Stutsman County designates portion of Road 39 as minimum maintenance road

Floodwater and a closing detour have now been met with a new county designation on County Road 39 west of Medina, where the Stutsman County Commission unanimously approved minimum maintenance status for about 1,940 feet of roadway. The move affects a stretch already under strain, with about two-thirds of a mile closed because high water made it unsafe and impassable.

For people trying to reach Crystal Springs, the practical result is immediate. Traffic has been rerouted north on 49th Avenue Southeast, west on an access road on 35th Street Southeast and then south on 47th Avenue Southeast. For landowners along the corridor, the change gives a legal path to keep using the road where they still believe it can be traveled, while the county avoids committing more money to repeated grade raises and repairs on a segment that has repeatedly gone under water.

Commissioner Amanda Hastings said the designation gives immediate access to landowners and keeps open the option of a future closure if conditions require it. Jesse Christianson, the county road superintendent, said the designated portion is still unsafe for motorists. That warning underscores the day-to-day stakes for anyone relying on the route for farm access, commuting, mail delivery or emergency response, because the county is signaling that routine maintenance on this stretch will no longer be treated the same way as on a standard county road.

The decision also reflects a long-running fight with water. Mike May, project manager for Interstate Engineering, said a 3-foot grade raise on County Road 39 was completed in 2021, but the road was underwater within four years. He said water in the area has been rising about 7.5 to 8 inches a year, a pace that has steadily erased previous fixes and left the county searching for a more durable answer.

That earlier effort was not small. FEMA said in 2021 that Stutsman County received $1.6 million for a permanent grade raise on County Road 39 after floodwaters inundated the road. Even so, the latest action shows the county is still wrestling with the same basic problem: how to keep a rural connector open when repeated flooding keeps overwhelming repairs.

The county’s move is not yet complete. It depends on St. Paul Township also designating about 1,550 feet of County Road 39 as minimum maintenance. Under North Dakota Century Code, a board with jurisdiction may designate a road as a minimum maintenance road, and state rules require signs that meet official standards for placement and reflectivity.