January 25, 2017
Council hears golf course plans
By Jerry W. Kram
It was known that the Edgewater Golf Course was going to get a makeover, but the New Town City Council got the first peek at what the new layout will be at its last regular meeting.
Last summer, it was determined that the truck reliever route for North Dakota Highway 23 was going to go through New Town’s only golf course. Locating the road to the east of the course would impinge too closely on a residential area. Routes that would have skirted the west edge of the course were nixed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which controls the land along the shores of Lake Sakakawea.
The preferred option would direct the road straight through the middle of the golf course, eliminating three holes. The current country club building is also right in the middle of the proposed road.
Under federal law, the NDDOT must replace any facilities that are destroyed to make way for a new highway at its own expense. It must also maintain the facility’s operations during construction. What that means in this case, is that the state of North Dakota will have to replace the three holes that will be eliminated and the clubhouse before it will be allowed to start construction on the bypass extension.
Representatives of the NDDOT presented the city council with a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines what steps the state will take to mitigate the losses from the construction of the bypass. The council agreed to sign the MOU and proceed with the project.
Last summer, it was determined that the truck reliever route for North Dakota Highway 23 was going to go through New Town’s only golf course. Locating the road to the east of the course would impinge too closely on a residential area. Routes that would have skirted the west edge of the course were nixed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which controls the land along the shores of Lake Sakakawea.
The preferred option would direct the road straight through the middle of the golf course, eliminating three holes. The current country club building is also right in the middle of the proposed road.
Under federal law, the NDDOT must replace any facilities that are destroyed to make way for a new highway at its own expense. It must also maintain the facility’s operations during construction. What that means in this case, is that the state of North Dakota will have to replace the three holes that will be eliminated and the clubhouse before it will be allowed to start construction on the bypass extension.
Representatives of the NDDOT presented the city council with a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines what steps the state will take to mitigate the losses from the construction of the bypass. The council agreed to sign the MOU and proceed with the project.
