Updated, proposed project timeline.

Memorial Highway Reconstruction Scheduled to Begin in 2025

Nov. 1, 2024 –During its Oct. 1 meeting, the City Commission approved a resolution creating street improvement district 239 for the reconstruction of Memorial Highway. This is a two-phase project, anticipated to take three-years to complete:

2025 The east half of Memorial Highway from 32^nd Street to the east (phase 1) will begin in 2025, improving the primary travel lanes of the highway.
2026 Secondary improvements to the east half of Memorial Highway, plus the beginning of west-half (phase 2) off-corridor and storm sewer work, along with the improvement at Main Street.
2027 Address the primary travel lanes on the west half of the roadway, from 32^nd Street to Main.

During construction, the roadway will remain open with at least one travel lane in each direction and a center turn lane. Access to all businesses will remain open during the construction years as well.

The project is a full-depth reconstruction of Memorial Highway from Main Street to the Memorial Bridge including:

upgrading from an asphalt to concrete surface
adding sidewalks to the northeast side of the corridor and a shared use path to the southwest side of the corridor
improving traffic flow and intersection safety
improving drainage
providing safe access to businesses
underground sanitary sewer and water line improvements
MDU will bury current above-ground lines along the corridor

Once complete, the typical roadway section will be a five-lane section with a center turn lane. At
the signalized intersections there will be medians with turn lanes.

The project is now estimated at $119M. The federal and state contributions to this project are estimated at $89M. The remaining $30M will be paid through a combination of funds including a city-wide special assessment and a tiered, localized utility assessment:

$73.7M Federal
$14.8M State of North Dakota
$6.5M Department of Water Resources
$3.1M Montana Dakota Utilities (MDU)
$235,000 1% City Sales Tax Fund
$3M American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
$17.7M Special Assessments:

$4M City-wide special assessment (roadway & storm sewer)
$910,000 Tier 1 assessment (roadway & storm sewer)
$460,000 Tier 2 assessment (roadway & storm sewer)
$12.4M Tier 1 & 2 assessment (underground work)

The city-wide special assessment is anticipated at $500 per parcel to be paid back over 20 years ($25/year). A city-wide special assessment is being used for above ground improvements as most all people in the city of Mandan use and/or benefit from the roadway.

The tiered assessment is for properties located either on-corridor or just off the corridor with a greater benefit from the project than the rest of the community. These property owners will soon receive a letter in the mail with information on the street improvement district, estimated costs and protest period. A 30-day protest period began Oct. 4. Residents may submit a letter of protest to the Engineering Department by 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 4. Consideration of sufficiency of protests and a public hearing are scheduled for the Nov. 5 City Commission meeting at 5:30 p.m.

Final distribution of assessments will be determined by the City Commission at the conclusion of the project after review and approval by the Special Assessment Commission, anticipated in 2028.

City Engineer Jarek Wigness cautioned that it’s vital phase 1 of the project be bid this year at the risk of losing $73M currently secured in federal funding.

“These funds have been carried over for several years and there’s pressure to get the project started,” says Wigness. “If we were to lose federal funding, we could see the project become a multi-phase project over a spread of many years because the improvements would need to be made piece-by-piece.”

Additional information is available at cityofmandan.com/mhp. Please contact the Engineering Department at 701-667-3225 with questions on the Memorial Highway Reconstruction project.