The North Dakota Legislature is now in session and the bills have moved to the House and Senate Chambers after Crossover.  The Transportation Bill 2012 is now over on the House side and the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway had good success with the Senate.

State Senate Approves NDDOT Budget including Funds for Hwy 85

Members of the ND Senate Appropriations Committee voted unanimously on February 21, 2025 to approve SB 2012, the biennial budget of the ND Department of Transportation, which includes a $100 million line item to pay for four-laning a six-mile section of Highway 85 south of the Long X Bridge the Bill also provided matching funds for the 55M grant for the Piece from Highway 200 to the Six Mile Long X section. The bill was then approved unanimously on the full ND Senate on February 24, 2025. The bill also directs NDDOT to prepare an environmental impact statement for the portion of Highway 85 from I-94 to the South Dakota border, and a section of Highway 2 between Williston and the Montana state line. The bill will now move to consideration by the ND House of Representatives.

Below is the status report for the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway prepared by the Ports to Plains Alliance (Joe Kiely)

     South Dakota • Four-lane Divided Highway from Nebraska Stateline to I-90 at Rapid City • Interstate Highway (I-90) from Rapid City to Spearfish • Four-lane Divided Highway on US 85 from Spearfish to north of Belle Fourche • Two-Lane north of Belle Fourche to the North Dakota Stateline

 North Dakota •   Replaced the Lewis & Clark Bridge over the Missouri River near Williston • Replaced the Long X Bridge over the Little Missouri River • Completed an Environmental Impact Statement and received a Record of Decision to clear the National Environmental Policy Act requires on U.S. 85 from Williston south to I-94 (Belfield) • Replaced the Long X Bridge with four-lane replacement over the Little Missouri River • Completed Four-lane Divided Highway from Willison to Long X Bridge • Stabilized the Horseshoe Bend landslide near the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. • Completed Reliever Route at Willison, Alexander and Watford City • Started the survey, project development, utility engineering, permitting, and preliminary right of way planning for the segment between ND Highway 200 and Long X Bridge. • Received a $55 million discretionary grant from Federal Highway Administration for the construction of the four-lane facility between ND Highway 200 and reference point 120 (beginning of the badlands). Anticipated bid date in the Fall of 2025. • Started the survey, project development, utility engineering, permitting, and preliminary right of way planning for the segment between 1-94 and ND Highway 200.

Montana • Montana STIP 2024-2028 o BAINVILLE - EAST (PE II) (see Regionally Significant Project § This Reconstruction project (6388001) is in design and construction is anticipated in Calendar Year TBD. The estimated cost for construction is $44,000,000. § This project will add two additional lanes to US 2 between Bainville and the ND state line. The roadway will generally be a divided four-lane with limited areas of undivided where constraints prevent construction of a divided roadway. The existing bridge over Shotgun Creek near Bainville will be widened to accommodate the additional lanes. New bridges adjacent to the existing bridges will be constructed at the other two bridge locations to accommodate the additional lanes. Left turn lanes will be constructed at all public road approaches and median crossovers will be built at all private and field approach locations.

Cal Klewin Executive Director

Theodore Roosevelt Expressway Association