Road construction on I-94 between Bismarck, Mandan coming to an end

Commuters have been patiently following the traffic cones along I-94 in Bismarck for nearly six months.

And now comes word that the road construction is just about over.

The DOT says they are just weeks away from wrapping up their major projects, including the I-94 corridor.

The end of construction season is coming into focus. One big reason for that, the weather.

"Hot and dry makes good construction weather. We had very few days that we had to shut down construction operations due to you know rain or bad weather," said Larry Gangl, Bismarck District Engineer.

The DOT hopes to have their major projects wrapped up in about two to three weeks. Meaning I-94 would be open fully to traffic by the second week of November.

There are three major projects in the Bismarck District. The I-94 project, widening and paving on ND 200 south of Mcclusky, and widening and paving of ND 49 south of Beulah.

The I-94 project has focused heavily on making sure the Grant Marsh Bridge remains safe for commuters.

"The majority of the work on these structures was on the bridge decks, but on the Grant-Marsh Bridge we also replaced the bridge rails," said Gangl.

There is a phase two of the I-94 project but it likely won't begin until summer 2019. As for next year.

"Not really any major projects in this general area, but throughout our district we're going to have some good sized projects," said Gangl.

As we barrel towards winter, the DOT shift its focus from fixing roads, to keeping them safe when their covered in ice and snow.

The DOT says this construction was also successful because it was very safe, they had no major accidents in the construction zone on I-94.