It appears the once-a-month driver's license service site in Wishek soon will be eliminated — a casualty of the state's ongoing financial downturn.

A budget proposal submitted to the Legislature by the North Dakota Department of Transportation for the 2017-19 biennium would close the satellite driver's license site here, along with those in Carrington, Carson, Crosby, Langdon, Lisbon, Rolla and Rugby.

The proposal also would close state Highway Department road maintenance shops in Gackle, Starkweather, Finley, Fessenden, Gackle, Litchville, New England, Courtenay and Mayville.

Sen. Robert Erbele, R-Lehr, says most of the focus has been on the pending road shop closures, with the driver's license sites not drawing much attention from state lawmakers.

"We know the agency budgets must be trimmed," Erbele says. "There's been a lot of feedback about the shops. We can't save everything from the knife, so our efforts mostly have been targeted in that direction."

The Wishek driver's license site is located at the National Guard Armory. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of every month.

Jamie Olson, a DOT spokeswoman, says there were 541 transactions completed at the Wishek driver's license site during 2016.

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