeast intersection and a five-lane road with a two-way left-turn lane for Business Loop West, which is similar to the existing road. Zacher said the NDDOT wants everything ready for the project to go to bid by May 1, 2026. He said the project is expected to use funds for 2027. He said the NDDOT's consultant has received multiple recommendations for the options. "The consultant is actually working through the comments and recommendations that were received during the draft document review, and then once those are incorporated, they'll be resubmitted, and then we will work through our process and up to our deputy director for engineering to make all my decisions on how to move forward with the project," Zacher said. The other three alternatives for the 10th Street Intersection are a radial T, double crossover and displaced left turns. "I do believe that the roundabout is the best option for that," Heinrich said. "I believe ... that intersection is quite frankly a perfect one for a roundabout." Heinrich said a roundabout will be safer at the intersection. "There have been a fairly good number of accidents there over the past years," he said. "My guess is that that number will be reduced." Heinrich said the roundabout will help prevent traffic congestion in other areas in Jamestown. "You're just going to swap to the roundabout a little bit and move on right through and keep traffic flowing," he said. " ... It should keep that traffic flowing." He said the city won't have to worry about traffic lights failing at the intersection as well. "There's also the added safety feature here of crosswalks with rapid-flashing beacons on both sides of the road and one in a middle median to make it much easier for pedestrian traffic to pass through there," Heinrich said. The other three alternatives for the reconstruction of Business Loop West are four lanes with full intersection access at all streets with raised medians, four lanes with three-fourths intersection access with a raised median and four-lane right-in and right-out intersection access with a raised median. The estimated cost is nearly $9.2 million for the roundabout and about $6.5 million for the five-lane road with a two-way left-turn lane, according to an NDDOT report with SRF Consulting Group as the principal author. The purpose of the project is to address bridge and pavement condition, vehicular traffic operations and sidewalks for bicyclists or individuals who walk along and adjacent to the U.S. Highway 52 corridor in Jamestown from 7th Street to 4th Avenue Southwest, the NDDOT report says. The report says the city of Jamestown's Land Use and Transportation Plan identifies the need to improve traffic operations and pedestrian comfort at the intersection of 1st Avenue South and 10th Street Southeast. The Land Use and Transportation Plan also identifies the need to address gaps in the sidewalk and trail system in the general area. The roundabout option includes a single-lane roundabout and single-lane bypass lanes for all three approaches. It also includes two-lane entries to all streets. The bypass lanes would have medians painted on pavement separating them from the circular roadway. The roundabout will include raised medians to separate lanes opposing directions of traffic and to help create a refuge for pedestrians, the report says. Painted medians between the roundabout and bypass lanes will reduce the total pedestrian crossing distances. The roundabout option requires the acquisition of permanent right of way from northeast properties and parking space reconfiguration. The properties include the former Hardee's and the building that houses Cornerstone Nutrition and Kropp Law Offices P.C. The five-lane option is similar to what currently exists on Business Loop West, the report says. Tenth Street Southwest and Riverside Drive would be realigned so vehicles can easily cross Business Loop West. The five-lane option also has two protected pedestrian crossings adjacent to U.S. Highway 52. Portions of the two-way left-turn lane may be removed at potential pedestrian crossing locations to allow for the construction of a pedestrian refuge. All side-street and mainline vehicle movements will be permitted at public intersections. The estimated cost of the five-lane option is about $6.5 million. The radial T includes two lanes for southbound and westbound traffic going westbound. It would include one lane for eastbound traffic going northbound, eastbound going eastbound, southbound going eastbound and westbound going northbound. It would also include one traffic signal and pedestrian crossings. The estimated cost is more than more than $8.7 million for the radial T intersection. The double crossover includes three traffic signals with pedestrian crossings. Left-turn movements would cross over at two signals. Only right turns would be allowed to get onto 2nd Avenue Southeast or get off that street. The estimated cost is more than $9.3 million for the double crossover intersection. The intersection with the displaced left turns includes westbound left-turn movements that would cross over at the east signal. The intersection would include two traffic signals with pedestrian crossings. Only right turns would be allowed to get onto 2nd Avenue Southeast or get off that street. The estimated cost is more than $9.3 million for the displaced left turns intersection. The other three alternatives for the reconstruction of Business Loop West are four lanes with full intersection access at all streets with raised medians, four lanes with three-fourths intersection access with a raised median and four-lane right-in and right-out intersection access with a raised median. The four-lane option with full intersection includes installing raised medians from 4th Avenue Southwest to 10th Street Southwest and from 10th Street Southwest to 2nd Avenue Southwest. Tenth Street Southwest and Riverside Drive would be realigned. There would be a left-turn lane for eastbound and westbound traffic to turn onto 10th Street Southwest. The estimated cost is $6.4 million for the four-lane option with a full intersection including raised medians. The four-lane option with three-fourths intersection access includes installing raised medians from 4th Avenue Southwest to 10th Street Southwest, 10th Street Southwest to 2nd Avenue Southwest and 2nd Avenue Southwest to the 10th Street Southeast intersection. Traffic from 4th Avenue Southwest, 10th Street Southwest and 2nd Avenue Southwest would only be able to make right turns to get onto Business Loop West. There would be a left-turn lane for eastbound and westbound traffic to turn onto 10th Street Southwest. A left-turn lane for westbound traffic would also be added to turn onto 2nd Avenue Southwest. The estimated cost is more than $6.4 million for the four-lane option with three-fourths intersection. The four-lane right-in and right-out intersection option includes installing a median from the bottom of Mill Hill to the 10th Street Southeast intersection. Only right turns would be allowed for traffic on 4th Avenue Southwest, 10th Street Southwest, Riverside Drive and 2nd Avenue Southwest. The estimated cost is about $5.9 million for the four-lane right-in and right-out intersection option.
