November 7, 2019
Mission Accomplished: Bypass finally complete
By Jerry W. Kram
More than seven years and tens of millions of dollars later, the final leg of the New Town Bypass is complete.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) together with the city of New Town and other federal, state, tribal and local officials celebrated the completion of the Northwest Truck Reliever Route north of New Town Friday.
The truck route, a $30.3 million project, is the final portion of the truck reliever route around New Town. The truck reliever route diverts traffic from 1804 to ND 23 west of New Town. NDDOT previously completed the northeast side of the truck reliever route in 2014.
New Town Mayor Dan Uran said the need for the bypass became obvious when the city was preparing for the renovation of Main Street in 2011. It quickly became obvious that the project couldn’t go forward with the amount of traffic that was rolling down North Dakota Highway 23. The city council considered building a truck reliever route on its own.
“We quickly realized that was beyond the scope of our resources,” Uran said. “So I and some of our representatives and officials got together with the then head of the DOT and the first leg of the bypass was started.”
The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) together with the city of New Town and other federal, state, tribal and local officials celebrated the completion of the Northwest Truck Reliever Route north of New Town Friday.
The truck route, a $30.3 million project, is the final portion of the truck reliever route around New Town. The truck reliever route diverts traffic from 1804 to ND 23 west of New Town. NDDOT previously completed the northeast side of the truck reliever route in 2014.
New Town Mayor Dan Uran said the need for the bypass became obvious when the city was preparing for the renovation of Main Street in 2011. It quickly became obvious that the project couldn’t go forward with the amount of traffic that was rolling down North Dakota Highway 23. The city council considered building a truck reliever route on its own.
“We quickly realized that was beyond the scope of our resources,” Uran said. “So I and some of our representatives and officials got together with the then head of the DOT and the first leg of the bypass was started.”
