Theodore Roosevelt National Park landslide damage at least $3 million fix

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DICKINSON, N.D. — Landslides caused by wet conditions are affecting roads and lake cabins in western North Dakota.

Land shifting has caused part of the scenic drive in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park to slump, The Dickinson Press reported. A seven-mile stretch of the drive has been reduced to one lane during the day and is being closed at night.

It will cost more than $3 million to repair all spots in the park affected by landslides, Park Superintendent Valerie Naylor said.

“With all the moisture over the past years, we have documented 28 places in the North and South units that are compromised due to water logging and such,” she said.

Access to campgrounds and hiking trails is not affected.

Landslides also are causing headaches for cabin owners on Lake Sakakawea's Skunk Bay. Paula Koffler and Doyle Wandler told The Dickinson Press that their cabin has been unusable this summer.

“Our entire yard, including our cabin, sunk 4 feet into the ground” Koffler said. “It is a really sad situation.”

Todd Lindquist, a project manager with the Army Corps of Engineers, said erosion is a problem all around the Missouri River reservoir because of heavy spring snowmelt runoff and rain.

“We are seeing a combination of sloughing and shoreline erosion with the high water levels,” he said.

Slumping land also has affected roads in the region, most notably the heavily traveled N.D. Highway 22. The state Transportation Department plans to award a contract next week for a new repair project on the highway north of Killdeer.

The heavily traveled road in western North Dakota's oil patch was shut down in mid-May by landslides. It was to reopen in mid-July after the completion of temporary bypasses but another landslide halted that plan. The new repair project includes relocating and realigning a section of the roadway. It is expected to be opened in late fall or early winter, though it will have a gravel surface through the winter until a permanent roadway can be constructed starting in the spring.

“We understand how difficult it is to have a roadway closed, but (the landslides are) making it unsafe for motorists,” state Transportation Director Francis Ziegler said in a statement Friday.

Tags: national parks, theodore roosevelt national park, lake sakakawea, north dakota, updates, parks, weather, rain, travel, roads, landslides