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Context Sensitive Solutions Technical Assistance: North Dakota Department of Transportation

Interview Summaries

Each interview that was conducted provided a different perspective and new insights into the Watford City bypass project. The summaries below capture the main points from each interview.

Curt Moen, City Administrator, City of Watford City; Rick Jore, City Engineer, City of Watford City; and Mildred Williams, Assistant City Planner, City of Watford City

The interview with the Watford City officials focused on the dramatic changes the city experienced because of the oil boom in Western North Dakota, and how the bypass addressed the corresponding increase in traffic.

• Watford City experienced a huge influx of traffic and people when the oil boom hit. Trip times grew significantly and there was insufficient housing for the new residents. The new workers that arrived had to make do by building transient camps or crowding into single family homes and hotels.
• Housing prices and rent skyrocketed, and were comparable to big cities.
• Traffic fatality rates were also disproportionately high in the area at the peak of the boom. After the bypass was constructed, traffic accidents were significantly reduced.
• Community members expressed concerns that a bypass around Watford City would be a detriment to local businesses.
• Prior to the oil boom, Watford City was in decline, with many younger people moving away in search of other opportunities.
• North Dakota had a ten percent wellhead tax, the revenue from which went into a State fund. Some of that money was then redistributed back to the local level.
• Watford City leveraged the additional funds that accompanied the oil development to build infrastructure such as housing, day care centers, sewer lines, a new school, and a new event center.
• The new amenities and redevelopment in the city is anticipated to retain and grow the population in Watford City.
• The bypass was a key piece of the puzzle that allowed for Watford City’s redevelopment, as it diverted truck traffic away from downtown, allowing for increased mobility and safety and reduced noise.

Cory Lawson, Environmental Services Section Leader, NDDOT

The interview with Cory Lawson focused on the natural environment considerations of the bypass since he was a wetlands scientist at the time of the project.

• The sunken box culverts that were used on the Watford City bypass project resulted from an agency agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), North Dakota Game and Fish, and NDDOT.
• Interagency discussions occur through the interagency coordination meetings (ICM), which is led by the USACE. Because of the longstanding relationships with partner agencies developed through the ICM, NDDOT has a better sense of what mitigation strategies will be and will not be approved before investing too much time in any particular solution.
• Biweekly project meetings took place throughout the Watford City bypass project that partner agencies and other stakeholders were a part of, since the project timeline was so accelerated and everyone needed to be kept up to date.
• NDDOT conducts a yearly field trip with partner agencies to assess completed projects and get feedback that can be incorporated in future projects. These trips are conducted with a group of agencies known as the North Dakota Interagency Resource Team (NDIRT).
• Permits for oil and gas were being processed so quickly during the oil boom that the North Dakota Industrial Commission, Department of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas Division were brought in by NDDOT as an agency partner on the Watford City bypass project.

Kevin Brodie, Operations Engineer, FHWA North Dakota Division

The interview with Kevin Brodie focused on the design and funding for the Watford City bypass.

• The Watford City bypass project was entirely State funded, through revenue from oil development.
• FHWA was the lead agency on the project to ensure the environmental review process was followed.
• It was difficult to provide traffic projections for the Watford City area because traffic increased so much faster than initial modeling predicted. Oil and gas development projections were used to determine when peak traffic would occur.
• The typical section used for the bypass was a four-lane facility to accommodate for the heavy truck traffic. An incremental upgrade known as a “Super 2” was used in other areas of the country but was determined to be inadequate for the bypass as it would encourage passing drivers to go at very high speeds to overtake the trucks. A “Super 2” highway design is one in which a passing lane is added to a two-lane highway every few miles.
• A flush median was used for the bypass in order to minimize its environmental footprint. A flush median also provided flexibility for future development since it was unclear where future development would take place. Installing a flush median also helped keep the project timeline on track.

Mark Schrader, Transportation Engineer, FHWA North Dakota Division and Bob Fode, Director, Office of Project Development, NDDOT

The interview with Mark Schrader and Bob Fode focused on lessons learned and best practices used during the Watford City bypass project.

• The Watford City bypass project did not conform with NDDOT’s typical Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) process. Instead, a huge need emerged once Watford City was overrun with truck traffic, and funding was available for improvements from the oil revenues.
• The close relationships NDDOT has with other agencies through the ICM allowed for project streamlining and schedule expediting.
• Tribal coordination happens through the TCC. TCC meetings occur twice yearly, and NDDOT presents all projects in the STIP.
• NDDOT funded positions at the USACE and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It was very helpful to have those positions when the oil boom hit and infrastructure changes across western North Dakota were necessary.
• One of the keys to success NDDOT identified was not to develop relationships in chaos. In other words, since NDDOT already had strong relationships with partner agencies before the oil boom hit, it was easier for them to quickly get projects completed. If NDDOT had only started forming relationships once the oil boom hit, it would have been much more difficult to effectively execute projects.
• NDDOT also tried to run parallel processes as much as possible in order to streamline the project timeline.
• In a departure from its usual project management approach, NDDOT had a staff member from the consultant team work in the NDDOT office to work more collaboratively and quickly to resolve issues.

Wayne Zacher, Project Manager, NDDOT

Wayne Zacher was present at and contributed to all interviews other than the one with Watford City officials, so the interview with him focused on items that had not yet been discussed.

• During the time of the oil boom, land was changing hands very quickly, so it was difficult to track down landowners during the right of way acquisition process.
• Watford City business owners were concerned a bypass would reduce their revenues, but an origin-destination study showed that an overwhelming majority of the traffic that drove through Watford City prior to the bypass was not stopping in town. The bypass leaves the downtown streets open to pedestrians so they can frequent businesses.
• NDDOT had a staff member that had retired from the department but came back part time and traveled to meet with local governments in western North Dakota during the oil boom to help them with any questions on permitting or other topics they needed help with.
• During the bi-weekly project meetings for the Watford City bypass, staff members reviewed documents such as the EA and addressed comments in real time to ensure quick revisions.
• The preferred alternatives were determined through a combination of community input and cultural resources and environmental studies.

Bob Christiansen, Cultural Resources Section Leader, NDDOT

The interview with Bob Christiansen focused on the cultural resource considerations of the Watford City bypass project.

• A Class III Cultural Resource Inventory involving an intensive pedestrian survey for an area covering 13,018 acres of land was conducted as a large block study area for this project. Representatives of three Affiliated Tribes and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians accompanied the archaeologists during the survey and contributed to the identification and interpretation efforts. These two reservations are the closest to the project area.
• The large block survey approach was chosen because the Watford City bypass was a new construction project, that at the time, did not have a preferred alignment alternative. Thus, having all the data about the cultural sites from the beginning was part of a comprehensive strategy that did not require staff members to spend resources coming back to the site multiple times.
• The Watford City bypass project was discussed at several of the TCC meetings, from project inception through construction.
• Stone features are valued for preservation in place by tribes in North Dakota. They are primarily tied to oral history, cosmology, ceremony and spirituality. Since NDDOT conducted a large block survey for cultural resources, the department knew where these sites were located early in the planning process and it was easy to route the new road in such a way as to avoid these stone feature sites.
• The TCC meetings allowed NDDOT and the tribes to focus on what is most important to both parties and search for win-win solutions.
• During the public involvement meetings held for the Watford City bypass project, the consultant, KLJ, brought in large maps and allowed community members to mark which areas to avoid and optimal places for the bypass to be routed.

Stacy Wilz, Right of Way Project Manager, NDDOT and Mike Knox, Right of Way Manager, NDDOT

The interview with Stacy Wilz and Mike Knox focused on the process used to acquire right of way (ROW) during the Watford City bypass project.

• NDDOT’s ROW staff gave the consultants leeway to negotiate on land offers in order to expedite the ROW process.
• The major issues NDDOT encountered when acquiring ROW were landowners demanding access points, coming to an agreement on land values, and aesthetic elements such as trees that landowners did not want moved.
• The landowners in the area were constantly being approached about their land by multiple parties, including oil companies.
• The environmental review, design, and ROW were all happening concurrently. ROW staff were coordinating with the project manager, Wayne Zacher, directly from the field to include plan notes indicating which areas to avoid, for example.

Travis Wieber, Project Manager, KLJ and Jessica Karls, Lead Designer, KLJ

The interview with Travis Wieber and Jessica Karls focused on the public involvement process, since KLJ led it, but also covered any other aspects of the project that had not yet been thoroughly discussed.

• KLJ conducted an origin-destination study over the wireless network which collected data from mobile devices to indicate traffic movements in the Watford City area. The study showed that 75% of the traffic coming into Watford City was not stopping. Thus, constructing a bypass around the city would not be a substantial detriment to city businesses. KLJ also developed a visualization projecting how traffic would look once the bypass was constructed, which was illustrated at public meetings.
• Even as the oil boom has faded and associated truck traffic as decreased, the population continues to grow in Watford City and automobile traffic has increased.
• At the first public meeting, KLJ presented community members with a map illustrating general corridors around Watford City, but not specific bypass routes. Community members were invited to mark up the maps with comments and suggested routes.
• A landowner invited KLJ to drive the corridor with him, and they accepted. Personal engagement such as this allowed KLJ to learn of potential challenges early on, and then strategize on how to resolve them or route the bypass in such a way as to avoid them.
• By the second public meeting, preferred alternatives had been determined and community members were invited to provide their comments on them.
• KLJ chartered a plane to take pictures of the area and analyzed them since oil developments were happening so quickly and many portions of the area were not accessible by car.
• After the bypass construction was completed, the impact to traffic in the area was instantaneous.
• The project timeline was very short – 16 months from consultant notice to proceed for the EA to contract bids.
• The Watford City bypass project won an award in the Quality of Life/Community Development category as part of the annual America’s Transportation Awards administered by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and American Automobile Association.

Sheri Lares, Environmental Protection Specialist/Tribal Liaison, FAA (formerly FHWA North Dakota Division) and Jeani Borchert, Cultural Resource & Tribal Consultation, NDDOT

The interview with Sheri Lares and Jeani Borchert focused on the tribal coordination aspects of the Watford City bypass project.

• The expedited nature of the project development process was in part a result of the close collaboration between NDDOT, tribes, and environmental agencies.
• The efficiency of the review process was a result of all parties working together in “real time” to edit the EA and FONSI documentation.
• The relationship between the FHWA North Dakota Division and NDDOT facilitated timely approvals of the EA and FONSI documentation.
• The TCC process helped to streamline coordination with tribes on specific project issues and concerns.
• An FHWA case study was developed on the TCC and is available online. This case study could prove useful to the Watford City bypass case study.