Danen Lodoen, Westhope 

I would like to know what would need to happen or whose eyes need to be opened to make Highway 52 a four-lane road permanently.    How many unnecessary deaths need to happen of grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, uncles and aunts? 

We all know the North Dakota long winters and the many days of difficult travel that occurs due to snow, wind, and ice.  All accidents will never be prevented; however, I know all too well about accidents in my family, and it saddens me to keep hearing and reading about all of the deaths and accidents on that death trap well-traveled stretch of highway. 

Recently, we left Drake, North Dakota after playing a basketball game and we were heading towards Towner to scout another basketball game.  HWY 52 was once again blocked off with numerous brave volunteers and paid law enforcement at the scene of yet again another accident on this stretch. The previous Sunday two more deaths occurred on this road with loved ones lost.  Anthony Lee and myself were traveling in my car towards Towner and saw all of the flashing lights west of the turn to Hwy 14 and once again in a matter of 3 days on HWY 52 there was another accident.    We got a call from a concerned citizen from Westhope making sure it wasn’t us involved in the accident.  I have also been close to losing many other loved ones while traveling this highway. 

I won’t pretend to know the budget, but I know it’s financially solvent enough to cover a 300-400-million-dollar project to make HWY 52 a permanent four-lane highway.  I love having a budget surplus for our state but what good does it do if the money isn’t being spent to potentially save lives of our North Dakota residents?  I will pay any tax it would take to make this happen and I am sure many other residents would say the same.

How many more innocent lives need to be lost before action is taken?  I do realize there is talk of a project making turn out lanes to help with problem.  In my opinion this is not enough.