New to Rural Grand Forks County

Welcome to rural Grand Forks County!

The following information is intended to answer questions you may have with road maintenance and living in the areas outside of city limits and in the country. First of all, not all the roads in rural Grand Forks County are "county roads". Many feeder roads are "county roads", but nearly 3/4 of them, are township roads that have an organized body of government that oversees all of the townships affairs including roads. In Grand Forks County we have 41 townships. If in doubt, please call our department at 780-8248 to determine if a road is a state, county or township road.

Your township has a board of supervisors that are elected by the residents of the township. They meet at various times during the year and as a township resident you are encouraged and welcome to attend the meetings to provide input or discuss various issues including roads, local taxes etc.

The local township board has the duty to maintain the road system within the township. They make decisions such as where and when to gravel, road repairs, road projects, speed limits, section line improvements, etc.

The townships do not own any road equipment; they contract with the County Highway Department. As part of the contract, the County routinely blades gravel roads and plows snow. Most other work is done by private contractors for the Townships.

Chances are your road has a gravel surface. During the spring thaw and extended periods of wet weather they get soft, rutted, sloppy, muddy and at times are difficult to travel. During extended dry periods they get wash boarded and are very dusty. Conditions vary with traffic volumes and various types of gravel that are placed on roads.

Please report any unsafe conditions that you may encounter while traveling to your township supervisors or the County Highway Department. Please report any downed or damaged road signs.

To report any road problems that need attention call your township supervisors or the Grand Forks County Highway Dept. at 701-780-8248. For emergency situations call the Grand Forks County Sheriffs Dept. at 701-780-8280, or dial 911.

We hope you will find the information on this page informative and useful... Thank You!