Area leaders and business owners testified about the need for improvements on and the potential expansion of the U.S. Highway 85 corridor at a Thursday morning Senate Budget Committee hearing convened by U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.

The meeting at the Williston Community Library was intended to discuss how investments in infrastructure may help North Dakota’s agricultural and energy economies. Two three-member panels discussed a variety of safety issues, as well as concerns about the volume and kinds of traffic traveling the corridor and the need for improvements or potential expansion.

Conrad said North Dakota has a process in place with its Department of Transportation to prioritize road projects and repairs, instead of a more politicized process as in other more urban states. He believes the U.S. Highway 85 corridor should be a high priority after a bumpy trip on the road last fall while observing heavy truck traffic really struck home with him.

“I’ve been traveling this road off and on for 40 years and a trip I took down Highway 85 made an impression on me. Anyone who’s traveled on that corridor I think would agree that it was never designed for that level of traffic,” said Conrad.

State DOT director Francis Ziegler agreed and said the state is currently fifth in the nation in oil production and has considerable coal reserves. Ziegler said these facts, along with the increase in traffic in the Williston Basin in recent years, makes the need for improvements on the highly-traveled corridor a priority. “We are very rural and are geographically large. We have a large infrastructure and not a lot of people to pay for it. Good roads throughout the state are paramount to the nation becoming energy independent,” said Ziegler.

Williston Mayor Ward Koeser testified that while state and local governments are working to diversify their economies, they need to realize oil and agriculture are the pillars of the state’s economy and will be for a long time. He said recognizing this fact and working to repair and improve infrastructure is critical to maintaining and growing the economy.

“Our region has the potential to feed and fuel America,” said Koeser.

Koeser also said safety on the road is a concern, citing people get impatient and try to pass convoys of trucks, which creates the possibility of a high number of accidents.

“A four-lane corridor in the heavily traveled areas would be of great benefit,” said Koeser.

City Commissioner Dr. Brad Bekkedahl testified the increase in traffic along the corridor makes the road a priority. He said data from the NDDOT from a testing location just over five miles north of Belfield shows the average daily traffic has nearly doubled from 2004 and 2008. Bekkedahl said that, coupled with the growth of the Ports-to-Plains Corridor and the Heartland Expressway, are having a large impact on traffic along Highway 85.

“It raises the significance of the infrastructure investment to a level of national importance,” said Bekkedahl.

Mark Johnsrud, president of Power Fuels and Landtech Enterprises, said Highway 85 is the primary travel artery in the region for agriculture and oil. He said his and other company’s trucks travel long distances transporting oil, mainly to pipeline stations in Fryburg and Richey, Mont.

“Trucks hauling oil will continue to be a major part of the movement of oil from the well to the pipeline,” said Johnsrud.

Conrad said that was an important fact and is one he needs to tell his Senate colleagues when trying to help get funding for the highway.

“The oil is not initially being moved by pipelines. My colleagues have this perception that it’s all by pipelines,” said Conrad.

Jerry Bergman, director of the NDSU Williston Research Extension Center, testified that due to conservation tillage systems and crop diversification, the number of crop acres in the state has increased by 2 million since 1990.

“The potential of the MonDak region to develop our natural resources will be greatly enhanced with the completion of the U.S. 85 corridor,” said Bergman.

After the hearing concluded, Conrad said he thought the meeting had been immensely productive and the information from the testimony presented would be critical in convincing his colleagues to authorizing funds for roadwork in western North Dakota.

“Some hearings you attend and you think afterwards that it was all good and everything and that’s that. Well, after this one, I think this was exceptional; you couldn’t ask for a better meeting or testimony,” said Conrad.

Conrad said facts such as the increase in traffic volume, increase in oil production and the region’s importance to the country’s oil supply and the number of crop acres and its impact on traffic due to farming all make a solid basis to get more federal dollars from Washington.

“You have all the information about safety concerns. There was the great testimony on hauling oil by trucks long distances, and the concerns about crumbling roads and crops acreage. All of these things are compelling. I think this was a monumental hearing on this corridor,” said Conrad.

Koeser was extremely pleased with the hearing and believes the potential for action, any action, on the Highway 85 corridor may have been increased with Conrad’s presence and support.

“I think Mr. Conrad’s support adds legitimacy to this effort. I really feel if we work with the state and federal government we can get something done,” said Koeser.

Bekkedahl also was pleased with the outcome of the meeting and felt Conrad’s move to support the effort gives it new life and a better chance at some level of success.

“One of the things we can’t do as a city is build highways. It takes the state and federal government to build highways. These types of things are expensive and his help is greatly appreciated,” said Bekkedahl.