10.18.12

Hoeven, City, State Officials Celebrate Completion of Minot’s 55th St. Northeast Bypass, First Leg of Larger Project

Senator Worked to Secure $20 Million in Funding for Major Infrastructure Project

MINOT, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven was joined by state and city officials today to celebrate the opening of Minot’s new 55th Street Northeast Bypass, a seven-mile long stretch of highway that will help reduce traffic congestion and support intermodal shipping for the growing city.

Hoeven worked to secure a total of $20 million in U.S. Department of Transportation funding for the $26.4 million project. That included $14.13 million in competitive Tiger II grant funding, which Hoeven worked to make available for the 2011 construction season. He personally contacted Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and worked with the city, county and state Transportation Department to make sure all requirements were met to secure the federal funding, which otherwise would have been delayed or possibly lost for the city.

Funding for the project is as follows:

 

  • Federal DOT funding                       $20 million
  • Local government  funding              $3.4 million
  • BNSF Railway funding                      $1.5 million
  • State of North Dakota funding        $1.5 million

TOTAL:         $26.4 million

“This $26.4 million Minot bypass/bridge project would not be happening without the $20 million in federal funding we secured to make it happen,” Hoeven said. “It’s exciting to see phase one, the bypass, open and we look forward to completion of the bridge project to not only facilitate traffic, but also help the port of Minot with intermodal shipping.”

City and county officials sought to build the bypass and an overpass because of heightened economic activity at the city’s intermodal facility due to growing oil production in western North Dakota, as well as increased commerce at the Minot Agriculture Park.

The bypass, which will route traffic around the northeast side of town, is the first leg of the larger Minot Bypass/Bridge project; the second leg, a forty-foot wide, 1,100- foot long bridge over BNSF Railway’s busy rail line serving the city’s intermodal, will be completed next year. Together, they will provide improved access to the city’s Great Plains Energy Park, Agriculture Park, Port of North Dakota Intermodal rail facility and the BNSF Railway rail complex, while reducing traffic congestion within the city.

Also attending today’s ceremony were Gov. Jack Dalrymple, Minot Mayor Curt Zimbelman, N.D. Department of Transportation Director Francis Ziegler and Ward County Commission Chairman John Fjeldahl.