During a meeting discussing the widening project for U.S. Highway 2 from Culbertson, Mont. to the North Dakota state line, Chairman of the Highway 2 Commission for North Dakota and Williston City Commissioner Brad Bekkedahl said the Governor is prepared to take action if the project is completed as a four-lane highway to the state border.
"The Governor of North Dakota, John Hoeven, called me about two weeks ago and told me...that North Dakota is committed to completing the rest of the four lane, which is about 11 miles, from the Trenton turn off to the border," Bekkedahl said.
The improvement plans for Highway 2 come as part of improving the Great Plains International Trade Corridor, which connects Mexico to Canada running through Texas, stopping on Denver, Colo. and eventually coming up through Williston and cutting over to Montana with a 24-hour point of entry in Raymond, Mont.
Montana has looked into the development of their portion of Highway 2 because of the location of the 24-hour port. Another option would be to convert the Fortuna port to a 24-hour port, but the Raymond port is the preferred port for the Canadians according to Bekkedahl. Montana District 18 Senator Sam Kitzenberg said he has been working on this project for 10 years and was unhappy about the timeframe for completion.
"After working on this project for 10 years, I'm disappointed," Kitzenberg said. "A widened two lane is the kiss of death. That's something the federal government has to do anyway."
Kitzenberg's concern was that if it isn't a four-lane highway, that won't be as safe an option as they could have and that Hoeven may not continue to meet at the border if it were not a four-lane.
Others at the meeting expressed concern for the amount of new land that would have to be acquired in order to widen the highway to as wide as 66 feet in some areas.
"I understand the importance of a four-lane, I understand the safety," Montana resident Neil Knudson said. "Landowners are the ones who are going to be putting out, giving to something that, possibly, they don't want."
Knudson said he wasn't convinced the promise of the economic development that would come with a four-lane expansion.
"What economic development do you see coming into Bainville, into Culbertson, into Williston?" Knudson said.
Bekkedahl later addressed Knudson's concerns about the development citing projects that may be on the horizon for Williston and surrounding areas.
"I know this is a trying process for those of you who are landowners adjacent to this," Bekkedahl said. "Ross, North Dakota is an amazing statistic. A town as small or smaller than Bainville. They have a seed plant there now they never had because of the four-land and the rail access. They're building a brand new grain terminal there for a 110-car train."
Another meeting will be held at 6 p.m. MST at the high school in Culbertson this evening.
Comments on the project are due Jan. 3 and can be submitted by calling Ray Mengel at 406-345-8212, be email at rmengel@mt.gov or by visiting the Montana Department of Transportation website at www.mdt.mt.gov.
"I want to commend you for the process, whether you are for or against," Bekkedahl said. "My question is do you want to move forward or do you not want to move anywhere?"
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