The North Dakota Department of Transportation will spend between $350 million and $400 million during the summer road construction season.
"It's pretty significant," said DOT office of operations director Wayde Swenson. "It's not like the last few years, where we were in the heyday of the oil boom. But it's still a significant amount of money being spent this summer."
Swenson said some of the larger projects include work on the Sheyenne interchange on I-94 in the Fargo area, continued work on the Kennedy Bridge in Grand Forks, work on the Highway 20 bridge in Devils Lake, as well as some projects on I-94 in the Jamestown and Medora areas, and I-29 south of Fargo.
Swenson said construction will also begin on the northwest bypass in the city of New Town. It’s a two year project. But he said that project is a little different.
"We're actually taking over some of the golf course there," Swenson said. "So we have to build a few holes for them before we can start working on the roadway."
Swenson said workers at those construction sites complain about speeding and/or distracted drivers. He’s reminding drivers to be extra cautious in those work zones.
"Something you drive through in the morning can change a lot before you drive through in the afternoon," Swenson said. "The public needs to have their awareness a little more heightened when they drive through. And that means putting down their phones, and slowing up through those work zones."
Swenson said no traffic fatalities were reported in work zones in 2017 – and he hopes that trend continues.
