Long X Bridge: hold public meetings in central North Dakota

Near the Elkhorn Ranch. Photo by Jim Fuglie

Jim & I maintain a lifelong love affair with the Little Missouri River. It is one of the things that most deeply bond us together.  We know every mile of this river intimately.

What follows is my letter of last week to ND Department of Transportation regarding the Long X Bridge project.  The bridge is near to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Please consider writing a similar letter. The public deserves as robust a process as is possible. Let's bury NDDOT with pleas to hold more meetings.


October 14, 2017

Matt Linneman
North Dakota Department of Transportation
608 East Boulevard Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58505-0700

Dear Mr. Linneman,

I’m following up my comments at this week’s public meeting of the Little Missouri Scenic River Commission to write urging that your department schedule a public meeting in Bismarck regarding the Long X Bridge project.

I would also remind you that in a letter dated December 2, 2015, Jan Swenson of Badlands Conservation Alliance said the following: "Finally, the significance of this proposal and impacts both detrimental and beneficial to state and federal resources demands that public meetings be held across the state of North Dakota. Two public meetings, both located in far western North Dakota, are not sufficient to the issues at hand."

While I wholeheartedly agreed that there should be adequate public meetings in the Highway 85 corridor, this is a federal highway, and your department represents all North Dakotans, more than 80% of whom live east of Glen Ullin.  It is an undue burden to expect these citizens to have to travel so far to attend any of the meetings and well worth the department’s time to provide a greater range of opportunity to seek public comment from as many North Dakotans as possible.  After all, we all use this bridge and care about the natural resources of North Dakota.

Sincerely,

Lillian Crook
Red Oak House
920 Arthur Drive
Bismarck, ND 58501
cc: Governor Doug Burgum
       Jan Swenson, Badlands Conservation Alliance

And here is Jim's blog on last week's meeting of the Little Missouri River Commission: Maybe the Governor shouldn't send engineers to represent him

While you are thinking about the river, here is part two of his blogs on the river: Conflicts of Interest Could Plague Scenic River Commission. You can't make this stuff up.

The river deserves better.