Those routes comprising the beltway that some day will encircle Bismarck and Mandan have been settled on, it was reported to the Metropolitan Planning Organization on Tuesday.

Ulteig Engineer's Steve Windish, project manager for the beltway study commissioned by the MPO, updated the policy board on progress. The study is about 40 percent complete and not expected to be completed until sometime next year.

The study commission selected Highway 1804/71st Avenue to the north; 66th Street to the east; and 48th Avenue to the south for further study.

Once the study is completed, local commissions will have to approve the plans.

During the course of gathering public information for use in the study, there was some debate on which roads will make up the beltway on the Bismarck-Burleigh side of the river.

There was some preference shown for 84th Avenue over Highway 1804/71st Avenue to the north; for 80th Street over 66th Street to the west; and for 62nd Avenue over 48th Avenue to the south.

Windish said that the steering committee met last week and developed some criteria for comparing the routes and coming to a consensus on the most appropriate routes for the beltway.

"We talked about various influences, such as waterways, railroads, wetlands and social impacts. It was quite the discussion," Windish said.

Picking the southern-most route was easy since 48th Avenue already has been identified in the Long Range Transportation Plan and the route is already being used in the planning and development process as residential subdivisions spring up in that part of Burleigh County. Plats are providing 200-foot right of way easements for 48th.

"In the discussion on 66th and 80th, I thought it would be closer, but 66th was hands down the choice," Windish said. "This mostly revolved around the Long Range Transportation Plan along with the planning and development that is already taking place."

The debate between Highway 1804/71st Avenue and 84th Avenue was slightly more difficult, Windish. said

"There isn't a lot of develop along 84th, so to plat it appropriately wouldn't be difficult," Windish said.

"However, the connectivity Highway 1804/71st Avenue has with the proposed northern bridge makes a lot of sense. If you used 84th, it would have to jog a mile south to line up. And the consensus was that even if 84th was designated the beltway route, people would still be using Highway 1804/71st."

So the final consensus on the western side of the Missouri was to use Highway 1804/71st Avenue to the north; 66th Street to the east; and 48th Avenue to the south.

It was difficult to pick the Mandan-Morton routes, Windish said. It was decided that 25th Avenue to the west would be the interim route until, some day, an interchange is built at 24th Avenue and this will become the beltway route.

About a mile south of the Interstate, 25th will be routed east to match up with 24th. The southern east-west route is 46th Street and the northern east-west route is 37th Street.

Windish said he has been receiving a lot of calls from residents on the Burleigh side concerned about which route will be taken. He said they will now be informed on the decisions that have been made.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@;bismarcktribune.com.)