Interstate 29 in North Dakota

Route description

South Dakota to Fargo

I-29 enters North Dakota, with a speed limit of 80 mph, from South Dakota to the south, traveling in a north-northeasterly direction at an approximate elevation of 1100 ft above sea level. The first exit in the state, exit 1, is to a county road built along the state line. This exit serves the Dakota Magic Casino and Hotel. Rural exits are somewhat common in North Dakota. There are exits with no major communities near them about every 8 mi from the South Dakota state line to Fargo. There is also one exit serving North Dakota Highway 11 (ND 11) to Hankinson and one exit serving ND 13 to Wahpeton. Other small communities served include Fairmount, Great Bend, Mooreton, Dwight, Colfax, Abercrombie, Walcott, Christine and Oxbow.

Fargo to Grand Forks

I-29 has a speed limit of 65 mph between exits 60 and 62, and a speed limit of 55 mph for the next six exits in Fargo, including interchanges with I-94/US 52, and US 10 which connect Fargo with Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital) to the west and Minneapolis to the east. A flyover ramp runs from southbound I-29 to eastbound I-94. There is also an exit that serves Hector International Airport, and farther north an exit that indirectly serves Fargo via County Road 22 (CR 22) and mainly serves Harwood.

North of Fargo and Harwood, with a speed limit of 80 mph, the route runs close to the old road of U.S. 81 and comes close to the communities of Argusville, Gardner, Grandin, Hillsboro, Buxton, Reynolds and Thompson. There are exits roughly every 6 mi until the route enters Hillsboro. I-29 has one exit south of the city serving its municipal airport and one exit serving the city itself. Going through Hillsboro is ND 200, a major thoroughfare across central North Dakota, which meets I-29 north of Hillsboro. There are three more exits between Hillsboro and Grand Forks, including one serving Thompson, the southernmost suburb of Grand Forks.

Grand Forks to Canada

The highway has a speed limit of 70 mph, and just four exits serving Grand Forks. One of them serves US 2, which leads to Grand Forks International Airport and points further west including Minot and Glacier National Park in Montana.

With a speed limit of 80 mph, 10 mi north of the city, I-29's first concurrency with US 81 ends in Manvel. The highway's next exit is 10 mi north of Manvel at an interchange with ND 54, which indirectly serves Oslo, Minnesota, about 3 mi east of the Interstate. There are a couple more minor exits between the Oslo exit and Drayton. The highway has two exits in Drayton, one with ND 44 and one with ND 66.

After several more exits in the open country serving minor county highways, I-29 begins another concurrency with US 81 at an exit with ND 5. After one more exit serving a county road, the highways enter Pembina. In Pembina, I-29 has its final exit in the United States at an interchange with ND 59 and CR 55. 3 mi north of Pembina, I-29/US 81 enters Manitoba, Canada, and becomes Provincial Trunk Highway 75 (PTH 75), which leads north to Winnipeg. The highway crosses the international border at an approximate elevation of 800 ft above sea level.

History

I-29 between Fargo and the Canadian border was originally meant to be signed as Interstate 31 (I-31). There was no highway originally planned between Fargo and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Plans for I-29 were extended from Sioux Falls to Fargo in October 1957, and the entire highway from Kansas City, Missouri, to the Canadian border was signed as I-29. The final stages of I-29 in North Dakota were completed in 1977.

Exit list

References

References

1. North Dakota Department of Transportation. (2016). "Route and Mileage Map". North Dakota Department of Transportation.
2. [[:File:Interstate Highway plan August 14, 1957.jpg. Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways]], August 14, 1957
3. [[:Image:Interstate Highway plan June 27, 1958.jpg. Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways]], June 27, 1958
4. North Dakota Department of Transportation. "Appendix III-09 C: Interchange Numbering on I-29". North Dakota Department of Transportation.