North Dakota Superchargers (location speculation, discussion)

[msksus1]

Oil people and farmers do tend to drive their big trucks. Nonetheless, I do believe there are a fair number of people that would drive a Model 3. I agree that the economical thing to do is supercharge the east side of the state. But in my humble opinion, this would be stupid and really a disservice to all tesla owners. As stated above, many of us bought the S on the hopes and sales pitch implied by their futuristic superchargers maps. And not finishing them in a timely manner is a 'bait and switch' type scam. I currently hold 2 reservations for the "3" and have become a little more skeptical of these delayed/broken promises. Don't get me wrong, I am still a big believer in Elon Musk and Tesla, and but not as punch drunk on the koolaide.
If someone like me becomes skeptical, I can only think that people who are more practical and economically minded may think twice about purchasing one till the infra-structure is in place. Driving a 200 mile range car in the dead of winter in ND (sept thru june) will be very impractical. Its range will be similar to that of a Leaf, limiting it to a grocery getter.

 

[lightfoot3b]

Little Rock is open, it's official, last state to receive an SC in the lower 48 is ND. I suppose the next bet is when ND receives one.

 

[BobC]

Little Rock is open, it's official, last state to receive an SC in the lower 48 is ND. I suppose the next bet is when ND receives one.

I suppose we could extend the contest to see if Alaska and Hawaii get their first superchargers before North Dakota. I have a feeling I-94 might not get done this year, but Model 3 ramp-up would seem to indicate that they NEED to finish the major routes across the country.

 

[BobC]

I suppose we could extend the contest to see if Alaska and Hawaii get their first superchargers before North Dakota. I have a feeling I-94 might not get done this year, but Model 3 ramp-up would seem to indicate that they NEED to finish the major routes across the country.

Looking on Tesla's map, Honolulu is supposed to be done by the end of 2017, so it's probably North Dakota versus Alaska.

 

[lightfoot3b]

Bob, you're not instilling any level of confidence here, nor did I have any left to lose

 

[VIKING26]

What makes it worse is that even Wyoming is getting their cross-state network built on I-80. I wonder which state, ND or WY, has more registered Teslas. Although WY does have a large tourist draw in Yellowstone.

 

[PLUS EV]

What makes it worse is that even Wyoming is getting their cross-state network built on I-80. I wonder which state, ND or WY, has more registered Teslas. Although WY does have a large tourist draw in Yellowstone.

I-80 through Wyoming is also a common cross country route. In fact it was the first! I-94 arguably never needed to be built. Almost no one takes that path across the country other than adventure travelers like me

 

[cpa]

I-80 through Wyoming is also a common cross country route. In fact it was the first! I-94 arguably never needed to be built. Almost no one takes that path across the country other than adventure travelers like me

I would hazard a guess about I94. In 1926 or thereabouts, the Federal Highway Administration created our original set of interstate highways, and the major east-west highways were multiples of 10. (US 2 is also cross-country and is the northernmost US primary highway because there is no US0!)

Anyway, US10 connected Seattle with Detroit (including a ferry ride across Lake Michigan between Wisconsin and Michigan!) The Twin Cities were also on US10.

The Interstate Highway System essentially eliminated US10. Its classic route has been replaced by Interstate 90 from Seattle to Billings. Interstate 94 continues on the old US10 alignment through east-central Montana and into North Dakota before arcing down to the Twin Cities and Chicago to its ultimate terminus north of Detroit at the international border.

So, I am arguably arguing that the designers of the Interstate Highway System wanted to have a route to connect Michigan, Chicago, the Twin Cities and the rural upper Midwest to Seattle without a detour south to Interstate 90.

One more point: The Interstate Highways were also for national defense. I recall that for many years North Dakota had a number of defense installations in case the cold war heated up. I suspect that an east-west interstate through North Dakota would benefit the defense of our country had the need for military action been necessary. This is just a guess; I do not have hard evidence to support this statement.

 

[lightfoot3b]

Yes, that's why the highways always have a section of straight road without overpasses so all interstates could be used as emergency landing/takeoff strips.

In regard to Yellowstone, we have Theodore Roosevelt National park here too! Not as popular, but definitely a lot of tourists.

Ps. I take the actual "Old 10" for 1/2 the trip to Bismarck so I can putt putt at 55mph to make it there and back without charging.

 

[swaltner]

Yes, that's why the highways always have a section of straight road without overpasses so all interstates could be used as emergency landing/takeoff strips.

Checking snopes...

Interstate Highways as Airstrips

Richard Weingroff, information liaison specialist for the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Infrastructure and the FHA’s unofficial historian, says the closest any of this came to touching base with reality was in 1944, when Congress briefly considered the possibility of including funding for emergency landing strips in the Federal Highway-Aid Act (the law that authorized designation of a “National System of
Interstate Highways”). At no point was the idea kited of using highways or other roads to land planes on; the proposed landing strips would have been built alongside major highways, with the highways serving to handle ground transportation access to and from these strips. The proposal was quickly dropped, and no more was ever heard of it. (A few countries do use some of their roads as military air strips, however.)

 

[lightfoot3b]

Good info! Thanks! I unlearned bad info today.

 

[Vexar]

Any time now with an ND supercharger. Truly. Any time... I never go there, but now I have to go through it. I realize there's more trees than women in the state as the old joke goes, but, yeah, any time, Tesla.

 

[Stu Redman]

Greetings all. New forum member here from Fargo. Model 3 reserved Apr. 1, 2016. Up late tonight watching the lightning show. Of course, I am definitely interested in the SC situation here in ND, and as we know there are none. I too have been watching the local info for building permits. Does anyone know if Tesla uses their own name when getting these, or could it be some third party agent that is contracted for the work?
I was hoping to get my car around May 1 next year, but now it seems more likely a year from now. Looks like they aren't going to make as many this year as I hoped. Still need to install a 14-50 in my garage. No rush, I guess. Will have to enjoy the cars I have now for awhile. You know how as you get older time seems to fly by faster? One reason I wanted to get this car is to slow things down with a nice wait. I think it's working.

 

[emupilot]

Welcome to the forum! If you have been watching for local permits then I trust you already know about Fargo's permit tracking site. I search for Tesla and charg (to catch either charger or charging) in any database that has a description of each permit. On rare occasions I have seen a permit labeled as submitted by Black & Veatch, but that is not likely to help your search. Some web databases don't have descriptions, but you can look for electrical commercial permits valued between $100,000 and $200,000.

 

[VIKING26]

According to a source, Fargo SC will be up and running by November at the latest. No info on location yet, but this is great news. Hopefully the rest of the I-94 corridor is in the works.

 

[CarpetMan]

According to a source, Fargo SC will be up and running by November at the latest. No info on location yet, but this is great news. Hopefully the rest of the I-94 corridor is in the works.

This is great news!
Has anyone heard anything about the Alexandria, MN location? I imagine they would be opening that one around the same time.
And then hopefully they keep working their way West down I-94.

 

[VIKING26]

This is great news!
Has anyone heard anything about the Alexandria, MN location? I imagine they would be opening that one around the same time.
And then hopefully they keep working their way West down I-94.

Rumor is that ground has been broken on Alexandia's SC. I'm not putting a lot of stock into the rumor though. Maybe someone in that area can take a look around near I-94.

 

[BobC]

Rumor is that ground has been broken on Alexandia's SC. I'm not putting a lot of stock into the rumor though. Maybe someone in that area can take a look around near I-94.

There's a slight chance I could drive by there on Sunday, but the probability is low. I'll be south of Detroit Lakes near Perham and might have a chance to stop by.

 

[PLUS EV]

According to a source, Fargo SC will be up and running by November at the latest. No info on location yet, but this is great news. Hopefully the rest of the I-94 corridor is in the works.

I can't wait to vacation in Fargo in December!!

 

[VIKING26]

I can't wait to vacation in Fargo in December!!

January and February are much nicer times to visit.