Transportation meeting set for New Town
Transportation meeting set for New Town
By Jerry W. Kram
Every week it seems to take longer and longer to get anywhere. The quick trip from Parshall to New Town has become a major undertaking thanks to much needed repairs and widening work being done on North Dakota Highway 23.
In fact, roads across much of the oil patch are either being patched up or rebuilt because of the pounding they have been taking from thousands of trucks and other vehicles in the region. With construction work being done on North Dakota Highway 8, North Dakota Highway 22, U.S. Highway 2 and U.S. Highway 83, it is almost impossible to get anywhere in the region without going through a construction zone.
Once all the work is finished, roads in the region will hopefully be smoother, wider and safer – at least until the next construction season. The future of North Dakota’s road system will be the subject of nearly two dozen public meetings across the state as the North Dakota Department of Transportation holds public input meetings. The final meeting of the series will be held in the Arikara Room at the Four Bears Casino and Lodge on Thursday, August 2 from 1-3 p.m.
The plan, which is called TransAction III, is a statewide strategic transportation policy being developed by the NDDOT. The plan has two purposes: to develop and promote a shared transportation vision and to define a set of goals and values that will guide the future development of our state’s transportation system.
Along with the drastic changes in the oil industry, the plan will address changes in other sectors of the economy in North Dakota including agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. It also will take into account how the state highway system interacts with other transportation services such as railroads and airports. It will also address the issue of the size of the state’s road system and cost of maintaining and improving that system.
