Bridge funding is on the minds of government leaders on both sides of the river. The Grand Forks County Commission on Tuesday agreed to work with the MPO on a federal grant to help pay for a bridge at Merrifield Road. The deadline to submit the funding application is April 16th.
County Engineer Nick West says there is a catch with federal funding – it requires a local share. He says the latest bridge estimate is $31 million dollars.
In East Grand Forks the city council last night (Tuesday) approved a resolution requesting federal funding for a neighborhood bridge as part of the Community Project Funding program. The resolution did not list a bridge location.
On Tuesday an Ad Hoc committee charged with taking a deep dive into transportation pattern changes between Grand Forks and East Grand Forks with a new bridge got together for the first time today (Tuesday).
The group is comprised of local government officials…members of the business community…and neighborhood representatives to work with the M-P-O and consultants on the analysis.
The focus of the study is a medium height bridge at Elks and 32nd Avenue South. M-P-O’s Earl Haugen says the two sites appear to be the most promising based on hydrological studies.
The goal is to finalize the report by October-November.
A website has been created to provide updates to the study at www.forks2forksbridge.com/Info.
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