08.19.13

Hoeven, Officials Celebrate Completion of 55th Street Bridge

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

MINOT, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven joined state and city officials today to celebrate the opening of Minot’s new 55th Street Bridge, marking the completion of the $26.2 million 55th Street Northeast Bridge and Bypass project designed to alleviate traffic congestion and meet the infrastructure needs of the growing Minot area.

Hoeven worked to secure $20 million in U.S. Department of Transportation funding for the bridge and bypass project. The senator personally contacted former 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 needed to complete the project.

  • Funding for the project is as follows:
  • Federal DOT funding $20 million
  • BNSF Railway funding $1.5 million
  • Local government funding $3.3 million
  • State of North Dakota funding $1.4 million

TOTAL: $26.2 million

“Today’s ceremony marks an important milestone for the growing Minot area,” said Hoeven. “The completion of the 55th Street Northeast Bridge and Bypass project provides a needed, important piece of infrastructure for the city to help accommodate increased traffic and facilitate intermodal shipping. This project was made possible through the collaboration of local, state, federal and private partners, including $20 million in federal Department of Transportation funding we secured in Congress.”

City and county officials sought to build the bypass and 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 opening of the 55th Street Bridge marks the completion of the larger 55th Street Northeast Bridge and Bypass project. The new forty-foot wide, 1,100-foot long bridge provides a necessary overpass for traffic, and especially trucks, to move more efficiently over BNSF Railway’s busy rail line that serves the city’s intermodal and connect with the Northeast Bypass. The bypass, which opened last year and now routes traffic around the northeast side of town, was the second leg of the overall project. 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 Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Rep. Kevin Cramer, Gov. Jack Dalrymple, Minot Mayor Curt Zimbelman, N.D. Department of Transportation Director Grant Levi and Ward County Commission vice chairman Jerome Gruenberg.