North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) officials recently celebrated the opening of the new Long X Bridge, attributing the project’s completion to local, state, and federal agency collaboration.
“The state of North Dakota invested $37.4 million to transform the Long X Bridge into a safe and accessible passageway,” NDDOT Director Bill Panos said. “US Highway 85 and this bridge are essential to transportation movement in western North Dakota.”
The work scope involved a complete bridge replacement, highway construction, and the addition of a wildlife crossing built under US Highway 85 south of the bridge, accommodating roughly 4,200 vehicles traveling daily over the bridge located about 15 miles south of Watford City.
The new bridge features four 12-foot driving lanes with a median in the center, serving larger, wider truck loads than previously capable on the old bridge.
Over the course of the next year, contractors would dismantle and remove the old bridge, noting motorists will see final construction elements of the project occurring as the project’s final phases are executed.
The Long X Bridge will be fully open to four lanes of traffic once all work is completed in summer 2021.
NDDOT is responsible for building and maintaining a transportation system encompassing 8,624 miles of roadway and 1,725 bridges while overseeing surface transportation development, including highways, bridges, transit, pedestrian, and bicycle paths across the state.