A mix of truck and car traffic on 71st Street and Centennial Avenue is becoming dangerous, so the Metropolitan Planning Organization is funding a study to see how it can be made safer.

The route is a natural bypass allowing truckers to avoid heavy traffic on U.S. Highway 83 as they enter and leave Bismarck, according to MPO Director Steve Saunders. And a major truck stop located on Centennial, where it crosses Interstate-94, further encourages truck traffic to the route.

There also has been a proliferation of residential subdivisions growing adjacent to Centennial and 71st, and it is becoming a heavily used commuter route. With greater growth indicated, the MPO wants to see how it can improve conditions for truckers and commuters.

Earlier this year, the MPO called for proposals to study the route, and four companies responded. Earlier this week, the MPO policy board awarded the study contract to URS-Houston Engineering, which combined to put together a proposal.

The contract is for $80,000, with the MPO paying 80 percent of the cost and Bismarck, Burleigh and the North Dakota Department of Transportation equally sharing the remaining 20 percent. The study is to be completed by the end of 2007.

"This is a byproduct of the U.S. 83 Corridor Study the MPO did. We're looking at this route as an access to 83. There will be some look at land uses, but it won't be the focus of the study," Saunders said. "We'll be looking at some lane changes, perhaps right-of-way increases."

Saunders doesn't expect that the study will recommend any major widening of the road, but does believe some additional turning lanes will be indicated.

"Basically, this is just a short-term study to get the immediate situation under control," Saunders said. "Later in the year the MPO will consider doing a beltway study, which will include this section and take a deeper look into the future.

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