Plans in motion for 32nd Avenue construction projects

FARGO — The heavily-traveled 32nd Avenue South in Fargo will soon undergo a major reconstruction project east of Intersate 29. On Tuesday, March 28, a public informational meeting outlined the details of the plans.

Thousands of vehicles use 32nd Avenue each day in south Fargo. A lot has changed in the area since it was built more than three decades ago and city officials believe it is time for the major roadway to get some upgrades.

"A good rule of thumb is 30 years on a concrete road, that's its life. So we're living on borrowed time. So just renewing all the infrastructure is what the goal is here," said City of Fargo division engineer Jeremy Gorden.

The project plans to improve the stretch of 32nd Avenue from 22nd Street to South University Drive in four phases from East to West.

"The pavement, you can tell now it's really starting to fall apart and we're going to upgrade the storm water system," Gorden said. "We're going to put in a 6-foot diameter pipe right down the center line and put in a new lift station at the river. And we are going to upgrade street lights, traffic signals, (and) water main."

This project will begin in 2024. It is still undecided if all the work will be done in one year or two as a similar project is taking place on 32nd further west that is planned to start in April of this year.

"Whether or not it's going to have to be a one-year project or a two-year timetable for that depending on kind of how both those projects are going to interact with each other is something that we are still going to have to figure out on our end," said Eric Hodgson, a civil engineer with the City of Fargo.

It is not just the thousands of commuters that will be affected by the potentially two-year long project. But, Hodgson said the city will do all it can for the businesses that call 32nd Avenue home during the long construction season ahead.

"We work with them(businesses), we just make sure that we meet their needs that they have for their businesses so that it's not impacted," Hodgson said.