NDDOT meets with Billings, Stark County residents as Hwy 85 construction moves south

FAIRFIELD, N.D. (KUMV) - Efforts on expanding Highway 85 continue as officials look to have a four-lane road from Williston to Belfield.

Funding has been secured to widen the road south of the Long X Bridge through the Badlands all the way to Highway 200 near Grassy Butte. While construction is still a year or two out, the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) is already looking to the next phase of the project: south of Highway 200 to Interstate 94.

The department held town hall meetings in Fairfield and Belfield to explain the next steps. The message from those in attendance is that this project is well overdue.

“It answered all of my questions. I just wish it would have been done 10 years ago when we really needed it, but I guess any time is good,” said Paul Kessel, a Billings County landowner.

The roughly 30-mile portion is being divided into three different segments. Engineers and contractors with the DOT say the road will expand based on the direction that causes the least impact to existing buildings.

“We are expanding the road either west or east, depending on where residential homes are located. We’re trying to avoid those with the widening, so the roadway kind of goes back and forth where the widening occurs,” said Troy Ripplinger, Apex Engineering project manager.

The state will need to purchase about 350 acres for the project. Meetings with the affected landowners and appraisals will start later this year.

Julie Reis, whose land is already divided by the two-lane road, said it will be interesting to see how things will go.

“It would be nice to see the improvement, but the unknown is just getting access on both sides of the highway for us,” said Reis.

It’s still going to be a while before the construction crews reach Fairfield and Belfield.

Officials told the public they estimate construction starting in 2028, depending on the financials.

Efforts to expand Highway 85 have been ongoing for years as a way to improve traffic safety and increase tourism travel between Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora and Mount Rushmore.