Grand Forks County Commission unanimously endorses two‑lane roundabout for airport intersection

The Grand Forks County Commission voted unanimously to endorse a two‑lane roundabout at the county airport intersection after extended public comment and a technical exchange with the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

Luthane, a local resident who said she was "not an engineer" but has experience with the intersection, urged commissioners to prioritize human behavior in the design, recommending a two‑lane roundabout, flashing approach lights and rumble strips. "The one thing that I've been arguing since the beginning is that it is human behavior that has caused all of the accidents at this intersection," she said, adding that the roundabout "highly minimizes" potential conflict points.

Michael Johnson, a NDDOT representative who joined the meeting via Zoom, told the commission that the department has not routinely used transverse rumble strips at signalized intersections in North Dakota and that the state would need to review out‑of‑state examples and data before changing standard practice. "I'd be curious to see the data that was found in... Texas and Georgia that that was mentioned," Johnson said, and staff agreed to share the referenced materials.

Commissioner Bjerke, who moved the resolution, framed the endorsement as a long‑term, fiscally‑conscious choice: he cited county and national data presented to the commission and estimated that a two‑lane roundabout would reduce average accidents by roughly 35% and severe accidents by about 70%, while costing an estimated $8.5 million (adjusted to about $12 million with inflation). By contrast, he said an interchange could cost on the order of $100 million and take a decade to complete.

Bjerke moved that the county pass a resolution endorsing the two‑lane roundabout and forward the county's position to NDDOT, the mayor and the Grand Forks City Council; another commissioner seconded the motion. The commission approved the resolution unanimously.

The commission also directed county staff to provide NDDOT and city officials with the materials and the county's formal position. Michael Johnson said NDDOT plans to present the same data to the city council in January and will appear before the county again with the same materials.

The commission's resolution is nonbinding; it expresses the county's preferred local position and is intended to inform intergovernmental negotiations about design and cost share. The county did not adopt a construction funding program or commit local dollars beyond the typical referral of the issue to city, county and airport authority discussions.

Next steps: staff will forward the county resolution and the materials referenced in public comment to NDDOT and the city, and NDDOT will bring its presentation to the city council and return to the county with data in January.