Grand Forks County Commission discusses future of wind turbine blade transport

The issue of traffic and safety was brought up by residents near LM Wind Power.

GRAND FORKS – The Grand Forks County Commission on Tuesday discussed potential ways forward for traffic issues associated with trucks carrying wind turbine blades.

The issue at hand is the route that the blades are transported from the LM Wind Power facility in Grand Forks. Nearby resident Bill Kvasager voiced his concerns to the County Commission and asked for potential remedies, especially at the intersection of 69th Street and 17th Avenue South.

“For the last four, five years, we’ve had the blades going by, causing problems with tearing the road up and dust,” Kvasager told the commission. “Within the last couple of months, the township informed us that the transport company that hauls these blades wants to increase the turn radius at the 69th and 17th intersection.”

Kvasager believes the increased turning radius and the right-of-way encroachment would cause drainage problems on his property. He is not the only one with concerns — both the North Dakota Highway Patrol and the North Dakota Department of Transportation have had concerns with the transportation of the turbine blades from LM Wind Power’s facility.

“They are concerned about the safety of these long convoys crossing a busy road like Highway 2,” Grand Forks County State’s Attorney Haley Wamstad said. “My understanding is that state law requires a company like this to get a permit if they’re going to drive along the roadway, but not if they’re going to cross the roadway.”

According to information shared during the meeting, the blades often cross both DeMers Avenue, a state highway, and U.S. Highway 2 using 69th Street and 17th Avenue South. Both are currently township roads and not paved. Because of the way North Dakota Century Code is written and the fact that LM Wind Power isn’t the one transporting the blades, addressing concerns is murky.

“I can’t deny any of it — it’s just a problem all around,” County Engineer Nick West said. “But there’s no good way to get them from the facility to the storage yard; they go north, south, east, west depending on whatever wind farm they’re serving.”

County Commission Chairman David Engen told Kvasager that he would bring up the issue when he meets with the Grand Forks Regional Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, to which LM Wind Power has an advisory capacity. From there, finding a solution would likely come from discussions between the county, local stakeholders and LM Wind Power.

In other news from Tuesday's meeting, the county:

Referred a zoning issue near the airport to the county planning and zoning committee. Resident Bob Wilkerson brought the issue to the commission as he had been unable to sell his home in the air preservation district as it is a legal nonconformity and prospective buyers could not get a mortgage underwritten.

Approved a resolution authorizing the Red River Regional Council to apply for a grant to help fund a regional livestock planning study. The study would identify locations in the county that would be ideal candidates for livestock feeding operations and agricultural industry expansion.

Approved precincts for early and absentee voting for the Nov. 5 general election. Early in-person voting begins in Grand Forks on Oct. 29 and mail voting begins Sept. 26