Interstate 29 in North Dakota

 

	I-29
Get started	Hankinson
End	Pembina
Length	218 mi
Length	350 km
Route South Dakota2 100th Street SE 8 Hankinson 15 Great Bend 23 Mooreton 26 Dwight 31 71st Street SE 37 Colfax 42 Walcott 44 Christine 48 Childred 50 Oxbow 54 124th Avenue SE 56 Horace 60-69: Fargo 60 52nd Avenue 62 32nd Avenue 63 → Jamestown / Minneapolis 64 13th Avenue 65 Main Avenue 66 12th Avenue 67 19th Avenue 69 40th Avenue 73 Harwood 79 Argusville 86 Gardner 92 Grandin 100 Hillsboro Airport 104 Hillsboro 111 Mayville 118 Buxton 123 Reynolds 130 Thompson 138-145: Grand Forks 138 32nd Avenue 140 Demers Avenue 141 Gateway Drive 145 Washington Street 152 Manvel 157 32nd Avenue NE 161 Oslo 164 57th Street NE 168 Minto 172 65th Street NE 176 Grafton 180 73rd Street NE 184 South Drayton 187 Drayton 191 84th Street NE 193 86th Street NE 196 89th Street NE 200 93rd Street NE 203 Hamilton 206 101st Street NE 212 Pembina Airport 215 Pembina

Interstate 29 or I -29 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The highway runs through the far east of the state, from Hankinson on the South Dakota border in the south to Pembina on the border with Canada in the north. The route is 350 kilometers long.

• 800ZipCodes: Provides a list of all postal codes in the state of North Dakota, covering area code, zip code and map for each city within North Dakota.

Travel directions

I-29 at Oxbow, south of Fargo.

I-29 in Fargo.

I-29 between Fargo and Grand Forks.

South of Hankinson, Interstate 29 in South Dakota enters the state of North Dakota from Sioux Falls and heads north across the flat prairies, nearly treeless meadows that define the view of the entire route of I-29 in North Dakota. I-29 then heads 100 miles north to Fargo, the largest city on the route. From Wahpeton, I-29 runs fairly close to the Red River, which forms the border with the state of Minnesota. Large portions of I-29 are close to the Minnesota border.

I-29 passes through the Fargo metropolitan area for approximately 12 miles. The highway has 2×2 lanes at first, then 2×3 lanes around the interchange with Interstate 94. This is North Dakota’s one and only highway interchange and is a cloverleaf with a flyover. In Fargo one also crosses the US 10. North of Fargo, I-29 immediately narrows back to 2×2 lanes.

This is followed by a 120-kilometer rural stretch to Grand Forks. This portion of I-29 is slightly further from the Red River and the Minnesota border. The landscape remains monotonous, with endless meadows. Grand Forks is the last major town on the I-29 route. It crosses US 2 and I-29 leads north of Grand Forks closer to the Red River again. North of Grand Forks, there is another 75-mile stretch across the prairies to the Canadian border at the village of Pembina. After the border, Highway 75 in Manitoba continues to Winnipeg, which is nearly 100 kilometers away.

• a2zDirectory: Lists popular attractions in North Dakota, including parks, festivals and holidays of North Dakota.

History

After the creation of the Interstate Highway system in 1956, highway construction in North Dakota began. The first section of I-29 in the state opened in 1959 between Drayton and the Canadian border over 55 kilometers. In about 1965 a long section opened between Manvel and Drayton, which was then partially numbered State Route 44. The section from Fargo to Manvel opened about 1973, based on maps of the neighboring state of Minnesota. About 1974, a stretch opened south of Fargo, from Oxbow to the north. In 1977, the last link of I-29 opened, completing the Interstate Highway system in North Dakota.

Earlier plans from the mid-1950s provided the number I-31 for the current highway. This was the part from Fargo to the Canadian border at Pembina. At the time, no highway was planned south of Fargo. However, in 1958 it was decided to build the route as I-29. The entire route has been completed as Interstate 29.

Circa 1997, a direct flyover opened in Fargo at the interchange with I-94, serving north-east traffic. Not long after, I-29 was partially widened through Fargo to 2×3 lanes from US 10 to I-94, and by 2006 extended further north to 19th Avenue.

Flood Problems

The portion north of Grand Forks is a short distance from the Red River, also known as the “Red River of the North,” to distinguish it from the Red River in the southern United States. This river flows north to Canada, it is the only river in the United States that flows into Hudson Bay. The Red River overflows every spring from melting snow. Periodically, these are severe floods, especially when ice dams form.

The Red River is a slow-flowing and meandering river, and the surrounding land has virtually no elevation changes, so the river often widens for miles in the spring, with flooding west of I-29. Parts of I-29 are flooded almost every year and the highway has to be closed, especially north of Grand Forks this is a frequent problem. Traffic is then usually diverted via US 81. Due to the low traffic volumes, the problems are often limited.

Traffic intensities

Every day, 4,400 vehicles drive on the South Dakota border, increasing slowly to 8,500 vehicles south of Fargo, then rapidly increasing to 25,000 vehicles in south Fargo and up to 53,000 vehicles north of I-94. Between Fargo and Grand Forks, there are typically 12,000 to 14,000 vehicles, peaking at 17,000 vehicles in Grand Forks. North of Grand Forks, the intensities gradually decrease to 2,800 vehicles on the border with Canada.

Lane Configuration

From	Unpleasant	lanes	Comments
Exit 1	exit 62	2×2
exit 62	Exit 67	2×3	Fargo
Exit 67	Exit 215	2×2