Fargo, North Dakota – The North Dakota Department of Transportation wants to encourage the public to work with the organization to keep everyone safe this summer. Several construction projects are currently underway across the state.
According to Matt Linneman, the DOT’s Deputy Director of Engineering, the department is starting more projects than typical this year with about 200 totaling $600 million. According to him, drivers will frequently encounter these work zones, which could prolong their commute by a few minutes. However, according to him, the specified speed limitations in these work zones are there for a reason.
“We know that that’s inconvenient to the traveling public – and we understand that. But we want everyone to make sure they’re taking the time to go through these work zones, be aware, and be alert. This is important work to maintain the state’s investment they’ve put in over the years and is putting forward into the future here. We want to make sure it’s helping everyone get home safe, every night.”
The North Dakota Highway Patrol’s Captain Bryan Niewind said that this summer, troopers will do their share to enforce traffic laws in these construction zones. According to Niewind, there were six fatalities in construction zones last year, and almost all of them might have been prevented.
“About 94, 95% of our crashes that occur in North Dakota are because of some sort of driving error. So we can prevent 94 to 95% of the crashes that occur in North Dakota if we change our driving habits.”
On the NDDOT website, you may find construction projects for the 2023 season.
