Major Road Upgrades Set to Transform Arnegard, Keene, and Grassy Butte
Travis Bateman
Special to The Farmer
McKenzie County’s Road and Bridge Department is embarking on improvements for three communities in the county in 2026.
The unincorporated communities of Grassy Butte and Keene, will see new asphalt streets to complement their towns, while Arnegard and points north will see an improved roadway there.
Grassy Butte has pavement currently, but it is in disrepair and there are additional needs for asphalt surface for parking after community input was received at a recent input meeting.
Additional parking areas in the town center and along School Avenue for the fire station will be included in the work. Access to the livestock yard and scale on the town’s north side will also be improved and have three access points. The NDDOT widening of U.S. Highway 85 will also bring some access changes or adjustments and an intersection adjustment to the County Road 50 junction with U.S. Highway 85, to coincide with the county work on town streets.
Keene has always had gravel streets, but that will change with this work as Main Street and First Avenue will be paved with street-side parking areas also included in the area of the Keene Dome. An additional area that is likely to be added to this work will be the new Keene Fire Station property located on the south side of the town.
And in the Arnegard area a much needed improvement will also be done to the portion of 133rd Avenue NW that runs north from U.S. Highway 85, along the town’s east side, and north for approximately three miles. This road will be rebuilt and paved to accommodate the growing residential and industrial areas located two miles north of Arnegard. The project is a partnership between the City of Arnegard, Arnegard Township, and McKenzie County. The roadway there has struggled with heavy weight traffic, poor drainage, unsafe line of sight, and increased traffic volumes with the growth of home and businesses.
Paving is also in the works for East Fairview, but county officials are awaiting additional information from town officials there before the project can move ahead.
The need to improve these unincorporated town roadways was first mentioned at a county commission meeting several months ago by Commissioner Clint Wold and has progressed ever since through communication with the communities, townships, county road and bridge, and county engineer offices.
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