BISMARCK, N.D. — A $4.2 million project to install metal poles with reflective markers along two-lane highways across North Dakota has been put on hold because of worries about how the new poles affected farmers driving large equipment.
The posts installed this summer along state highways with shoulders less than 8-feet-wide will be removed as the Department of Transportation redesigns the project. State Sen. Janne Myrdahl, who complained about the problems the posts were causing farmers, said the hard metal posts will likely be replaced by flexible ones.
“I’ve rarely heard about an issue more than I heard about that in two weeks,” Myrdahl told the Bismarck Tribune.
Outgoing Transportation Department Director Bill Panos said in a statement that “it’s not uncommon to pause, reassess and implement design changes when new information becomes available.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how the changes will affect the cost of the project that is being paid for with federal money.
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