North Dakota Highway 15

North Dakota Highway 15 (ND 15) is a 134.137-mile-long (215.873 km) east–west state highway in central North Dakota. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 52 (US 52) in Fessenden and the eastern terminus is at Interstate 29 (I-29) and US 81 near Thompson. ND 15 was designated in 1939.

North Dakota Highway 15 marker
North Dakota Highway 15
Map
ND 15 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NDDOT
Length134.137 mi[1] (215.873 km)
Existed1939–present
Major junctions
West end US 52 in Fessenden
Major intersections
East end I-29 / US 81 near Thompson
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNorth Dakota
CountiesWells, Eddy, Nelson, Grand Forks
Highway system
  • North Dakota State Highway System
ND 14 ND 16

Route description

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North Dakota Highway 15 begins in Fessenden at an intersection with US 52 and travels east for about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) before beginning a concurrency with ND 30 for 4.5 miles (7.2 km). After the concurrency ends, ND 15 heads east for 7 miles (11 km) before leaving Wells County and entering Eddy County. Seven miles east of the county line, ND 15 begins a concurrency with US 281 and heads north for 2 miles (3.2 km) to enter the city of New Rockford. Just north of New Rockford, ND 15 turns east and travels about 25 miles (40 km) across nearly all of Eddy County to begin a concurrency with ND 20. The concurrency heads north for 8 miles (13 km) before ND 20 forks north and ND 15 forks east. 3 miles (4.8 km) farther east, the route enters Nelson County. 9 miles (14 km) east of the county line, ND 15 reaches the community of Pekin. East of Pekin, the highway intersects ND 1. About 7 miles (11 km) to the southeast of this intersection, ND 15 passes through McVille and about 9 miles (14 km) east of McVille, the highway has a junction with ND 32. The Nelson-Grand Forks county line is 5 miles (8.0 km) east of this intersection. 12 miles (19 km) into Grand Forks County, ND 15 begins a concurrency with ND 18. The route heads 8 miles (13 km) east during this concurrency, passing through Northwood. After the concurrency ends, the highway heads 7 miles (11 km) east, 2 miles (3.2 km) north, and 9 miles (14 km) east before entering Thompson, a southern suburb of Grand Forks. The highway ends 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Thompson at an interchange with Interstate 29 about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of the Red River of the North.[2][3]

The only section of North Dakota Highway 15 that is included in the National Highway System is its concurrency with US 281, which is 3 miles (4.8 km) long.[4] ND 15 is one of the less traveled highways in North Dakota, with average traffic in 2011 at about 200-600 vehicles per day with about 1000-2500 vehicles per day during its concurrency with US 281 and in Grand Forks County.[5]

History

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ND 15 was designated in 1939.[6] Since then, its routing has largely remained the same, but it has undergone some changes. Southeast of New Rockford, the route originally turned north and then west to enter New Rockford from the west.[7] It has since been straightened to intersect US 281 south of town.[8] Between just east of Pekin and the south side of Northwood, the highway stair-stepped along through Nelson and Grand Forks counties.[7] To reduce the number of turns, the stair-stepping portion of the highway was straightened into a diagonal and a new alignment was built that passed to the north of Northwood.[9][10] At Thompson, ND 15 originally turned north briefly before turning back to the east to meet US 81.[7] Now the highway keeps going straight to its interchange with I-29 / US 81.[10]

Major intersections

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CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
WellsFessenden0.0000.000  US 52 – Harvey, CarringtonWestern terminus
Roadway continues west as Old Highway 52
5.8549.421 
 
ND 30 north – Maddock
Western end of ND 30 concurrency
10.34916.655 
 
ND 30 south – Cathay
Eastern end of ND 30 concurrency
Eddy24.28039.075 
 
US 281 south – Carrington
Southern end of US 281 concurrency
New Rockford27.22643.816 
 
US 281 north – Churchs Ferry
Northern end of US 281 concurrency
52.32984.215 
 
ND 20 south – Jamestown
Southern end of ND 20 concurrency
60.44497.275 
 
ND 20 north – Devils Lake
Northern end of ND 20 concurrency
Nelson73.570118.399  ND 1 – Lakota, Hannaford
89.872144.635  ND 32 – Petersburg, Aneta
Grand Forks106.836171.936 
 
ND 18 north – Larimore
Western end of ND 18 concurrency
114.902184.917 
 
ND 18 south – Hatton
Eastern end of ND 18 concurrency
134.137215.873   I-29 / US 81 – Grand Forks, FargoI-29/US 81 Exit 130. Eastern terminus
Roadway continues east as Grand Forks County Road 81A
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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  1. ^ a b North Dakota Department of Transportation (2009). Route and Mileage Map (Map). North Dakota Department of Transportation.
  2. ^ "North Dakota Highway 15" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  3. ^ "North Dakota Address Based Research and Map Tools".
  4. ^ North Dakota fhwa.dot.gov
  5. ^ Traffic state 2013 dot.nd.gov
  6. ^ Mileage retrieved from North Dakota Highways 1 to 30[self-published source] unless otherwise noted.
  7. ^ a b c Rand McNally & Company (1947). Road and Reference Atlas (Map). 1 in = 20 mi. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company. p. 69. §§ E8–11.
  8. ^ North Dakota Department of Transportation (2004). General Highway Map: Eddy County (PDF) (Map). North Dakota Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  9. ^ North Dakota Department of Transportation (2006). General Highway Map: Nelson County (PDF) (Map). North Dakota Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  10. ^ a b North Dakota Department of Transportation (2006). General Highway Map: Grand Forks County (PDF) (Map). North Dakota Department of Transportation. p. 2. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
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