Hardmeyer - City Magazine

MANDAN ON THE Move |
Reconstruction of
Memorial Highway
Planning Stages
By Ellen Huber, business development director
The N.D. Department of Transportation expects to
reconstruct Memorial Highway in approximately 2016.
The two-mile highway is a commercial hub in Mandan for
agribusinesses, home improvement products and building
supplies, plus auto, ATV, motorcycle, snowmobile, boat and trailer
sales.
To gather input for the design and extent of the project, the
Metropolitan Planning Organization is conducting a corridor study
to determine what citizens, property owners and users need from
Memorial Highway. The study begins this fall and will be completed
in 2010.
Possible considerations include:
• Traffic signalization or controls at major intersections, such as
46th Avenue SE, 40th Avenue SE and Third Street SE.
• A median and more landscaping, similar to Century Avenue in
Bismarck, with restricted access points and possibly a frontage
road.
• Storm water management and the possibility of adding a storm
sewer, curb and gutter instead of the existing ditches.
• Burying overhead utility lines.
Recommendations for Memorial Highway were included in a
redevelopment study conducted for the City of Mandan in 2003.
Implementation of most recommendations has been pending
reconstruction of Memorial Highway, including necessary funding.
Improvements to Memorial Highway should make the area more
attractive to a broader range of retail businesses. Average daily traffic
counts on the highway currently range from about 17,000 vehicles on
the east end to 7,000 on the west end.
The project will qualify for 80 percent federal and 10 percent state
funding, with a likely requirement for 10 percent local funding. After
completion of the corridor study, the next step will be an engineering
concept report tentatively slated for 2011 to 2012. Dirt work is
expected to begin in 2016, and the project will likely last two years.
The last major reworking of Memorial Highway was in 1979
when it was expanded from a two-lane to a four-lane highway.
If you have questions about the reconstruction of Memorial
Highway, please contact the City of Mandan’s Engineering and
Planning Department at 701-667-3225.
September 2009 19