U.S. Route 81 in North Dakota

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 81 in North Dakota. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 81.

U.S. Route 81 (US 81) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that travels from Fort Worth, Texas, to the Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing near Pembina. In the state of North Dakota, US 81 extends from the South Dakota border north to the Canada-United States border.

U.S. Highway 81
US 81 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NDDOT
Length	247.457 mi[1] (398.243 km)
Major junctions
South end	I-29 / US 81 at the South Dakota state line
Major intersections	I-94 / US 52 in Fargo US 10 / I-94 BL in Fargo ND 200 by Hillsboro US 2 in Grand Forks ND 5 in Hamilton
North end	I-29 / PTH 75 at Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing near Pembina
Location
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Counties	Richland, Cass, Traill, Grand Forks, Walsh, Pembina
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided North Dakota State Highway System Interstate US State
← ND 73 → US 83

Route description

U.S. 81 enters North Dakota concurrently with Interstate 29 (I-29). It heads north from the South Dakota border, passing through Fargo, to the north side of Grand Forks. There it splits off to the northwest, passing through the city of Manvel. It parallels I-29, passing by the town of Grafton before joining North Dakota Highway 5 (ND 5) near Cavalier. It rejoins I-29 and continues to the US–Canada border at Pembina. The original route of US 81 survives as ND 127 and 'County Road 81' in Richland, Cass, Traill, and Grand Forks counties.

Major intersections

Exit numbers are I-29 exit numbers.

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit[1]	Destinations	Notes
Richland	Greendale Township	0.000	0.000		I-29 south / US 81 south – Sioux Falls	Continuation into South Dakota
See I-29 (exits 1-145)
Grand Forks	Manvel	152.211	244.960	152	I-29 north / CR 33 east – Winnipeg	North end of I-29 concurrency; south end of CR 33 concurrency
		152.522	245.460		CR 33 west – Manvel	North end of CR 33 concurrency; formerly ND 33
Walsh	Grafton	190.775	307.023		ND 17 east – I-29	South end of ND 17 concurrency
		190.993	307.373		ND 17 west – Park River	North end of ND 17 concurrency
Pembina	St. Thomas Township	202.271	325.524		ND 66 east – Drayton	South end of ND 66 concurrency
	St. Thomas	204.273	328.746		ND 66 west – Crystal	North end of ND 66 concurrency
		204.729	329.479		ND 91 north	Southern terminus of ND 91
		206.414	332.191		ND 91 south	Northern terminus of ND 91
	Hamilton	218.530	351.690		ND 5 west – Cavalier	South end of ND 5 concurrency
	Joliette Township	228.353	367.499	203	I-29 south / ND 5 east – Grand Forks	South end of I-29 concurrency, north end of ND 5 concurrency
		233.413	375.642	208	CR 1 – Bathgate
	Pembina Township	242.657	390.519	212	No name exit
	Pembina	245.177	394.574	215	ND 59 / CR 55 – Neche, Pembina
	Pembina Township	247.457	398.243	Canadian border at the Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing
					PTH 75 north – Winnipeg	National northern terminus of I-29 and US 81; formerly PTH 29; continuation into Manitoba
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus