Williston may see the end of long lines at the post office come Tuesday, or at least that’s the plan.
The U.S. Postal Service announced the second Williston post office will hold a grand opening Tuesday at the 5,880-square-foot facility, branded the Badlands Station Post Office. Jon Cameron, local aide for Sen. John Hoeven, will be the honorary first customer.
Located in the Badlands Town Center, 4315 9th Ave. W. Unit 411. Williston’s second retail postal facility will feature a full-service retail window, 2,800 PO boxes and a self-service kiosk open 24/7.
“We’ve been working hard with the USPS for postal service improvements in North Dakota, especially in western North Dakota,” Hoeven said in a release. “At a meeting with Postmaster General Donahoe last year, our postmaster in Williston suggested creating a new postal facility in the community to improve services. Postmaster Donahoe and I then looked possible areas for a new facility, and earlier this year he approved the lease.”
Williston isn’t the only Bakken city garnering attention from the USPS.
Expanded access and services have been enacted in Watford City and Tioga, with 460 PO boxes added in Parshall, and more than 2,000 new delivery points in the region since September 2013, according to a USPS press release.
After numerous meetings with federal, state and local officials and business people, the USPS also established cluster boxes for better delivery to residential corporate housing and new developments. Western North Dakota has front-lined the state to producing the most new housing in the nation throughout the past three years.
Post offices in the Bakken have also been aggressively recruiting employees and offering bonuses to attract more carriers, especially for rural routes.
“In North Dakota, we have had our share of struggles with mail delivery and service, but this new post office in Williston shows we are moving in the right direction,” said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. “Especially in rural parts of our state, regular mail delivery is crucial for getting prescriptions, bills, and letters.”
Along with Hoeven’s efforts, Heitkamp introduced the Fix My Mail effort and hosted discussions with Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) about the USPS in Williston and Dickinson.
Window hours for the new Badlands Station Post Office will be 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.
“The Postal Service prides itself on providing the best possible service for our valued customers in the Bakken oilfield region with an emphasis on offering expanded access to our postal products and services,” said Darrell Stoke, acting Dakotas District Manager for USPS. “The new Badlands Station Post Office is yet another example of the Postal Service’s continued commitment to serve customers in western North Dakota.”