Williams County shut down the oil patch last week and reopened it Monday, partly because crude oil supplies were becoming strained at the Tesoro Refinery at Mandan.
Divide County and Williams County, home of Williston, both severely restricted gross weight of vehicles to prevent gravel roads from being completely destroyed by semi truck traffic. In both northwestern counties, the heavily-freighted oil industry came to a dead stop.
Williams County planned to reassess the roads' condition Tuesday after county crews, helped by the oil industry, worked all weekend to make repairs.
It stepped up that assessment after getting a call Monday morning from North Dakota Petroleum Council President Ron Ness, who said Tesoro, which depends on a pipeline station in Williams County, was beginning to get tight on supply.
"We knew late last week that they had a supply for five or six days, but another week (of the shutdown) would have a significant impact on their product," Ness said. "Not only that, but an entire industry was sitting on its heels."
Williams County Commissioner Dan Kalil said the oil industry brought blades and other equipment to the county crew's road battle and significant headway was made over the weekend.I said in my last post (written yesterday) that I would comment on the Williams County Commission decision to shut down the oil industry locally, but my two cents worth is no longer needed. Interesting turn of events, though.
I've been driving the county roads the last couple of days and they are truly horrendous. Horrendous but not impassable. And no IEDs.
