A proposal to pave seven miles of County Road 14 in western Ward County advanced with approval from the Ward County Commission Tuesday.

County Road 14 is paved as it runs west of Minot but turns to gravel when it intersects with County Road 9, which runs south from Berthold. The roadway receives considerable residential, agricultural and oil traffic and has required frequent maintenance, according to the Ward County Highway Department..

County Road 14 will be paved to the Mountrail County line. Mountrail County also plans to pave its connecting road, which continues on to Stanley.

The joint project received a grant from the state through the Flexible Transportation Fund Program to cover half the cost. The local share of the $6.6 million portion in Ward County will be covered by proceeds from the county sales tax.

It is the first new paving in Ward County since the county paved County Road 20 between County Road 9 and the Mountrail County line several years ago, County Engineer Dana Larsen told the commission. At that time, Mountrail also paved its connecting road. The project facilitated traffic in the Plaza area, which had experienced a significant increase in vehicle counts.