Civil rights groups want road near N.D. pipeline protest reopened
Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota want state officials to reopen a stretch of highway that runs through the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol and the state Department of Transportation closed a section of state Highway 1806 near Fort Rice about two weeks ago because of an oil pipeline protest along the road.
Opponents of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline are protesting near a construction zone just north of the reservation that straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border. Troopers say the closure was done for safety reasons.
In a letter to Gov. Jack Dalrymple on Tuesday, Amnesty International says "no parking" signs and reduced speed limit warnings would address public safety concerns without having to use the roadblock.
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