Regulator says overpass needed before natural gas project can start

Traffic waits on Highway 1804 at the Marley Crossing near Trenton, North Dakota, on May 10, 2024. The North Dakota Department of Transportation has requested federal grants to help build an overpass over the tracks but so far has been unsuccessful. (Photo courtesy of Williams County)

A North Dakota utility regulator says a railroad overpass should get built on a key road before construction begins on a multi-billion dollar natural gas processing facility.

“I don’t know if it’s within our jurisdiction or even whether it’s fair and reasonable to require something like that,” Randy Christmann, chair of the Public Service Commission, said during a work session last week.

Christmann cited a letter from the head of the North Dakota Department of Transportation that said the DOT has been trying for three years to get a federal grant to build an overpass at Marley Crossing on North Dakota Highway 1804.

A railroad track crosses Highway 1804 west of Trenton in Williams County, near the proposed site of the Cerilon natural gas processing facility. Trains cause traffic to back up on 1804, which is expected to handle a lot of truck and employee traffic from the Cerilon plant.

Cerilon is proposing to build two gas-to-liquids plants to convert natural gas into useful products, such as diesel fuel and lubricants, and also generate electricity.

Each Cerilon GTL ND facility would cost an estimated $3.2 billion and has received support from the state government and Williams and McKenzie counties.

Christmann said he fears the traffic will be even worse during construction of the plant and the overpass is needed before construction begins.

“There was a need without this,” Christmann said during the PSC work session, referring to the Cerilon plant. “Clearly when this is added, an overpass is needed as a whole starting point.”

He said it should be built before the construction phase, when traffic will likely be at its worst.

“Why not build it before you put people through a year or two of misery?” he asked.

Traffic was one of the main concerns of area residents when the PSC held a public hearing on the Cerilon project in June.

Fix traffic before building natural gas plant, residents tell PSC

The letter from Department of Transportation Director Ronald Henke says his agency has partnered with BNSF Railway in looking for grant funding for an overpass.

Chad Orn, deputy director of planning for the Department of Transportation, said the department is working on another grant application due in September similar to previous grants. The grant would provide $2.4 million just for the planning phase of an overpass. The DOT is requesting $1.92 million with the state and BNSF each contributing $240,000.

Orn said the planning phase would take two to three years and then construction also would take multiple years and cost about $50 million. The department would likely need to seek more grant funding for construction, he said.

Cerilon said in an email to the North Dakota Monitor that it has provided letters of support for grant applications.

Commissioner Julie Fedorchak said she still senses frustration from residents in western North Dakota that they still have to deal with infrastructure issues such as roads while the oil and gas industry generates huge amounts of tax revenue for the state.

“They don’t feel like a fair amount is reinvested in the area to deal with the problems,” Fedorchak said. “I think this is another example of that.”

She suggested the state could fund the project.

“Maybe we don’t need grants from the broke federal government,” Fedorchak said. “Take it from the tax dollars being generated by this industry.”

Christmann also suggested that Cerilon could contribute to the overpass project. He cited cases where the coal industry has paid for underpasses and bridges near Beulah needed to handle heavy loads.

“That’s a cost of doing business,” he said.

In its email, Cerilon said, “This project would be the responsibility of the state and Cerilon would not be involved in the design and implementation.”

Orn said he could not recall the coal industry contributing to a state road project but the industry may have helped with local projects. He said an oil company was allowed to hire a contractor to improve a stretch of a state highway but that was a much smaller project than building an overpass.

Marley Crossing is not the only area of concern for traffic near the plant.

Henke’s letter says a report on traffic problems and possible solutions will be completed by the end of August.

A left turn lane at the intersection of 1804 and 147th Avenue Northwest is expected to be added in 2025, the letter says.

One possible solution is a bypass around the town of Trenton, which Highway 1804 runs through.

A bypass “still doesn’t deal with the problem of what about when the road is blocked by the train, backing up all the traffic,” Christmann said.

The company says phase one would create about 100 jobs. Christmann said employees going to and from the plant would just add to the traffic and suggested the company could bus in workers to mitigate the impact.

There is no timeline for when the PSC will make a decision on the Cerilon siting application. Commissioners indicated another work session may be needed before a vote.

DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX