Jun. 12—GRAND FORKS — Road construction projects throughout the region are going as planned with no unexpected delays, according to an assistant district engineer with the North Dakota Department of Transportation.
“The weather’s been cooperating pretty good for all of us so far,” Assistant District Engineer Jesse Kadrmas said. “It’s been hot for all our staff on the field, obviously, but as far as weather goes, it has been good for construction.”
One project repairing damage caused by a 2019 landslide planned for Interstate 29 accepted contractor bids on Friday, June 9.
A recent NDDOT project plan had to be scaled back
after only one bid was offered at well above budget. Kadrmas hoped this bid opening will be more successful.
“Hopefully we can get some competitive bids there — at least more than one bidder — and hopefully it’s within the engineer’s estimate,” Kadrmas said.
The project, an Interstate 29 landslide repair north of U.S. 2 in Grand Forks, has no tentative start date.
Though most of NDDOT’s summer projects are well underway, a few mill and overlay projects don’t have finalized start dates, including:
* N.D. 66 from Crystal to near St. Thomas
* U.S. 81 from north of Minto to Grafton
* N.D. 17 from Grafton to the Red River
Mill and overlays are considered routine maintenance. A layer of asphalt is removed from the roadway and a new one is poured.
Generally this season, it’s been so far, so good, Kadrmas said.
Various bridge deck overlays began in May. There are three on Interstate 29: the Merrifield Separation, Johnstown Interchange and southbound Pembina River Bridge. At times, traffic on the southbound Pembina River Bridge is reduced to single lanes of smaller width, with traffic control present.
Another bridge deck overlay project is on U.S. 81 Forest River Bridge, near Minto.
On N.D. 5 near Cavalier, a pipe installation, grading and seeding project is ongoing and expected to conclude in mid-July.
On Interstate 29, near Exit 203, northbound and southbound structures will be replaced. The project began in May, and traffic is now one-lane in each direction, moving head-to-head. Flaggers are used at times. The project is anticipated to finish by mid-September.
Near Petersburg, on U.S. 2, one lane is closed in each direction for a bridge replacement.
“We’re hoping to have … the (new) bridge portion completed by October and opened up to the traffic,” Kadrmas said.
The old bridge’s removal is planned for next spring.
Within construction zones, especially throughout urban areas, drivers who don’t pay attention can end up in collisions, Kadrmas said. Other than cones, there’s not a lot to protect construction workers in and around the roadways.
“We have to make sure all our workers come home safely at the end of the night,” Kadrmas said.
Drivers shouldn’t look at their phones while driving at any time, but especially when they’re in a construction zone, he added.
“Five seconds of looking at your phone, driving at 55 miles an hour, is the equivalent of driving (the) whole length of a football field,” Kadrmas said. “I don’t think people realize the distance they drive when they’re looking down at their phone.”