Interstate 94 in North Dakota

Interstate 94
Route information
	Maintained by NDDOT
Length:	352.39 mi (567.12 km)
Major junctions
West end:	I‑94 at Montana state line
	US 85 in Belfield; I-194/Bismarck Expressway in Mandan; US 83 in Bismarck; US 83 near Sterling; US 52 / US 281 in Jamestown; US 10 in West Fargo; I-29 in Fargo; US 81 in Fargo
East end:	I-94 / US 52 at Minnesota state line
Highway system

Interstate 94 runs east–west through the central portion of the U.S. state of North Dakota.

Route description

The route enters from Montana at Beach and immediately heads east, passing Dickinson, Bismarck, and Jamestown before entering Fargo and finally exiting the state.

The route passes to the south of Theodore Roosevelt National Park's southern unit. Access to the Northern unit is possible by taking US 85 north from Belfield.

The route crosses from Mountain Time Zone (UTC−7) into Central Time Zone (UTC−6) at the Stark/Morton County line and vice versa.

The route has a 75 miles per hour (121 km/h) posted speed limit between the Montana state line and Mandan near mile marker 152; a 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) posted speed limit between Mandan near mile marker 152 and Bismarck mile marker 160; a 75 miles per hour (121 km/h) posted speed limit between Bismarck at mile marker 160 and West Fargo near exit 346; a 65 miles per hour (105 km/h) posted speed limit in West Fargo between exit 346 and mile marker 347; and a 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) posted speed limit between West Fargo at mile marker 347 to the Minnesota state line.

Interstate 94 has two lanes in each direction through most of the state and 3 lanes in each direction in the Bismarck/Mandan area, from Exit 155 to Exit 156, and from the 45th Street exit (Exit 348) to the Red River (Minnesota state line) in Fargo.

Points of interest

The route enters at Beach and passes through the Badlands near Medora (near the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (South Unit)). A public rest area about seven miles (11 km) east of Medora provides an awe-inspiring view, especially at sunset, and an opportunity to hike through some of the scenery on the Painted Canyon Trail. Further east, I-94 provides access to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, then passes through the cities of Dickinson, Mandan, Bismarck, Jamestown, and Valley City on the way to West Fargo and Fargo, where it leaves the state and crosses into Minnesota. Throughout the state, the route generally travels relatively straight east and west following both the railroad route and the former route of US 10 (called "The Old Red Trail" or less commonly "The National Parks Trail"), where its western terminus is at Exit 343 in West Fargo.

The highway intersects with the Enchanted Highway 11 miles east of Dickinson at Exit 72. (The small green mile signs on the side of the road initialize at zero on the Montana border). At New Salem, it passes Salem Sue, a 38 foot high sculpture of a Holstein cow and is clearly visible from I-94 on the south side of the road. A drive up the road to Sue will take you to a vantage point where you can see a panoramic landscape for many miles. Between Mandan and Bismarck, I-94 crosses the Missouri River with a view of the Northern Pacific/BNSF Railroad Bridge on the South side of the road. At Steele, it passes the world's largest sculpture of a sand hill crane (named Sandy), which is 40 feet tall and visible from I-94 on the south side of the road, just to the east of exit 200. At Jamestown, it passes the world's largest sculpture of a buffalo (actually bison) named "Dakota Thunder", which is 28 feet tall and is visible from I-94 on the north side of the road.

At approximately mile marker 275 on the westbound lanes between Jamestown and Valley City, you will see a small green sign marking a continental divide. The rivers that are west of this divide flow South into the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of Mexico, while the rivers that are east of the divide flow North into the Arctic Ocean. The James River, that flows through Jamestown, feeds into the Atlantic Ocean, while the Sheyenne River, that flows through Valley City (36 miles east of Jamestown), feeds into the Arctic Ocean. The terrain at the divide is almost indistinguishable from the surrounding terrain, but it allows travelers to reflect upon an interesting aspect of the geography of North Dakota. (The sign on the eastbound lanes was taken down and the North Dakota DOT decided not to replace "Continental Divide" signs.)

Continental Divide Sign on I-94 West in North Dakota

History

East bound on Interstate 94, the main highway east–west through North Dakota.^[2]

Through the state, Interstate 94 follows the route once taken by U.S. Highway 10 west from Fargo. This route was originally called "The Old Red Trail". Prairie Public Television in North Dakota produced a documentary about this road and the building of I-94 through the state.

Interstate 94 roughly follows a BNSF Railway (formerly the Northern Pacific Railway) route across North Dakota.

Interstate 94 roughly parallels another North Dakota four-lane highway, US 2, which is approximately 100 miles to the north.

Spur routes

I-194—a short spur route into Bismarck (Bismarck Expressway); unsigned

Exit list

County	Location	mi^[3]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Golden Valley		0.000	0.000		I‑94 west	Continuation into Montana
	Beach	1.849	2.976	1	ND 16 – Beach	Rest area just south of exit
		7.368	11.858	7	Home on the Range
		10.478	16.863	10	Camel Hump Lake, Sentinel Butte
		18.452	29.696	18	Buffalo Gap
Billings		23.001	37.017	23	West River Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		24.315	39.131	24	I‑94 Bus. east – Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora
		27.243	43.843	27	I‑94 Bus. west – Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		32.963	53.049	32	Painted Canyon Visitor Center
		36.861	59.322	36	Fryburg
Stark	Belfield	42.366	68.181	42	US 85 – Watford City, Belfield To North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park	Future junction with the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway
		51.476	82.843	51	South Heart
		56.414	90.790	56	(no name)	Future interchange
	Dickinson	59.485	95.732	59	I‑94 Bus. east – Dickinson	To Dickinson State University
		61.476	98.936	61	ND 22 – Killdeer, Dickinson
		64.204	103.326	64	I‑94 Bus. west – Dickinson
				Former rest area^[4]
		72.253	116.280	72	Gladstone, Lefor	Enchanted Highway exit
		78.901	126.979	78	Taylor
		84.885	136.609	84	ND 8 – Richardton, Mott
		90.110	145.018	90	(no name)
Morton		97.188	156.409	97	Hebron
		102.914	165.624	102	Glen Ullin, Hebron	Half-cloverleaf exit
		108.354	174.379	108	Glen Ullin
		110.367	177.618	110	ND 49 – Beulah, Glen Ullin
		113.389	182.482	113	(no name)
		117.197	188.610	117	(no name)
		120.204	193.450	120	(no name)
		123.200	198.271	123	Almont
	New Salem	127.662	205.452	127	ND 31 north – Hazen, New Salem
		134.115	215.837	134	Sweet Briar Lake, Judson	Scenic View just east of exit on westbound side
		140.118	225.498	140	Crown Butte Dam
		147.183	236.868	147	ND 25 / I‑94 Bus. east to ND 6 – Center, Mandan
	Mandan	152.329	245.150	152	Sunset Drive – Mandan	Scenic View just west of exit on eastbound side
		153.988	247.820	153	ND 1806 (Mandan Avenue)
		155.026	249.490	155	To I‑94 Bus. / ND 6 – Mandan City Center	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		156.069	251.169	156	To I‑94 Bus. / Bismarck Expressway (I-194) – Bismarck City Center, West Bismarck, East Mandan
Missouri River				Grant Marsh Bridge
Burleigh	Bismarck	157.344	253.221	157	Divide Avenue	Modified half-cloverleaf interchange
		159.419	256.560	159	US 83 north (ND 1804) – Minot, Bismarck	West end of US 83 overlap, North Dakota State Capitol
		161.439	259.811	161	Bismarck Expressway (I-94 Bus. west) – Lincoln
		170.519	274.424	170	Menoken
		176.501	284.051	176	McKenzie
		182.488	293.686	182	US 83 south / ND 14 north – Wing, Sterling	East end of US 83 overlap
		190.110	305.952	190	Driscoll
Kidder		195.090	313.967	195	(no name)
	Steele	200.760	323.092	200	ND 3 north – Tuttle, Steele	West end of ND 3 overlap
		205.071	330.030	205	Robinson
	Dawson	208.702	335.873	208	ND 3 south – Dawson	East end of ND 3 overlap
	Tappen	214.126	344.602	214	Tappen
		217.145	349.461	217	Pettibone
		221.733	356.845	221	Crystal Springs
Stutsman		228.321	367.447	228	ND 30 south – Streeter
		230.288	370.613	230	Medina, Woodworth
		233.343	375.529	233	(no name)
	Cleveland	238.793	384.300	238	Cleveland, Gackle
		242.672	390.543	242	Windsor
		245.191	394.597	245	(no name)
		248.991	400.712	248	(no name)
		251.686	405.049	251	Eldridge
		256.224	412.353	256	US 52 Truck west / US 281 Truck north	West end of US 52 Truck/US 281 Truck overlap
	Jamestown	257.002	413.605	257	I‑94 Bus. east – Jamestown	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; left exit
		258.055	415.299	258	US 52 west / US 281 – Jamestown	East end of US 52/US 281 Truck Bypass overlap; west end of US 52 overlap
		260.125	418.631	260	I‑94 Bus. west – Jamestown
		262.361	422.229	262	Jamestown Regional Airport, Bloom
		269.355	433.485	269	Spiritwood
Barnes		272.369	438.335	272	(no name)
		276.385	444.799	276	Eckelson, Marion
		281.640	453.256	281	Sanborn
		283.139	455.668	283	ND 1 north – Rogers	West end of ND 1 overlap
		288.636	464.515	288	ND 1 south – Verona, Oakes	East end of ND 1 overlap
	Valley City	290.803	468.002	290	I‑94 Bus. east – Valley City
		292.072	470.044	292	Valley City
		294.283	473.603	294	I‑94 Bus. west – Valley City
		296.741	477.558	296	(no name)
		298.746	480.785	298	(no name)
	Oriska	302.712	487.168	302	ND 32 – Oriska, Fingal
	Tower City	307.679	495.161	307	Tower City
Cass		310.456	499.631	310	(no name)
		314.863	506.723	314	ND 38 – Buffalo, Alice
		317.846	511.524	317	Ayr
		320.837	516.337	320	Embden
		322.827	519.540	322	Absaraka
		324.821	522.749	324	Wheatland, Chaffee
		328.710	529.007	328	Lynchburg
	Casselton	331.226	533.057	331	ND 18 – Casselton, Leonard
	Mapleton	338.737	545.144	338	Mapleton
		340.717	548.331	340	Kindred
		342.721	551.556	342	(no name)
	West Fargo	343.803	553.297	343	US 10 / I‑94 Bus. east – West Fargo, Fargo
		346.442	557.544	346	Sheyenne Street	Signed as exits 346A (south) and 346B (north) westbound
		347.786	559.707	347	Veterans Boulevard, 9th Street East	Signed as 9th Street East north of I-94 and Veterans Boulevard south of I-94
	Fargo	348.481	560.826	348	45th Street
		349.584	562.601	349	I-29 / US 81 – Grand Forks, Sioux Falls	Signed as exits 349A (south) and 349B (north); I-29 exits 63A-B
		350.586	564.213	350	25th Street
		351.590	565.829	351	US 81 Bus. (University Drive) – Downtown Fargo
		352.39	567.12		I-94 east / US 52 east	Continuation into Minnesota
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Closed/former Concurrency terminus Incomplete access Unopened