JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Jamestown City Council has proposed their State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) list.
During a special meeting Wednesday, the council discussed moving a few projects from the Land Use & Transportation Plan forward to focus on them. Mayor Katie Andersen reported that the city currently receives around $850,000 per year in federal funding through the NDDOT.
If the city doesn’t spend the money by 2021, there would be no guarantee that the federal funds would be there for the city to use. If it continues to accumulate, the city will have around $6.8 million that could be used for a road project on an 80/20 split between the federal level and the city.
Andersen stated that the STIP list needed to be submitted and stated she would like to move the 12th Avenue to 3rd Street overpass over the railroad forward.
Andersen says at the time, estimates are rough, but she feels the project is worth pursuing with the amount of funds the city would have at its disposal. She pointed out that the roughly $20 million project would have a lot of moving pieces, but a 2020 construction start time is a real possibility.
Councilman Dan Buchanan says while he supports the overpass idea, he feels they should work on the Exit 257 project first. Councilman Steve Brubakken agreed.
Andersen says that growth in the Northeast has changed her views on which project should be put first.
Mayor Andersen said the STIP list is not set in stone, but this decision would be to update the list for the NDDOT to show what projects the city would like to use the funds for.
Councilman Ramone Gumke stated that puting the 12th Avenue project first would be the best course of action as development continues to lack in the Southwest part of town.
Councilwoman Pam Phillips agreed.
Andersen says if they ultimately do decide to move forward with this project first, they may need to break it up into different phases in order to better afford the cost of construction.
The list was approved with 12th Avenue NE to 3rd Street overpass as the primary project on the STIP list with Councilmen Brubakken and Buchanan voting in dissention.
