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Memorandum To: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) From: Tom Sorel - Director, North Dakota Department of Transportation Date: October 3, 2017 Subject: Priority Infrastructure Needs across the state of North Dakota Thank you for reaching out to us on the very important subject of Infrastructure Needs. Infrastructure is the key to reducing our nation's trade deficit and strengthening our economy. While EPA is looking for a list of projects to bring to an infrastructure commission considering possible investments, we believe you should also note that a formula based approach to distributing funds to states is the best way to most efficiently and effectively put the money to work immediately. In North Dakota we recently completed a roadway infrastructure needs study for State Highways, County and Urban Roadways. Those studies showed that we have a need of over $2.6 Billion Dollars just in the next two years alone. While you are looking for a list of projects, I need to stress that this short project list does not do justice to the needs we are experiencing all across the state of North Dakota. This $2.6 Billion in needs includes projects ranging from preventive maintenance type projects all the way to major reconstruction. Each of these projects is equally and vitally important to maintaining our infrastructure in North Dakota, which supports agriculture and energy development which in return reduces the trade deficit, therefore improving the United States economy. These investments will also create direct jobs during construction and support the maintenance and creation of jobs in many industries after construction. I thank you for the opportunity to identify some of our infrastructure investment needs in the state of North Dakota, and I look forward to working with you on this important initiative. See list of projects below: ND 1804 North Dakota Highway 1804 is one of the main roadways serving the city of Williston, ND. ND 1804 traverses east-west right through the heart of the Bakken Oil play. The Bakken Shale is one of the largest oil developments in the U.S. in the past 40 years. ND ranks second to Texas in terms of oil production and ND is one of the states with the lowest unemployment rates in the country. From 2007-2015 truck vehicle miles traveled within the state increased by 88%. ND 1804 is critical to freight movement within the state of ND. Cost Estimate: Number of Jobs Created: $78.3 Million Dollars 1,018 1-94 Interstate 94 is the northernmost east-west Interstate Highway in the US connecting the High Plains, Upper Midwest, and Great Lakes regions. North Dakota focuses on preserving and maintaining a high degree of mobility and reliability on 1-94 as it is a critical roadway to support North Dakota's strong economy which in turn Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 10 ED 002061 00086871-00001 provides needed outputs for national and international consumption and stimulates additional national economic growth. In addition 1-94 is part of the STRAHNET (Strategic Highway Network) that is critical to the Department of Defense's domestic operations: Cost Estimate: Number of Jobs Created: $220 Million Dollars 2,860 US 2 US Highway 2 is an east-west US Highway spanning 2,571 miles across the northern United States. The western segment of US Highway 2 spans from Everett, Washington to St. Ignace, Michigan. The US Highway 2 corridor within North Dakota is predominantly a four lane divided highway on the National Highway System. NDDOT focuses on this corridor to maintain a high degree of reliability and mobility since it supports and promotes international, national, regional and statewide trade and economic activity. Movements on this highway are primarily long-distance, interstate and intrastate traffic. Six major highways within the state intersect US Highway 2 and provide important routes to the border at Canada or connections deep into southern USA. Two air force bases supporting national security are served by US Highway 2; Grand Forks Air Force Base and Minot Air Force Base. Cost Estimate: Number of Jobs Created: $135.5 Million Dollars 1,762 1-29 Interstate 29 begins in Kansas City, Missouri and connects Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota to the Canadian border in northern North Dakota. 1-29 is regionally and nationally significant since it carries substantial national and international freight and connects the Dakotas with domestic and foreign markets. 1-29 is a Congressionally Designated High Priority Corridor. The northern terminus of 1-29 is the Pembina-Emerson Border crossing. The Pembina-Emerson border crossing is the busiest border crossing between Blaine, Washington and Detroit, Michigan and the fifth busiest along the Canada-United States border. Cost Estimate: Number of Jobs Created: $137.5 Million Dollars 1,788 US 83 US 83 is one of the longest north-south US highways in the US stretching from the Canada border in North Dakota to the Mexico border in Texas. It is part of the CNATC (Central North American Trade Corridor) which strives to strengthen North America's backbone and is currently investigating possibilities of creating an autonomous friendly corridor. It is the central north-south route in the state and supports North Dakota's energy, agricultural and manufacturing sectors. The Minot Air Force Base is located on US 83 and the corridor is Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 10 ED 002061 00086871-00002 part of the STRAHNET (Strategic Highway Network) that is critical to the Department of Defense's domestic operations. Cost Estimate: Number of Jobs Created: $61.3 Million Dollars 797 US 85 The US 85 corridor in North Dakota was an important component during the recent Bakken Oil play within the state. Recognizing the importance of the corridor to supporting the economic situation, the state of North Dakota rapidly invested significant amounts of state funds to address growing needs in the area. Even with the current downturn in the oil market the region continues to have needs resulting from the rapid growth and the corridor continues to be vital to the energy industry nationally and internationally. The US 85 corridor is designated as the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway which makes up a third of the Ports to Plains Alliance corridor stretching from Mexico to Canada. Cost Estimate: Number of Jobs Created: $65.6 Million Dollars 853 Statewide Transit Bus Needs Transit capital funds have long fallen short of the needs in the state. As you know, ND is a very rural state. Because of our rural nature, people must travel long distances for Medical Appointments, and in many cases shopping for essential goods. Many elderly and disabled rely on the Transit System as their only means of transportation. If it weren't for the Transit System, many of these folks would end up moving into subsidized living facilities which would cost the State and Federal Government far more. Currently ND has 325 Transit Busses in the State. Of those 164 (over 50%) have met or exceed the federal guidelines for the life expectancy of a transit bus. Cost Estimate: $26.7 Million Dollars Number of Jobs Created: 347 Note: The Number of Jobs created was calculated using AASHTO's estimation that $1 Billion in Federal and Transit Investment would support 13,000 jobs for one year. Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 10 ED 002061 00086871-00003