News Releases for June 2005
June 8, 2005
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Hoeven Announces $3 Million Emergency Federal Funding For Roads As Dikes In Devils Lake
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven today in Washington, D.C. announced that White House officials have informed him that funding will be available under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Emergency Relief Funding to help shore up roads under stress in the Devils Lake region because of flooding. Hoeven is in Washington this week to meet with various officials on Devils Lake and the BRAC round.
“Seepage of water under Highway 20 at Spirit Lake last spring served as a warning that we had to take both short-term and long-term measures to correct the situation of roads functioning as dikes at Devils Lake,” Hoeven said. “Today, the Federal Highway Administration stepped up with funds to mitigate the seepage problems on Highway 20, and we will get work underway immediately.”
“We have been working with state and federal agencies to develop plans to mitigate the seepage issues on ND 20,” said David Sprynczynatyk, director of the North Dakota Department of Transportation. “It is our goal to complete necessary mitigation improvements during this construction season. Estimated cost for this work is $1 to $1.5 million.”
Last April, Hoeven called on senior administrators at the FHWA in Washington, D.C. to provide both short and long-term funding assistance to address the problem of roads functioning as dikes at Devils Lake. Hoeven met with FHWA Administrator Mary Peters and Deputy Administrator Rick Capka in Washington, D.C. The Governor also met with White House officials to push for support. Hoeven had also worked with Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to provide the assistance under FHWA’s Emergency Relief Program.
Hoeven also met in March with local and tribal leaders at Devils Lake to inspect a stretch of Highway 20 in an area known as Geske’s Curve. Officials closed the road for several days in March after receiving reports of seepage under the roadbed. Hoeven sent a team of engineers and other state personnel to assess the situation and take whatever corrective action was deemed necessary. Subsequent analysis by state engineers determined that the road was safe for the short term. The highway has been raised three times to accommodate rising water in the area since Devils Lake began to rise in 1993.
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