New Oriska Rest Area offers expanded amenities for travelers

BISMARCK, N.D. - Work is complete at the Oriska Rest Area, and the new $10 million facility is now open to the public.

The project included replacing the existing building and reconstructing the parking lot to better serve travelers along Interstate 94. The new facility features four sheltered picnic tables, a courtyard, a walking path, a dog park and 25 truck parking spaces. The facility also includes amenities designed to make travel more accessible and comfortable for people with a variety of needs, including adding an adult changing station.

"This project is a significant investment in improving the experience for people traveling along I-94, especially the freight haulers who rely on safe and accessible places to stop," said NDDOT Maintenance Division Director Brandon Beise. "The new facility provides modern amenities, more space, and a welcoming environment for travelers."

The interior design was a team effort with input and display items provided by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, North Dakota Department of Commerce, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

"Due to its prime locations, we wanted this rest area to serve as a welcome center," said Commerce Tourism and Marketing Director Sara Otte Coleman. "The new facility provides travelers with digital planning tools, vibrant imagery and printed tourism materials to inspire visitors to explore more of North Dakota. Designed around the prairie pothole theme, the project gives the state an opportunity to tell that story, with displays that include wood decoys and taxidermy."

The rest area is located two miles east of Oriska along I-94 at mile marker 304. The previous facility closed for reconstruction in April 2025.

For more information about construction projects and road conditions across North Dakota, call 511 or visit the ND Roads map at travel.dot.nd.gov.