(North Dakota Monitor) -Expansion of U.S. Highway 85 in western North Dakota is advancing, with officials seeking public comment on a more than 6-mile section that winds through areas of the Badlands and bighorn sheep habitat.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation is completing design work to widen Highway 85 from two lanes to four south of the recently expanded Long X Bridge. The work is part of a larger project to expand Highway 85 between Interstate 94 and Watford City into a four-lane highway.
Matt Gangness, director of the Environmental and Transportation Services Division of the North Dakota Department of Transportation, said planning this section took longer because federal agencies involved have longer processes to acquire easements.
“A lot of this portion of 85 traverses through very difficult terrain in the Badlands,” Gangness said.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation is seeking comments on the effects of the U.S. Highway 85 expansion on lands owned by the U.S. Forest Service.
Comments about the roughly 6-mile section south of Long X Bridge must be submitted by Aug. 8 and can be emailed to Garrett Hartl, a member of the design division at the North Dakota Department of Transportation, at ghartl@nd.gov.
There also are additional stipulations on construction to limit environmental impacts. For example, no construction can occur on U.S. Forest Service land between April 1 to July 15 during bighorn sheep breeding season.
“That was an environmental commitment we made with the Forest Service and their biologists,” Gangness said. “That was kind of a key piece in getting that approved with the Forest Service.”
Three wildlife crossings are planned along the project route, including one already completed near the new Long X Bridge, he said. Up to 150 bighorn sheep and about 1,000 mule deer have been spotted using the arched crossing in both 2022 and 2023, said Gangness, citing North Dakota Game and Fish Department trail cam data.
Additional fencing will be placed near hotspots of animal traffic. Once animals begin using the wildlife crossings, they can become learned behavior for future generations of animals to instinctively use, Gangness said.
The North Dakota Monitor reports that public discussions for four-laning Highway 85 began in 2015 with a more than 200-page Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision released in 2019.
Supporters say the expansion is needed to support the growth of oil truck traffic and increased population in western North Dakota. Some conservation groups have opposed the widening of the highway near the Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Unit and the Little Missouri National Grasslands.
“I think what the state needs to do is do a better job of recognizing that we’re very much promoting recreation in western North Dakota, and we need to recognize the need for habitat protection that also feeds that industry,” said Shannon Straight, executive director of the Badlands Conservation Alliance.
The first project to be completed was the replacement and expansion of the Long X Bridge, which was finished in 2020.
“That bridge had been getting hit by oversized trucks all the time, so there was a lot of maintenance there,” Gangness said.
In 2023, construction began north of Long X Bridge to Watford City, where it will tie into the already established four-lane highway.
The roughly 6-mile section south of the bridge is expected to be built over two construction seasons. Funding for this section of the project is not yet secured and construction is not scheduled. That stretch is estimated to cost $80 million to $100 million, but the actual cost won’t be known until bids for the project are completed.
Because areas of the project route are susceptible to landslides and slope stability issues, the project will require more precautions to ensure construction and the completed roadway are safe for traffic, Gangness said
.
The overall Highway 85 project cost was estimated to cost nearly $480 million in 2018, according to a preliminary cost estimate. That total has increased up to $500 million in 2024 dollars, Gangness said. The project is expected to use a combination of federal and state funds.
In 2026, construction is scheduled to begin between Highway 200 and this 6-mile stretch, which begins at reference post 120.
Construction has not been scheduled for the remaining portion of the project, Highway 200 south to I-94, because funding has not yet been secured, Gangness said.
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