BISMARCK — Wedged between a Subway sandwich shop and an RV campground in Harvey, North Dakota, lies a .28-mile stretch of pavement known as Highway 91.
Soon, a couple signs will inform drivers of the road's unusual superlative: North Dakota’s shortest highway.
Both chambers of the state Legislature passed Senate Bill 2146, which gives Highway 91 its tiny title and provides roadside signs to mark what supporters say could be “a mini tourist attraction.”
Sen. Jerry Klein, R-Fessenden, brought the bill on behalf of Harvey constituent Mike Waldoch, who told lawmakers of his ambitions to make the highway a day-trip destination.
Waldoch addressed a Senate committee in January while wearing a T-shirt that read, “Highway 91: A short but sweet adventure.” Traveling the speed limit of 25 mph, a driver could traverse the whole highway in about 40 seconds.
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Harvey, a city of 1,600 in the central part of the state, doesn’t have a lot of tourist attractions, Waldoch said. With the highway’s new designation, he hopes a few sightseers might say, “Ah, what the heck? Let’s travel up to Harvey and travel the shortest highway.”
Klein and Waldoch noted that they thought 91 might be the shortest highway in the country, but research revealed one out east with that honor already locked up.
To the amusement of his colleagues, Sen. Cole Conley, R-Jamestown, floated a few potential mottos for Highway 91, including “Get ‘er done on 91” and “Don’t blink.”
“Not every community in North Dakota has a huge buffalo or a Holstein to promote their communities,” Conley said. “Fortunately for Harvey, what they do have is the shortest state highway in North Dakota.”
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