West Fargo to Receive $2.3 Million in Grant Money to Improve Sheyenne St.

 

The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) has selected six cities to receive transportation funding through a new Urban Grant Program (UGP). The cities selected to receive the urban grant include: Jamestown, West Fargo, Mandan, Valley City, Dickinson and Bismarck.

A total of $9.3 million will be awarded to the six cities for projects in 2019 and 2020. The program focuses on transportation improvements to directly support a community’s urban core and central business district. It is also intended to compliment other programs administered by other state agencies.

The recipients have until Aug. 15 to accept the grant. A total of 17 projects were submitted for the program, and recipients were selected by an advisory committee which consisted of representatives from the NDDOT, Department of Commerce, Bank of North Dakota, League of Cities and Metropolitan Planning Organization. If any of the cities turn down the grant, those funds will then be offered to another city.

Urban Grant Program objectives include: preserving existing assets; ensuring safety of all users of the transportation system; improvement of multi-modal transportation options such as walking, bicycling and public transit; supporting economically sustainable growth; lessening the need for outward expansion of community transportation infrastructure; and enhancing the economic vitality of the area by providing transportation assets.

Urban projects selected to receive grant funding include:

  • Jamestown - $2.4 million project to include road diet, traffic signals, bulb-outs, sidewalk, bike racks, benches, landscaping and storm drain work on 1st Ave (8th St S to 5th St N) and 5th St (1st Ave to 8th Ave W).
  • West Fargo - $2.3 million project to include road diet, bulb-outs, sidewalk, access revisions, parking, streetscape, etc. Sheyenne St (Main Ave to 7th Ave)
  • Mandan - $600,000 project to include road diet, bulb-outs, parking, and decorative lighting on Main St (6th Ave NW to Collins Ave).
  • Valley City - $1.5 million project to include decorative lighting, traffic signals, sidewalk, ADA ramps, benches on Main St (2nd Ave W to 3rd Ave E), Central Ave (Main St to 4th St), and City Park.
  • Dickinson - $1.5 million project to include lighting and traffic signal work on Villard St (State Ave to 10th Ave E).
  • Bismarck - $700,000 project to include road diet, bulb-outs, pavement markings, traffic signals and ADA ramps on Main Ave (1000’ west of Washington St to 7th St). 

Urban Grant Program funding is limited to communities with a population of 5,000 or greater. Projects on the state highway system will receive funding through federal funds with state and local match.  Projects on the urban roads system will receive funding through federal funds with local match. This program is very similar to the North Dakota Streets Program that the NDDOT has had in place for many years for cities with a population less than 5,000.